Endangered Wildlife Of Lebialem Losing Forest Homes

Burgeoning deforestation, overhunting and poaching in the Lebialem conservation complex in the Southwest Region of Cameroon are promoting threats to the already huge population of endangered animals in the area.

“Not only the Cross River Gorilla, the Nigerian-Cameroon Chimpanzee, Forest Elephant, the Red River Hog and even the rare bird, the Bannerman Turaco, are in dire straits, but the impoverished people who depend largely on the conservation complex and its resources for survival, are further deprived as their livelihood base is depleted,” says Louis Nkembi, CEO of the Environment and Rural Development Foundation (ERuDeF) a local NGO engaged in the conservation of endangered wildlife species and fragile ecosystems.

By Azore Opio

ERuDeF bio-monitors often find wire snares set to trap the animals, spent cartridges and signs of landscape degradation in the forests of the conservation complex, which harbours protected areas like the newly created Tofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary and proposed protected areas such as the Proposed Mak-Betchou Wildlife Sanctuary, Proposed Mount Bamboutous Integral Ecological Reserve and the Nkingwa Hills.

The Cameroon wildlife laws protect the Cross River Gorilla, the Nigeria-Cameroon Chimpanzee, and the Forest Elephant.

“In order to curb deforestation which usually causes

habitat loss and habitat fragmentation, the communities need to be involved in conservation interventions to maintain biological diversity, gene flow and uplift livelihoods of the local communities,” says Nkembi. “This approach is expected to restore the biological diversity of the conservation complex and improve the livelihood of the community households.”

The Lebialem Highlands Conservation Complex is part of the Guineo-congolian forest with rich biodiversity of global conservation and economic importance, hence the full engagement of the communities to participate in conservation will help to reduce population decline of species, restore the ecosystems of the complex and uplift poverty in the adjacent communities involved.