Giving back ‘homes’ to ancestors by restoring sacred forests.

These sacred places are managed by the traditional rulers (chiefs) or chief priests of the villages and not everyone is allowed to enter into them. 

In some communities, water resources, which are sources of life, are also sacred. These sacred forests and streams are biodiversity hotspots in villages. Source of the medicinal plants and foods in these sacred forests, are part of the peoples’ cultural heritage. 

In the North West Region of Cameroon, they make up part of the grass fields cultural heritage. 

Traditional and indigenous communities are of the religious belief that trees and plants are sacred in nature with religious zeal and connotations. These forest areas and streams have been protected since ages by traditional societies with their socio-cultural and religious practices. 

In the yesterdays, the cutting down of trees in these sacred forests were prohibited. Trees were not axed except when wood was needed for religious purposes like construction and repair of palaces of traditional rulers or in cases like worshiping, death ceremonies and rituals. Thus, in the past these patches of forests used to carry direct and everlasting pious status and assist in biodiversity conservation and they provided habitats for several mammals, birds, amphibians and tree species. 

The sacred forests were among the safe place where animals, birds and amphibians usually sought refuge to reproduce because hunting was prohibited. 

Challenges 

Today, with the growing population, human pressure is now being exerted on all these sacred forests and streams, which are found scattered throughout the various villages of the North West, West and South West Regions of Cameroon.  

In the North West Region, which is essentially savannah, and mainly habituated by grass, the growing population has had negative impact on these sacred areas. 

In the past, they were conserved by local communities based on their habits and customs because they are not taken into account by the 1994 law on forests in Cameroon. What used to be a large forest is today made up of few trees and few raffia palms. The complete absence of a legal instrument to protect the sacred forests is giving room to massive destruction and communities are gradually losing part of their heritage. 

The quest for fuel wood, charcoal burning and logging is having untold damages of these heritage sites, whereas these forests are crucial for achieving the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Post 2020 Agenda of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, CBD. Therefore, the lack of awareness in terms of long-term future benefits has also resulted in the destruction of sacred forests. 

Various religious beliefs, influx of western cultures and conversion to other religions has led to axing of plants for monetary benefit, wood, timber, farming and burning of charcoal. Others do it just to challenge tradition etc.

Enter Youth Development Organisation-YODO/GLFx Nkambe

A community-based organisation known as Youth Development Organisation located in Nkambe, Donga Mantung Division, Mezam Division of the North Wst Region, recently kick-started a two-year community-driven reafforestation project that seeks to demarcate, map and restore six sacred forests/streams in the Nkambe plateau. The idea consists of nurturing 25,000 native economic tree species (15,000 Prunus Africana, 10,000 raffia) and 5,000 Calliandra (bees loving trees) to restore over 40 hectares of sacred forest land destroyed by farmers and rampant bush fires.

According to Fai Cassian Ndi, Coordinator of YODO/GLFx Nkambe, engaging communities in an open dialogue to seek solution to the situation of the sacred sites like sacred forests and streams is the first step towards restoration. He said the two-year project, which seeks to engage communities and traditional institutions to actively participate in the restoration of the small patches of biodiversity hotspots and heritage sites, intends to grow over 25,000 economic and environmental-friendly trees in six sacred sites and equally create six school gardens. 

The project was launched on July 23, 2024 at Binshua sacred forest and it is funded by Andrew Mellon Foundation and the Heritage Management Organisation through HerMap Africa Project, commonly known as the Mellon grants for Heritage and Socioeconomic Development.  

Fai Cassian expressed gratitude and thanks to Andrew Mellon Foundation and the Heritage Management Organisation for providing funds for the restoration of community biodiversity hotspots which have cultural significance and serve as carbon sinks in the villages. 

Nfor Blessing, Project Manager, said 90% of these small patches of forests in the North West Region have lost more than 60% of their total surface area. She added that the situation in the Nkambe plateau is precarious as these small patches of forests are disappearing at a geometric rate. 

Harping on the importance of restoring sacred forests and streams, she emphasised that restoring the sacred forests will help in providing a sustainable lifestyle for communities given that it is the Gross Domestic Product, GDP, for the poor and a source of medicine, as well as place where traditional values and cultural practices are passed to generations. 

“It is a huge heritage in itself,” she stated. 

The traditional ruler of Saah village, HRH Fon Divine Nformi Nfor, said he personally mobilised and participated in the tree planting exercise in his village. He regrets that this generation is losing touch with nature and this initiative to restore sacred sites is highly welcome. 

“I will make sure that every time, these trees that have been planted are well taken care of during the dry season. If we don’t protect what nature gives us, who will do it for us. Protecting sacred sites in my village is now a collective responsibility,” he noted. 

At the end of 2024, YODO planted about 5,000 native trees in three sites, notably the Binshua sacred forest, the Bih water catchment and the Saah water catchment.