Forests for Life in south-east Cameroon
by Frans van der Helm
Only six per cent of the world's forests are legally protected.WWF's international Forests for Life campaign aims to raise this to a minimum of ten per cent of ecologically representative forests and ensure that many more forests are managed sustainably. Extensive areas in south-east Cameroon will be among the test cases.
Nki at night. An insect choir is sounding like a thousand digital alarm clocks. Fruit eating bats are honking nasally while circling above us. The reddish glint of a crocodile eye is reflected by the water - the distance between the two an indication of head size. "Look, there's an even larger one!" says French photographer Gilles Nicolet while we're wading knee-deep through rainforest swamp, holding torches on our heads. The light beams catch a small, harmless snake that decides to swim to a quieter spot. High above us, the flapping of bird wings indicates that new resting trees are being selected.
Other reddish eyes pass by on dry land - those of a duiker. Later, our Baka companion approaches us silently in the dark and taps us on the shoulder. "There are many leopards here," he whispers apprehensively. "Great!" Gilles and I say at the same time. We're high on wildlife.
Much later that night, we make our way back to camp, trying to avoid the deep prints elephants have left on the muddy path. In a small clearing, a solitary tree has been polished smoothly up to an impressive height by elephants that were itchy. The presence of elephants in this dense forest seems mysterious at night. We try to keep in mind that their eyes don't reflect. And that they move so silently that sometimes only the rumbling of their digestive systems gives them away.
Visiting Nki is an overwhelming feast. In daytime, too, it creates an impression of what real virgin rainforest must have been like in so many other places in Africa. Large hornbills are almost everywhere, resplendent great plantain eaters perch within a short distance, and a rich and varied cast of monkeys hesitate between curiosity and caution. But the elusive western lowland gorillas keep out of our way, taking advantage of the dense vegetation. Their droppings now and then indicate a popular route, and a circular space with flattened vegetation is a silent allusion to the massive size of a silverback male.
Together with Boumba Bek, this proposed rainforest reserve may be one of the best preserved parts of the Congo-Basin - Africa's largest rainforest. WWF is collaborating with the Cameroon government to keep it that way. The south-eastern part of Cameroon, close to the Central African Republic, the Congo and Gabon, has a third proposed reserve: Lobeke. Still rich in wildlife, it is an example of the dangers that Nki and Boumba Bek may be facing: human activity that has gone out of control. Logging and poaching go hand in hand here, disturbing the lives of Baka pygmies, other traditional local groups and wildlife.
South-east Cameroon is an area of secluded, untouched forests on the one hand, and those that have been abused in every conceivable way on the other. There are areas of logging trucks, dirt roads, boomtowns and sawmills that work day and night; where poachers along the roads display all kinds of freshly killed mammals and huge piles of smoked bush meat; where safari-hunters come for a wildlife bonanza, and commercial hunters act as local rulers, burning native settlements.
"In Europe, people sometimes think you should stop forest exploitation. Well, it's not possible," declares Steve Gartlan, director ofWWF's Cameroon programme at his Yaounde office. "The forest is a resource; it will be exploited and there are population pressures - people have to have land. If we can get ten per cent or more properly protected, that's fine, but the rest of the forest will be exploited. I see WWF's main goal as making sure it's exploited properly and in a responsible way."
One of the many environmental threats within Cameroon is the rapid expansion of logging into the last extensive and almost intact forests. Cameroon is a major timber producing country that still possesses a reasonable amount of tropical forest with an exceptionally rich biodiversity.
The Cameroon government is developing a long-term strategy to manage and protect this natural resource. The forests of south-east Cameroon have been identified as a high priority and the creation of three protected areas has been proposed: Nki, Boumba Bek and Lobeke. They comprise important moist evergreen and semi-deciduous forests, swamps and wet savannah, and they contain large numbers of forest elephants (estimated at 2.6 per square kilometre) as well as western lowland gorillas, chimpanzees and bongos.
The creation of this protected area is crucial for extending conservation of the severely threatened Congo Basin. WWF is developing an appealing concept: an important tri-national conservation area.
The formal protected status of the three reserves seems assured. "Phase 1 of the project has been completed," reports Dr Atanga Ekobo of WWF. "These sites are of crucial importance for biodiversity, and it has been agreed they will get protected status if our census shows that it is worth the effort."
Part ofWWF's project work is to draw up exact boundary definitions. WWF will also be working towards an agreement that allows the area to be used by local people for sustainable activities such as collecting fruits or traditional net-hunting, but not for elephant hunting with shotguns. Permanent monitoring and evaluation of the project will be necessary, partly because Cameroon's poor economic condition doesn't help put nature conservation high on the national agenda. Currently, 4.3 per cent of the country is officially protected, but regular monitoring of progress and management of protected areas is often lacking.
At the same time, logging activity has grown extensively. Over the years, most export revenues have fallen drastically, but the value of timber has increased. But environmental awareness seems to be growing as more and more people recognise that their natural resources are not infinite.
The road to Yokadouma, the gateway to south-east Cameroon, provides a brief but thorough insight into the area's conservation issues. On a day trip along this narrow dust road, over 200 kilometres long, you can count as much as 200 logging trucks travelling at maximum speed and carrying heavy loads of logs or processed wood. The number of trees you see disappearing from this forest area on an average day is alarming: there's no way that this kind of exploitation can be sustainable.
Fully loaded trucks travel north and then west to Douala, the capital, from where timber is exported. A WWF Landcruiser seems small in comparison - especially when the driver of one of the trucks takes offence at being photographed. With his brakes shrieking, he jams our car into the kerb. After we have shouted at him and waved some official-looking papers at him, he drives away, yelling abuse.
