MINFOF Gets New Boss, Amid Growing Conservation Concerns

The Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF), now has a new boss to pilot its activities. Jules Doret Ndongo, was appointed through a president decree of Friday March 2, 2018. He takes over from Philip Ngolle Ngwesse, who has been heading the Ministry for over 5 years now.

Yanick Fonki

Jules Doret Ndongo, hitherto served as Minister Delegate at the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation. He was in charge of Decentralised Territorial Communities, a position he held since 2009.

Haven served the Government for over 17 years, Jules Doret Ndongo, is an old-hand in administration. He will surely be needing a lot of it in driving the international governance treaties on conservation of biodiversity.

Minister Ndongo is coming to MINFOF at the time when regional stakeholders rounded a 3-day conference on restoring Lake Chad. He will have to understudy the Paris COP-21 resolution aiming at implementing measures on restoring the degraded Lake Chad landscape.

Creation of more protected areas to conserve the last remaining flora and fauna, will surely be another task for Minister Ndongo. Presently, a host of proposed protected areas, have been earmarked for gazettment. However, the government’s good intentions have often been misinterpreted by the communities adjacent to the proposed area. Communities put up stiff resistance whenever attempts are made to protect the flora and fauna around their communities.

In that light, the new MINFOF boss will have to merge his tactical administration prowess with the authority of his new office, to overcome such challenges.

Over and above, the restive Anglophone crisis is heaping greatly on the conservation of Flora and Fauna. Over 7 protected areas have been hit directly and/or indirectly. For instance, the crisis is having untold effects in the Takamanda and Korup National Park, Bayang-Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary, and the Barombi-Mbo Forest Reserves, have all been encroached by humans.

Many now live in these protected areas following the conflicts between separatist forces and Cameroon military. Such fighting have let to the burning of houses, maiming, abductions, and arbitrary arrests. For such reasons, many have fled into the wild.

Hence, the adjacent wildlife are more or less used as food by the encroachers and the flora, used for shelter and more. Burning of the forest, considered a taboo per the 1994 forestry law, now occur uncontrolled. Many large mammals and endangered tree species, are very vulnerable following the invasion of the space.

Recently, MINFOF workers, and stakeholders exploiting the forest, have come under heavy attacks from the separatist fighters, who burn forestry properties, and destroy infrastructure used for conservation.

It is therefore hoped that, the new MINFOF boss will probe into the aforementioned plus more challenges, and provide palpable solutions.