WWF COUNTRY OFFICE
he Country Office, which operated in Douala
was completely moved to Yaoundé in October 1994.
The WWFCameroon Programme cultivated meaningful partnerships
with a number of indigenous NGOs and CBOs in all agroecological
zones of Cameroon. Collaborative activities with these local partners
have focused on providing technical support and training. Some
highlights of their activities:
- WWFCPO has provided support to the Centre
for Environment and Rural Transformation, a Limbebased NGO,
to train CBOs in Conservation Project Areas in the production
of mushrooms as a cash crop and as a means of improving diet.
The idea was also to reduce the demand on bushmeat and thus pressure
on animal populations.
- Four workshops were organized by WWFCPO in
collaboration with organizations like UNDP and USAID for NGO leaders
in Natural Resource Management and project development.
- WWFCPO is a member of the Country Working
Group and National Selection Committee of GEF/Small Grants Programme.
It has been directly involved in advising, monitoring and evaluating
the work of the NGOs and CBOs benefitting from grants.
- WWFCPO provides the chair of the Joint Environmental
Unit (JEU), a serviceoriented organization comprising NGOs,
CBOs, International Organizations, Academic and Research Institutions
and some donor agencies. The JEU has over 100 members and is represented
in all geoecological zones of Cameroon. It facilitates and
promotes networking, information exchange, education and communication
in natural resources and ecosystem management.
- In June 1994, an organization called the African
Forest Action Network (AFAN) was created as the culmination of
a seminar organized by WWFCPO and other bodies. AFAN's goals:
to promote the conservation of forests and the sustainable use
of forest resources, emphasizing the wellbeing of people.
AFAN is an informal group of African NGOscurrently
55 from 11 different countrieswhich disseminates information
and exchanges experience among members. It coordinates lobbying
activities in the field of sustainable management of forests.
This NGO network was mainly funded and technically assisted by
WWF. Its coordination office is based in Yaoundé.
WWFCPO's own field projects have had a demonstrable
impact in various areas. It now has a high public profile and
is considered among the top one or two conservation organizations
in Cameroon. WWFCPO's partnership is sought by the government,
International Organizations, including the World Bank and UNDP,
International NGOs and agencies such as Living Earth and Birdlife
International.
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