Water catchment protection and forest conservation for sustainable climate change adaptation in Alatening community

Project Period: January to December 2023

Project Brief

The earmarked water catchment areas to be protected have been demarcated but not fenced either with a dead or life fence.  Fire tracing of the catchment areas done by the community with supervision from the environmentalist from SIRDEP. Fencing of the catchment area will be done using both life and dead fencing to prevent encroachment into the catchment both by man and straying animals. Barb wire and nails will be provided by the project funds while the community will provide local materials (sticks) and labor for the dead fence. Trees will be planted inside and close to the dead fence which will grow and form a life fence. These trees will be of water and environmental-friendly species. Priority will be given to trees of high economic value.

During the life of the project, 1500 trees will be purchased from certified producers and planted. The trees will be planted in the catchments while the community will allocate land for the community nurseries. Seeds will be purchased with technical assistance by the local services of Cameroon’s ministries of forestry and that of environment and nature protection. The capacity of the tree nurseries is estimated at 5000 seedlings for use by the community and other neighboring communities who would definitely be in need. The community will provide materials such as sticks, bamboos and palm branches for shade, while the project will provide nails and the technical knowledge required to set up and manage the nurseries. Some of the trees from the nursery will be sold and the funds used by the community for the continuous maintenance of the catchments, nursery upkeep, protection of other reserves and catchments.

The community will select 10 interested and enthusiastic community members who will be trained on water catchment protection, water scheme management and tree nursery management. They will ensure proper care of the protected forest areas and also ensure other forests in the community are protected. The community will also identify 08 of her members who are engaged in different activities in and around the catchment area for livelihoods and these will be trained on apiculture and each of them supported with a bee suit, a smoker and 03 modern beehives as a means of sustaining their livelihood and providing an alternative to their negative practice within the catchment and other forest reserve areas.

Livelihoods component

Also, 100 vulnerable community members including returnees of the socio-political conflict in the region will be profiled and trained on soya bean farming, processing in to flour, milk and marketing. Soya bean is chosen because it has a high nutritive value and there is increasing demand in the markets around the vicinity. At the start, each of the farmers will receive 2 bags each of 50kg organic manure and a kilogram of soya bean seeds. These will be purchased (with technical assistance from the ministry of agriculture) and distributed to beneficiaries for their farming activities after they must have been trained. Farming with organic manure will be very beneficial to the consumers as well as for the soil preservation rather than the use of chemical fertilizers. They will also be trained on organic manure (compost) production to be used on their farms for subsequent farming cycles. At harvesting, the beneficiaries will be trained on simple processing and packaging techniques for better preservation. Special labels will be produced for branding of their products for sale in both local and national markets. 

Community’s Participation and Involvement

The project will be carried out in Alatening village in Santa sub division of the North West region of Cameroon. They will be involved through the village development association, known as Alatening Cultural and Development Association (ACDA). ACDA will mobilize community members for the various activities and also serve as key entry institution alongside the Fon’s Palace, for all activities within the project. They will also provide the local materials for the dead fencing and for the setup of the two community nurseries as well as provide and secure the land for this purpose.

The community will assist in the selection of the most vulnerable to benefit from the agriculture/livelihood component of the project, including the bee farming as well as the members of the forest and catchment management committee.