Society

Minister launches guide to boost management of protected forests in SW.

by Deric
02 Jul 2024 19:46
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Front view of launched document

The Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife through the Programme for the Sustainable Management of Natural Resources in the South West Region, PSMNR-SW, has launched a guide that defines the roles played by local communities and their involvement in the planning and decision-making about the management of protected areas.

The Minister of Forestry and Wildlife, Jules Doret Ndongo, launched the guide Thursday June 27 in Limbe.

The new document titled: “Guide to the Involvement of Local Communities in the Management of Protected Areas”, aims to boost the integrity of protected areas and the development of neighbouring communities.

This was presence of conservators of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, forest agents, administrative, security, traditional and municipal authorities and members of the civil society.

The minister outlined that the new document thus addresses all shortcomings in previous efforts while taking into account the interests of concerned communities in the management of protected areas.

The manual is structured in four parts, with part one focusing on the structure, membership and missions.

Stakeholders during the launching ceremony

Part two of the document focuses on mandates of collaborative management structures while part three borders on overall conditions including mobilisation, selection criteria, duration, substitution and reorganisation. The fourth part duels on the functioning of the structure.

The 20-page document captures the government’s desire to promote inclusive development as outline in it NDS 2030 in the wildlife and protected areas sector hinged on intensifying actions to protect species and representative ecosystems, promoting ecotourism, securing protected areas and fighting against poaching.

Speaking to the press after the ceremony, the Mayor of Mundemba Council in Ndian Division, Ekenue Samuel Osang, said the guide was timely and will help address many preoccupying challenges.

“This guide will help the population know how to interact with different government agents in the area thus limiting the tension between stakeholders in the past. It will limit poaching and logging within the park areas and reduce friction between state agents and the local population,” he said.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No: 3156 of Tuesday July 02, 2024