Nki and Boumba Bek are remote areas. A Global Environment Facility (GEF) project aims to manage the area in a regional perspective but the problems are huge. Poaching, for instance. Along with the trees, wildlife is disappearing. Bush meat is much in demand in the big cities, and logging trucks offer good means of transport. Mostly the carcasses have been invisibly stacked under canvas, or in the trucks' storing space for chains and tools. But sometimes you can see monkey hands, the tail of a mongoose or the paw of a big cat.
A dozen or so national and foreign logging companies have succeeded in getting a foothold here. Sixty per cent of Cameroon's timber exploitation is in the eastern province, mainly within the GEF project area. Only the older and larger trees may be taken, depending on their diameter - at least 60 or 70 cm.
A tree may grow 35 cm in diameter in ten years, so it is worth returning for a second logging. The eight species mainly exploited in the south-east area are assamela, sapelli, ayous, kossipo, tiama, sipo, azobe and iroko. Logging activities fragment the area and hunting pressures become higher. Some vanishing species are highly valued by local people as sources of medicine and food.
Tropical forests have a potential for recovery - if used wisely. "In itself, logging an area does not have to be disastrous," says Jaap Schoorl of WWF. "But what is harmful and destructive is repeated cutting. Some parts of these forests have been logged three times in 30 years. That's more than any system can cope with."
One of the important trees from the south-east is the ayous, a soft white wood. Five years ago there was no demand for it, but now it's in the 'timber top five'. Says Steve Gartlan of WWF: "There is constant demand for high quality timber. The ayous was not a commercial species until very recently, and now it is used for making compressed artificial woods. It's proof that you can go back to a forest that has already been logged and take something else out. It happens frequently."
The number of exploited tree species has more than doubled in ten years and "selective" logging is getting less and less selective. But there are some positive developments, too. Specialised machinery now causes less damage to nearby trees than in the past, and thanks to technical improvements, sawmills extract more cubic metres of timber from one log than in the past.
Under pressure from environmental organisations such as WWF as well as international market developments, the government of Cameroon and some logging companies have become interested in developing sustainable forest management systems. In 1996 WWF initiated a working group in which the government, logging companies, research institutes and NGOs discuss strategies towards sustainable logging according to FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) criteria.
A WWF project now promotes a pilot concession where certified timber will be harvested. Not only that, but WWF is also developing a scheme that will rapidly assess the sustainability of logging operations - something that has been welcomed by the government.
Within its tropical forest action plan, the government aims to develop forestry that is both modern and sustainable, and timber production that does not undermine existing ecosystems. Guidelines will cover logging cycles for specified species, extraction techniques and maintenance of long-term benefits for local communities, and the ecological integrity of forests.
The amount of west and central forest that has vanished forever is beyond belief: short-sighted logging methods and the population explosion have taken their toll. Nigeria, once an exporter of timber, has become an importer. Côte d'Ivoire is now almost bereft of trees. And logging is shifting from east to central Africa, the Congo Basin being under threat from all sides. Forest certification is a tool to promote sustainable exploitation of this precious area and other remaining forests. Cameroon is trying to set standards.
The Republic of Congo possesses the largest bulk of tropical moist forest in Africa, followed by Cameroon, Gabon, the Congo and the Central African Republic. But the logging companies that started in the west are now moving to central Africa.
Even so, progress is being made internationally. When WWF started talking about certification of forests some years ago, nobody wanted to believe that it could ever be brought about. Now it is an issue discussed across the world and at the United Nations.
Some timber companies, recognising consumer trends, have asked for certification themselves. But there are some obstacles, one being political sensitivity. That is why African involvement in certification is important. The demand for timber is growing, especially in Asia. Five years ago, all wood from Cameroon went to Europe and the United States. Last year, more than a third of timber exports were destined for South-east Asia.
"The influx of Asian logging companies is a serious threat," declares Steve Gartlan of WWF. "They work through Cameroonian proxies and are extremely destructive. They cut large numbers of species and they go for clear felling. They tend to be very secretive so we're trying to find out who they are, who's behind them and where their capital comes from - there are indications that they raise finance on international markets such as London. If that's the case, then of course we can take action there."
The national parks of the Central African Republic and Congo share the same kind of biodiversity and ecosystem as south-east Cameroon, and together form the core of the Congo basin. Thanks to the co-operation of the Central African Republic, a WWF project at Dzanga-Sangha has achieved considerable success. The number of elephants has increased - visitors can often see 60 at a time - and infrastructure such as nature trails and viewing platforms has greatly improved.
Co-operation between Cameroon and its neighbours is growing. Recently, an elephant poacher escaped from northern Congo, went to the CAR and then on to Cameroon - and was arrested. There is also potential for ecotourism, but this is seen as long-term.
WWF co-operates closely with the Cameroon government in all aspects of its conservation work, and the results continue to be promising.
"In conservation you have to work in countries with severe economic problems which don't put preservation of the environment among their top priorities," says Steve Gartlan. "You also work with local communities. If you neglect either, your projects fail. But one of the big advantages of the south-east area is that local communities are fed up with immigrants and logging companies taking their natural resources. There is goodwill to get this protected area project to do what we want it to do. We can then develop a major ecotourist initiative which would also provide local people with alternatives to the bush meat and forest industries. We have an excellent chance of success - if we can do what we want to do. And if not? Well, you don't have to be an optimist to persevere."
© WWF
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