Thanks to a project designed by the Environment and Rural Development Foundation (ERuDeF) and funded by French charity Man and Nature, 100,000 trees would be planted on the buffer zones of the proposed Tofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary in Wabane Sub-Division, Lebialem Division.
By Allen Enokenwa Tabi
The Project Coordinator, Forbe Hodu, said they aim to plant about 100,000 social forestry trees and 10,000 agro-forestry species on the buffer zones of the proposed Tofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary.
“The aim is to improve the quality of the soil and prevent penetration into the proposed sanctuary hosting the critically endangered Cross River Gorilla and some other globally protected species,” Hodu told The Green Vision.
According to him, the project is expected to provide a source of alternative livelihood to the people bordering the proposed sanctuary and prevent them from depending on the natural resources alone.
In an effort to commit the respective parties, the Lebialem Senior Divisional Officer (SDO), Kouemo Simon, and the Fon of Folepi Village signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) June 17, 2013 to consolidate the project.
Seven villagers were elected into the newly created Folepi Village Forest Management Committee (VFMC).
The Divisional Delegate for Forestry urged the Forest Management Committee members to be the watchdogs of the forest and provide a safe home for the remaining population of the Cross River Gorillas and other endangered wildlife in the forests of the Lebialem Highlands.
The VFMC members will undergo training to prepare them for their tasks which include ensuring that local communities respect, and cooperate with the authorities for the protection of the forests and wildlife in the proposed Tofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary.
The committee equally has to make sure that the local communities respect the Forestry and Wildlife laws; the texts relating to the exploitation, management and conservation of the natural resources in the area.
The committee would also make sure that the local communities collaborate with Ministry of Forestry authorities, especially the local authorities in the area and their technical partners.
The committee will report any act of illegal activities such as poaching, poisoning of streams, and illegal exploitation of Timber and Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs), to the authorities of the Ministry of Forestry.
A symbolic tree planting activity led by the Fon of Folepi, the SDO and the Divisional Officer alongside the Divisional Delegate for Forestry and Wildlife, Mboui Jacques, and other officials to launch the first phase of the Tofala sustainable land use project crowned the occasion.
The Fon of Folepi pledged the support of his village to this project.
The SDO challenged the entire Folepi village to participate in the project in order to ensure success.
He reminded the population on the importance of conservation, stressing that conservation promotes scientific research, keeps the country’s heritage for posterity and is a huge source of revenue through tourism.
Kouemo traced the level of commitment of government in ensuring the success of the Tofala Sanctuary such as the signing of a public notice, appointment of a focal person at the South West Regional Delegation of Forestry and Wildlife, the follow up by the local MINFOF services.
Folepi village is one of the eight villages in the Wabane adjacent the proposed Tofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary that harbours the critically endangered Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli), endangered Nigeria-Cameroon Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti) and other important fauna and flora species.
Ruth Suh & Bessinula Emmanuel (Youth Advocacy Network students on internship contributed to this article)