Rainforest Trust USA Provides Three Year Funding For Mak-Betchou

 One of the world’s leaders in the protection of tropical ecosystems and wildlife, Rainforest Trust-USA, has approved a 3-year funding for the Proposed Mak-Betchou Wildlife Sanctuary. The funding, which is to the tune of over US$700 000, will from 2016 to 2019 support the final completion of the creation of the Mak-Betchou Wildlife Sanctuary.  It will also help in the development and implementation of the Management Plan for the Tofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary.

This gesture has been greeted with lots of ecstasy by the President/CEO of ERuDeF, Louis Nkembi. “This is a historic success for ERuDeF and I heartily thank the CEO of Rainforest Trust for this wonderful support. ERuDeF remains indebted to Rainforest Trust for this generous donation” Mr. Louis said.

The President/CEO said this funding is a bold step towards providing a safe haven to some over 300 chimpanzees, unknown population of gorillas, over 100 elephants as well as other endangered wildlife and plants in the Proposed Mak-betchou Wildlife Sanctuary. Unknown population of Drills (Mandrillus leuceupheaus), 6 globally threatened birds species as well as other endangered fauna and flora.

This support comes some three months after the African Conservation Officer of Rainforest Trust Dr. Sally Laahm, recently, after spending two nights biomonitoring wildlife in Mak-Betchou, expressed her desire for the gazettment of this biodiversity hotspot

            “I regret for not being able to have an extended visit, but as a wildlife biologist and from a biological conservation view point, I think it needs protection as soon as possible especially with human communities living around it and the pressure that they have for land and resources” Dr. Sally Laahm opined.

It is thus, hoped that this gesture from Rainforest Trust-USA, will salvage the deteriorating plight of wildlife in this Proposed Wildlife Sanctuary.  For instance in 2014, ERuDeF Field Guide discovered the carcass of decapitated elephants twice in the Mak-Betchou Forest Block. These were just some of this large mamma possibly killed for their tusks to supply the world market with illicit ivory. Who knows how many other carcasses that get rotten undiscovered?

The support from Rainforest Trust also comes to supplement ERuDeF’s conservation efforts in this biodiversity hotspot within the last 17 years

Steps Made So Far in the Gazetting Process

In a bid to conserve and ensure the sustainable management of natural resources in this area, ERuDeF in 2007 launched research and conservation works in this forest area known then as the Mone Forest Reserve & Mbin Mak forest. This received stiff resistance from the locals and elites who saw it as a move to “take their forest away from them” and deprive them of their God-given source of living.

Through continuous survey, sensitization/education, livelihood support and economic development projects in the forest area, ERuDeF gradually changed the mind of most of the local communities’ in favour of conservation. With available data and the urgent need to save this biodiversity hot spot from total destruction, this conservation non-profit Organisation in collaboration with divisional and regional officials of the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF) held the regional classification meeting which culminated in the submission of a technical note in 2014 to the Minister of Forestry and Wildlife insisting on the necessity for creating a sanctuary in Mak-Betchou.

Even at this level, elites and traditional rulers still had nostalgia feelings over the gazetting of PMBWS complicating the gazetting process. In August 20, 2015, the former Southwest Regional Delegate MINFOF, Mr. Samuel Ebai Eben, at behest of ERuDeF, convened a meeting, bringing together traditional rulers from communities adjacent to the proposed wildlife sanctuary, ERuDeF technical staff and MINFOF officials, to elicit a concrete consensus that will justify and facilitate the process of creating the Proposed Mak-Betchou Wildlife Sanctuary.

            This meeting harvested the endorsement of all traditional rulers including those who had hitherto been resistant to the gazetting strive.

With all stake holders now singing in one voice, one of the remaining factors that was to impede the gazetting of Mak-Betchou was the availability of funding. With the 3-year funding from Rainforest Trust-USA, one can only hope that in the next few years, the name of this biodiversity hotspot will change from “The Proposed Mak-Betchou Wildlife Sanctuary” to “Mak-Betchou Wildlife Sanctuary.

The Proposed Mak-Betchou Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Fontem Subdivision, Lebialem Division, Southwest Cameroon, between the longitudes 586000m and 596000 m and 598000m and 606000m cutting across three Fondoms; Lebang, Essoh-Attah and Njoagwi and adjacent to about 15 communities.

By Bertrand Shancho Ndimuh