FAO, gov’t launch digital platform to strengthen wildlife governance.

The initiative is part of the Sustainable Wildlife Management Programme funded by the European Union and co-financed by the French Facility for Global Environment, FFEM.

The Legal Hub platform was rolled out in Yaounde last Friday November 7. This was during a workshop chaired by the Secretary General at the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife, Joseph Nyongwen. This was in the presence of FAO representative in Cameroon, Dr Antonio Querido.

It was attended by the representative of the European Union and his peer of the Central African Forest Commission, COMIFA.

The launching workshop focused on a demonstration of the use of Legal Hub, the presentation of the Sustainable Wildlife Management, SWM Programme and its implementation in Cameroon as a tool whose primary target is to enable government institutions and communities to manage and sustainably use natural land resources under their care. 

Authorities also used the event to provide an overview of the legal diagnostic tools and methodology developed by the SWM Programme consortium and the FAO, and the sharing of crucial findings from the legal analysis in the wildlife sector among other activities. 

They also outlined the next steps that will be taken on the wildlife management scheme and focused on the production of a roadmap for legal reform support and the development of training modules for various audiences in the sector. 

According to authorities, the move to strengthen governance, supporting legal reforms and promoting sustainable practices by making legal texts and analyses accessible through the Legal Hub platform, the government, the FAO and their partners are focused on using the tool as a key component in efforts to change the dynamic in the wildlife sector in Cameroon. 

This, they argued, is more importantly so especially considering the fact that the introduction of the platform comes at a time when the decline in the quantity of wildlife resources threatens the sector, especially issues linked to food security and the livelihoods of rural communities in Cameroon.

They said the new component of the SWM Programme whose activities are led in Cameroon by the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry, supports the recent promulgation of the new forestry and wildlife law in Cameroon last year.

The law was introduced in July last year as the lead legislation marking Cameroon’s commitment to conservation, the preservation of communities’ customary rights and the fight against poaching and environmental crime.

Platform timely addition to wildlife sector

The representative of the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife described the Legal Hub as a timely addition to the wildlife sector in Cameroon.

Speaking while launching the platform, Joseph Nyongwen said the new scheme will go a long way in promoting the sustainable use of wildlife resources by indigenous peoples and local communities by notably facilitating access to information and other guidelines aimed among others at tackling challenges linked to poaching and other issues.

“The Legal Hub is much more than a simple legal tool. It is the symbol of a political will to strengthen the rule of law in the field of forestry and wildlife, to fight against the illegal exploitation of natural resources, and to promote environmental and social justice. It is an instrument of transparency, accountability and multilateral dialogue that will contribute to reducing conflicts related to access and use of natural resources,” Nyongwen stated.

“The launch of the Legal Hub is a call for action. It invites us to strengthen environmental governance, to protect our biodiversity and to ensure that every tree cut down, every animal taken, every state exploited is in compliance with the law and human rights,” the representative of the Wildlife ministry stated.

He said the launch of the digital platform is the latest fruit of the longstanding win-win partnership that the government has engaged in over the last years in its bid to promote good practices in the wildlife sector in Cameroon.

Nyongwen stated that a project to facilitate the further enhancement of the scheme was signed in September 2023 following the launch of the second phase of the SWM programme where Cameroon was selected as one of the 17 pilot countries after the end of the first phase earlier that year.

The Wildlife ministry’s representative detailed that a workshop was notably organized earlier this year to examine documents and legal analysis of the different texts to that effect to have a clear view of the situation.

Strengthening longstanding commitment 

FAO representative, Dr Querido in his speech during the event, reechoed the points that were made by the representative of the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife.

He said the launch of the digital platform demonstrates the shared will of the FAO, the government of Cameroon, the European Union and other partners in working together for the sustainable management of forests with their biodiversity in Cameroon and facilitating the reduction of hunger and poverty among local and indigenous communities.

Dr Querido detailed that FAO is through the programme, strongly supporting Cameroon in the implementation of the 2020 strategy of the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife especially its second component which focuses on securing and enhancing wildlife resources and protected area

Per the FAO representative in Cameroon, the scheme is fully in line with the United Nations’ food and agriculture agency’s country programming framework in Cameroon, particularly its fourth effect which pays attention to the sustainable management of environmental resources. 

“A strategic tool for environmental justice: The Legal Hub is much more than a digital platform: It is a lever for legal transformation, an intersectoral dialogue space, and an instrument for empowering rural communities. It will strengthen transparency, accountability, and equitable access to legal information,” the FAO representative added. 

“…The Legal Hub is a strategic tool for environmental justice, a response to sustainability and resilience and a collaborative and inclusive approach,” Dr Querido further stated. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3621 of Monday November 10, 2025