Tourists and athletes hiking Mt. Cameroon, or visiting the Park, have been cautioned to quit throwing waste in and around this biodiversity hot spot. The message, in the form of a warning was dished out recently by the Park Conservator, Simon Besong, while on a six day working visit across Tour Organisations around Mt. Cameroon National Park.
According to the Conservator, porters and guides working with these Tour Organisations must properly orient every tourist or visitor hiking into the mountain.
“Waste produced during each visit should immediately be brought down by porters and guides,’’ Simon Besong added.
He implored managers of Tour Organisations to pay impromptu visits to the Park to check if porters and guides are defaulting this rule so they can be sanctioned accordingly.
In an interview with the Southwest Regional Chief for protection and Sustainable Development, in the Ministry of Environment and Protection of Nature and Sustainable Development (MINEPDED), Mm Ekane Mary, she indicated that dumping waste on the mountain or around the Park risks killing animals who may mistaken the waste (especially wrapping plastics) for food.
“Animals feed on some of these waste dumped in the Park. When wrapped items like plastics are thrown haphazardly in the Park, these animals risk feeding on them, and given that the wastes are indigestible, the animals will certainly die,” Mm Ekane said.
Meantime, an intensive clean-up campaign around the Mount Cameroon National Park, has been launched. The campaign duped “Keep MCNP Clean,’’ implemented at least thrice a year, brings together staff of the Park, Tour Organisations, community members and other well-wishers, who converged on different spots within the Park to collect waste.
This exercise is characterised by sweeping of park trails, campsites, rest houses as well as general hand-picking of non-natural materials. All waste gathered from the clean-up is brought out of the Park to be eventually disposed of by a waste management company.
Despite all efforts to keep the Mount Cameroon National Park (MCNP) clean and natural, one could still spot patches of waste materials littered within.
During the March 2017 clean-up exercise, some participants confided in the Green Vision that, tourist and visitors to MCNP should avoid littering the park. According to them, the Park could remain very clean if everyone brings back what they took inside. Some advice tour organisations to make it as a policy, to always check tourists and visitors that what they took up, should either come back whole, or as waste.
Mount Cameroon National Park (MCNP), is globally noted for its unique greenery ranging from great variety of fauna and flora species. Located in the Fako Division, the Mt. Cameroon National Park covers a total surface area of 58,178ha and bordered by 41 local communities. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), MCNP is the most diverse ecosystem in Cameroon and is rated as the 10th most conservable place in the world. This status is however threatened by tourists and visitors who sometimes do not appropriately dispose of their waste such as used tissues, non-biodegradable plastics and containers and sardine cans.
To brand MCNP as a first-class touristic destination,adequate sanitation cannot be over-emphasised, indicating the need for collective efforts of park stakeholders and the public.
Therefore, when you visit MCNP leave nothing but your footsteps.
By Susan Ndip & Margaret Bessem – *Communication Volunteers at MCNP
