Over 600 Trees Planted to Protect Boduma Water Catchment Using Miyawaki Method

By Ndimuh B. Shancho

 A Buea based non-profit organization that seeks to reconcile conservation with local livelihoods, Ecological Balance, has planted over 600 trees at the Boduma Water Catchment using the Miyawaki Method, an innovative reforestation technique that has successfully been used for forest creation and water catchments in most developed countries.

The tree planting at the Bonduma water catchment (which supplies  University of Buea Campus, Bokoko and the Molyko neighbourhoods), according to the Executive  Director of Ecological Balance, Limbi Blessing Tata, is part of a  campaign, which sets to protect five main water catchments in Buea in a bid salvage the town from water crisis.

As to why the Organisation resorted to using the Miyawaki method, Ms Limbi said “Forests created using the method are 30times dense, grow 10times faster, and recharge groundwater 30times faster. Such forests are also 30times better habitat for pollinators, have 30 times better carbon-dioxide absorption capacity and conserve soil properties 30times better than monocultures. Miyawaki reforestation technique is 100% natural and designed to mimic historical indigenous forests and thus, 100% bio-diverse and maintenance-free. Over 3,000 forests have been successfully created around the world by the method with 82% success rate registered”.

Coming at a time when the excruciating effect of climate change is being felt across the world and deforestation at its apex, the Eco Balance boss noted that the tree planting exercise is the beginning of phase one of a forest regeneration/water protection series that sets out to plant over 5000trees per year in Cameroon. “We hope that through this, water quantity and quality will be increased/ conserve, habitat provided for wildlife and climate change effects mitigated,” she added.

Community members were very delighted with the tree planting exercise. “I am very happy with the trees you people are planting here. I am sure the trees will stop the water from drying off such that we can start experiencing shortage of water, and also purify the water in the catchment,” a Boduma resident, Monono Thomas, said.

The tree planting exercise was carry out with students from the University of Buea with the aim of encouraging them to delve into research on the ecology of threatened and endemic tree species.