ANB-BIA SUPPLEMENT

ISSUE/EDITION Nr 378 - 15/11/1999

CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS

Central Africa

Protecting the environment

by Martin Lutha Mbita, Cameroon, October 1999

THEME = ECOLOGY

INTRODUCTION

A conference on the conservation and on- going management of the Central African forests

In March 1999, Cameroon's President, Paul Biya, took the initiative to organise in Yaounde, a conference on the conservation and continuing management of the Central African forests. Several Heads of States in the region attended this important gathering.

Background

The equatorial forest has always sheltered wild animals and strange-looking trees. It took centuries for mankind to understand how to survive in his own environment and he made plenty of mistakes, but he has always loved and respected the forest. Let's take a look at some of the trees and see how they have influenced man's way of living. There's the Essingan - his tree-god; the Moabi - provides him with healing sap, fruit for his meals, beans for cooking oil. Ancestral wisdom has taught him that these trees deserve particular protection. This explains why people reacted violently when lumber-jacks started to decimate the forest and chase the animals away.

Today, villagers wonder why so much ado is being made about "their" forests. They can't understand why the same people who cut the trees down and chased the animals away without taking advice from anybody, are the same who are now talking about "on-going forest management"

The world, however, is increasingly concerned about such issues as planet warming and uncontrolled deforestation in Central Africa by people who increasingly need more wood. Formerly, forestland in this area covered 6,800 square kilometres; today this has shrunk to 2,300 square kilometres. Deforestation has caused several plant and animal species to disappear. Something needs to be done. The Congo basin is a vast area of tropical woods - the second-most important in the world - and host to the richest variety of the world's fauna.

The Yaounde Declaration

The Yaounde Conference issued a Statement called: "The Yaounde Declaration". In it, the African Heads of State pledged the following:

To conserve the biological diversity of forests in Central Africa and ensure a continuing management of their ecological systems.
To ensure their people will always have the right to count on resources obtained from the forests, so as to support their efforts for economic and social development.
To maintain an interest in the international community's efforts to set up international mechanisms for the financing of fiduciary funds. This, in order to offer lasting support to the countries of the region, for development and research into the ecological systems of forests. At the same time the Heads of State noted the international community's awareness of the forest's ecological role.
To offer their support and solidarity with Central African countries which have to fight against the advancing desert.
To speed-up the creation of protected cross-border areas between Central African countries, and to invite neighbouring countries to involve themselves in this effort.
To strengthen action which involves the rural people participating in the planning and lasting management of ecological systems, and which, at the same time, allows for social and economic development.
To involve business people, especially those interested in forestry operations, in the process of lasting management and conservation of forest ecosystems.
To take steps to harmonise any action in favour of forest ecosystems, with other programmes such as reforestation, transport and agriculture.
To stop large-scale poaching.
To bring industry into the area and to ensure there is adequate financing for the private sector of industry, so that suitable employment opportunities can be created, while, at the same time, supervising the lasting use of forest resources;
To encourage people to come together and share their ideas and experiences. This will go a long way towards strengthening relations between national and international organisations involved in preserving the environment.
To establish ways and means in each country for financing forestry conservation. This must be based on income derived from forest activity and international co-operation.
To organise further Summits for the conservation and the lasting management of forest ecosystems.

The Heads of States mandated their Ministers in charge of the management and conservation of forest ecosystems, to revive the Organisation for the Conservation of Fauna in Central Africa (OCFSA). This organisation's headquarters will be transferred to Cameroon. The Heads of State also mandated their Ministers to monitor the implementation of Summit resolutions.

Implementing the resolutions

The question remains: Will all these summit resolutions be implemented? It's difficult to give a precise answer to this thorny question. We must not forget that, for many years, the tropical forest has represented an important resource in rich countries' strategy for debt recovery. Will increasing world demand for wood, persuade rich countries to stop ransacking the African forests? In spite of the World Wild Life Fund (WWF)'s suggestion to control the spoliation of the forests, African countries are concerned as to how this control is to be exercised.

In a memorandum addressed to the government of Cameroon, the European Union wrote: "When it comes to determining the nature and extent of political and economic cooperation between countries, international opinion must have as criteria such determining factors as respect for human rights, democracy, respect and use of the environment. This applies to both countries and NGOs". Obviously a clear warning to Cameroon, because, despite the implementation in January 1999, of the law prohibiting the export of lumber, lorries loaded with timber for export, are continuously making their way to the ports of Douala, Kribi and Limbé.

The Yaounde Conference confirmed a growing awareness by all parties concerned, for a strategy to conserve forest areas. The WWF has two aims regarding the protection of forests: To establish by the year 2000, an ecological network, representative of all parties concerned and dealing with protected forest zones covering at least 10% of the surface of each type of forest; to carry out an independent survey by the year 2001 so as to ensure there are at least 25 million hectares of properly managed forests in timber- producing countries.

The Yaounde Conference has recognised the need for conserving and ensuring the lasting management of tropical forests. However, this will only succeed if there is a definite national policy by the authorities as back-up.

END

CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS

PeaceLink 1999 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement