North West: Support Humanity Cameroon leads ecosystem restoration in Ngoketunjia Plateau.

The initiative, funded by the UNCCD-G20 Global Land Initiative Return Grants, focuses on restoring the Mbingmboh watershed while supporting sustainable livelihoods in the surrounding communities. The project, which spans one year, officially kicked off recently in Bamunkumbit in the Ngoketunjia Division.

SUHUCAM opened the project with an inception meeting involving stakeholders. The Executive Coordinator of SUHUCAM and project lead, Sunday Geofrey, outlined the key components of the initiative, which include the establishment of nurseries, tree planting and supported natural regeneration of the Mbingmboh watershed, sustainable livelihood support through beekeeping, capacity building in climate-smart agriculture, distribution of agroforestry tree species to smallholder farmers, and the creation of the Mbingmboh Water Management Committee.

“At Support Humanity Cameroon, we believe that when communities are empowered, they lead. This is not our project, this is your project, and we want to see the continuous engagement and ownership of this project by the community,” Geofrey said after the meeting.

As part of the initial activities, SUHUCAM facilitated a tree planting session along the Mbingmboh watershed. Over 500 trees were planted including Bambusa vulgaris and Raphia mambillensis. The tree species were selected for their ecological benefits, such as stabilising riverbanks and improving water retention. The event marked the beginning of wider restoration efforts planned across the watershed.

Why restoring Mbingmboh river is important

According to SUHUCAM, years of deforestation, bushfires, unsustainable farming and the impact of climate change have severely degraded the watershed of the Mbingmboh River, which is a crucial water source for several groups including pastoralists, smallholder farmers, sand miners and fisherfolk. The organisation added that the decline has led to reduced agricultural productivity and growing threats to rural livelihoods in the communities the river flows through, notably Bamunkumbit, Baligashu, Bafanji and Bambalang villages.

“We used to have enough water to drink but things are changing. Last year, all water sources were dry in the dry season and we were forced to fetch water from one single source. Over five horses died during this time because they didn’t have water to drink. This has never happened here before,” Bouba, a pastoralist revealed.

The Mbingmboh restoration is part of the broader Bamunkumbit Integrated Community Forest, BICFOR, initiative, which SUHUCAM launched in 2019 to address land degradation and climate pressures in the North West region.

Community hails initiative

The community, via its traditional leaders, welcomed the project and called on local youth to actively support its implementation.

“Restoring this river is restoring our future,” one of the leaders, Pa Ayah Edward, remarked during the launch.

The launch also involved young volunteers, many of whom expressed their commitment to environmental action and community engagement.

“I am happy to enhance the engagement of indigenous and local communities in sustainable restoration efforts. I look forward to further participating in climate adaptation initiatives for vulnerable communities in my country,” a SUHUCAM volunteer, Sandra Tuombouh, noted.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3554 of Thursday September 04, 2025