What we do
COMBATING CLIMATE CHANGE
We are working in the field of climate change, both to raise awareness and to take concrete action on the ground to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, particularly with regard to Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+).
In terms of awareness-raising, CARFAD members have been trained by Al Gore’s climate project (former Vice President of the United States of America). One of the key initiatives in this area was a seminar to raise awareness among Cameroonian parliamentarians about private forestry and climate change.
Concrete actions to reduce greenhouse gases include:
- The project to support community agroforestry in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which involved setting up around 1,100 ha of agroforestry plantations and planting over 3 million trees. The project was financed by the Congo Basin Forest Fund and managed by the African Development Bank (ADB)
- Support of Yoko council on drafting project ideas aimed at Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) project
- Project to support the process of setting up an innovative and inclusive REDD+ ‘action pole’ in and around the LOKOUNDJE community with a view to its involvement in the deployment of Cameroon's REDD+ strategy. Project financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF)
- Setting up Local Ecological Development Poles in the Littoral Region
BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION
Our actions in the field of biodiversity conservation focus particularly on marine biodiversity, support for the development of protected areas plans and its management, the fight against poaching, the search for alternatives to bushmeat and conservation outside protected areas, particularly in wildlife migration corridors.
CARFAD remains convinced that concrete action to protect biodiversity can be taken outside protected areas, because if there is no demand for bushmeat, no poacher will go hunting of wild animals. This is how we aim to link food security and biodiversity protection.
- Projet d’alternatives à la viande de brousse en périphérie Ouest du Sanctuaire à gorilles de Mengamé
- Evaluation environnementale et sociale stratégique des projets autour de la réserve de faune du Dja (site du patrimoine mondial de l’UNESCO).
Major actions in this area include :
- Technical support project to eradicate the transport of wildlife products by train along the Yaoundé - Ngaoundéré railway. This project was financed by the World Bank and was jointly managed by CAMRAIL and the Ministry of Forests and Fauna (MINFOF)
- Project for alternatives to bushmeat in the western periphery of the Mengamé Gorilla Sanctuary. The project
- Strategic environmental and social assessment of projects around the Dja wildlife reserve (UNESCO World Heritage Site).
AGROFORESTRY, COMMUNITY FORESTRY AND LANDSCAPE RESTORATION
CARFAD works for the involvement of communities in forestry, whether as individuals (private forestry) or as communities (community and communal forests). In the case of community forests, our areas of interest are governance, in particular the VPA-FLEGT and forest certification.
CARFAD is also interested in sacred forests. Major actions in this area include:
- Support project for community agroforestry in the Democratic Republic of Congo (project financed by the Congo Basin Forest Fund managed by the African Development Bank)
- Project to support the Kadey community forestry federation in the process of obtaining certificates of legality and for timber marketing (project funded by the European Union)
- Governance support project for the community forestry project to combat poverty in the diocese of Batouri (project funded by the FAO/FLEGT programme).
ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL ASSESSMENT AND RISK MANAGEMENT
In order to make these actions more pragmatic, CARFAD has focused on environmental and social assessment. The focus is on the development and implementation of all environmental and social assessment tools, including:
- Strategic environmental and social assessment
- Environmental and social impact assessment
- Environmental and social audits
- Implementation of Environmental Management Systems (ISO 14001)
- Development of Resettlement Action Plans
- Third Party Monitoring (TPM) for the verification of the compliance of compensation statements for people affected by the Project, Resettlement Action Plans (RAPs) and audit their implementation
- Environmental and Social Management Framework
- Resettlement Policy Framework
- Stakeholder Engagement Plan
- Waste management
- Hazard studies and emergency plans
- Implementation of the Environmental and Social Responsibility Strategy
REGIONAL AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT
Our work here focuses on land and resource management. Our areas of interest include: regional development schemes, land use plans and environmental assessments.
Major initiatives in this area include:
- The regional land use and sustainable development plan for the Eastern Region of Cameroon
- Preparation of the state of the environment in Cameroon in 2018
- Elaboration of land-use plan for Ngoumou municipality, phase 2: development scenarios and justification report
- Elaboration of land use plans for Ngoumou municipality: Phase 1: Territorial diagnosis
CULTURE, ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
- Convinced that the cultural dimension plays a vital role in the management of the environment and natural resources, CARFAD is working in this direction to assess people's perceptions of the activities it carries out.
- CARFAD has collaborated with the African Itinerant College on Culture and Development (AICCD), which is a regional coordinating and monitoring body for a network of experts and institutions responsible for research, training and the dissemination of information on Culture and Development in Africa.
- The AICCD's mission is to create endogenous human resource capacities and strengthen research and training institutions with a view to promoting the sustainable use of Africa's resources by enhancing the societal and cultural dimensions of development.