To preserve livelihoods, conserve wildlife: African Wildlife Foundation helping Bagyelis transition to farming.

This, they said, has been exemplified through the life of one of the locals in the Bagyeli community in the Campo Ma’an National Park who adopted farming as a means of livelihood.

One of the Bagyelis, Jean Daniel Ndongo, who grew up in Nyamabande, a village bordering Campo Ma’an National Park, where the forest shaped their identity, income, and daily life, gave a different view of livelihood after AWF’s intervention.

He said like many men in his community, he learned to track wildlife from his father, and for years, he crossed into the park to hunt, sometimes vanishing for weeks.

"My village used to be located in the Park many years ago. So, I know every part of the park. There were times I would spend more than 30 days inside the Park hunting because that’s all we knew. My father taught me how to track animals, how to survive it was our tradition,” Ndongo recalled. 

He recounted having enrolled in the first phase of AWF’s training which began across 9.1 hectares in Nyamabande, Nkongo, and Nkolmelen villages.  Through the training, Ndongo said they were provided inputs, and day‑to‑day coaching that respected local knowledge and ensured community ownership. 

Ndongo added that: “Farming opened my eyes. Now I can feed my family, including my grandchildren. I no longer need to go into the forest to hunt I have something I can build on”.

He disclosed that the shift is visible on his piece of land with broad plantain leaves, cassava, cocoyam, and groundnuts, good soil, young rubber trees providing a cushion for the days ahead.

Ndonog noted that what began as an economic alternative is fast becoming a community identity rooted in stewardship.

Sustaining a new legacy

For Ndongo, the legacy he is passing to his grandchildren is changing from bushmeat to agroforestry, from uncertainty to planned harvests. He said he now walks as a neighbour and protector of wildlife. 

AWF Community Associate, Lydie Nguesse, disclosed that the villages participated at every step from land preparation to planting and seasonal maintenance.

Families, Nguesse said, now see themselves as co‑authors of change. The change in mentality, she said, is fast reducing the incentive to enter the Park illegally and is also anchoring conservation in their everyday livelihoods.

“The rubber project is more than farming, it is about restoring dignity, creating sustainable livelihoods, and helping communities reclaim their role as guardians of the forest,” the Community Associate said, adding that: “We hope this model will empower families for generations”.

AWF, Nguesse added, is “…already seeing signs of recovery, elephant and gorilla populations are stabilizing, juvenile sightings of these and other species are increasing”.

She noted that “This is a strong indicator of a healthier ecosystem and is a result of reduced human pressure and stronger community engagement”.

The Community Associate added that, AWF is helping farmers organize cooperatives ahead of the first harvests expected around April 2026. “Cooperatives will pool volumes, improve quality control, and strengthen bargaining power with buyers like HEVECAM”.

Such moves, she said, are “key steps to ensuring a fair share of value returns to households with diversified food and cocoa crops will continue to meet daily needs”.

Context & partnerships

According to AWF, its presence in the community is to help Bagyeli families shift from poaching to sustainable farming, easing pressure on Campo Ma’an National Park while improving livelihoods.

In 2020, AWF and the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife, MINFOF, launched a community conservation partnership in the area. Officials said it was to reduce pressure on the Park and create dignified, sustainable livelihoods for indigenous families. 

With funding from the Foundation for Environment and Development in Cameroon, FEDEC, and support from the Cameroon Oil Transportation Company, COTCO, AWF teamed up with Hévéa Cameroun SA, HEVECAM, to initiate the forest community into rubber cultivation and diversified food crops. This, AWF officials said, were viable alternatives to poaching which was introduced to the community.

AWF noted that, in partnership with HEVECAM technicians, it trained participating households in soil health, nursery management, spacing, and inter‑cropping.

Bagyelis, AWF said have equally been trained in pairing rubber saplings with staples such as plantain, cassava, cocoyam, maize, groundnuts, and cocoa to provide short‑term food security and income while the rubber matures.

It should be noted that, Campo Ma’an National Park is home to elephants, gorillas, and other threatened species. AWF officials said as alternative income sources grow, community members are making fewer hunting intrusions.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3632 of Friday November 21, 2025