Editorial: Climate Change; Trigger of poverty in Cameroon.

To mitigate the situation, the Cameroon government has a plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 32%, a third of the current level in relative terms.

The plan rests on five pillars: agriculture (which remains the main driver of economic growth), forestry, energy and waste management, construction and transport.

Under the initial transformational plan, which was also based on the assumption that the agricultural sector would experience rapid growth, Cameroon would have seen its greenhouse gas emissions triple by 2035, compared to the reference year of 2010.

For the plan to succeed, experts believe there will be "better planning and a more effective utilisation of rural areas in order to develop agricultural activity in a much more productive way. This will require substantial improvement in governance of the sector, which, among other adjustments, will require devolution of power to local communities".

The ultimate objective is not only to raise the living standards of citizens but also to prevent the vicious downward cycle of poverty and underdevelopment, which include social instability and other security threats as outlined in its economic transformation strategy for emergence in 2035.

The plan, however, does not seem to be working with Cameroonians, who are complaining of heat waves, low crop yields and impending floods, with Limbe in the South West Region, for instance asking people to relocate from risky zones.

To cushion the looming impact, Greenpeace Africa, early this month, launched the Cameroonian Climate Justice Movement, CCJM, in Yaounde.

It is a network which brought together nearly 40 civil society organisations from the 10 Regions of Cameroon, working in the field of environment protection. 

It will serve as a platform for exchange and decision-making with a view to collective action to better protect the environment in Cameroon.

For its first action, CCJM mobilised nearly 500 Cameroonians for a march in Yaounde. It ended with the handing over of a letter to the Minister of Environment and Nature Protection, calling for more concrete action to protect the forests.

The letter contained the grievances of local and indigenous communities affected by deforestation, collected during the last national workshop held in April 2024, in Kribi.

"The pressure on the environment is increasing, and the need for a global response is more urgent than ever. The planet is being squeezed from all sides: fossil fuel industries, plastic pollution, deforestation, and so on. We believe that collective action will give greater resonance to our voices and our demands”, said Dr Fabrice Lamfu, Forest Campaigner at Greenpeace Africa.

During celebrations marking this year’s World Environment Day campaign focused on land restoration, desertification and drought resilience, the Movement took the first step by addressing the Cameroon government with the demands of communities affected by deforestation.

"We believe that similar collective actions will have a greater impact on the ground,” he added.

The challenges are faced in other African countries but in the case of Cameroon, it remains prey to several threats linked to climate change. 

In April 2024, Greenpeace Africa and the coalition of national and foreign civil society organisations sent a letter to certain foreign governments to express their concern about large-scale deforestation in Cameroon.

Several research findings have indicated the objective for a sustainable form of agriculture, which is more resilient to climate change. 

Effectively managed, it will, in addition, increase productivity and growth through improved competitiveness, create jobs and ensure a better quality of life, especially for those living in rural areas. 

"These measures and new practices will also serve to limit deforestation and the degradation of forest cover, environmental and health-related improvement that impact local communities and their prospects," according to research findings. 

The ministry in its mission statement noted that: "The actual consideration of environmental issues by the Government is based on the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) or 1992 Rio Summit. It is the starting point for a new dynamic in the national environmental policy. From then on, environment and sustainable development will be an integral part of public policies in Cameroon''.

But that has been more in speeches than concrete actions, which is why 37.7 percent of Cameroonians live in poverty, others die in floods, landslides and collapsed houses constructed without consideration for the topography. 

The Guardian Post, however, hopes that with anticipated pressure from the civil society, Yaounde will sit up and match speeches with concrete actions to reduce the level of poverty and the health hazards caused by climate change. 

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No:3135 of Tuesday June 18, 2024