• Sustainable use of natural resources

Participatory Kilum-Ijim Mountain Forest management through forest regeneration and apiculture for livelihood improvement

ICON/BTN/arrow/2/arrow-down Created with Sketch. Participatory Kilum-Ijim Mountain Forest management through forest regeneration and apiculture for livelihood improvement

The project is located in 6 community forests that make up the Oku Community Forest, (FCO, 30,000 ha), 3 hours by car from Bamenda, capital of the North-West region of Cameroon, and 500 km from the capital Yaoundé. FCO is part of the Kilum-Ijim Forest Complex (300,000 ha), which gave the name to the first community forest created by Birdlife in 1987, including Mount Oku, which rises to 3,011 m and represents the second peak. West Africa. These mountainous forests are very rich in biodiversity, in particular ornithological, (the endangered Bannerman’s turaco is endemic to the region), in medicinal plants, spices, and although devoid of species of commercial interest for loggers. They are threatened by the extension of agricultural land, invasion by goats and bush fires caused by the harvest of wild honey.

 

CAMGEW works to promote non-timber forest products: white Oku honey, (which has a Protected Geographical Indication, derived from the nectar of trees such as Nuxia congesta, Prunus africana, Schefflera abyssinica), and Prunus africana, overexploited, because of its significant economic value, (the bark is used as a treatment for prostate cancer).

 

A first PPI, (phase 3), took place in Kilum: 219 beehives were made of which 108 were colonized: they will provide honey in May 2015; in addition, 6,600 prunus seedlings have been planted in the forest and are being maintained.

 

These products can increase the income of the populations and at the same time ensure a level of protection of the forest in the short and long term. Thanks to the present project Camgew will extend the achievements of the previous PPI to the inaccessible area called Ijim, located on the other side of the mountain range, more precisely in the villages of Bihkov, Belo, Ajung, Tumako, Fundong and Mbessa. The project will directly involve 180 people in beekeeping, 80 in plantations and 5 trainers. More than 600 families will indirectly benefit from the project.

Détails du projet
Pays : Cameroun
Financeurs : 3
Durée du projet : 18 mois
Convention : 16/03/2015
Principales activités

In each village, 3 trainers will hold 2 beekeeping training sessions bringing together a total of 180 people: these people will be trained in the manufacture of beehives and in the production of white honey according to IGP standards; at least 100 of them should become members of the Oku Honey Cooperative Society, which ensures the purchase of white honey at a price higher than that of common (brown) honey;

 

50 people have 100 beehives; at the end of the project, approximately 75 will have been colonized, and during a harvest they will have produced 5 liters of white honey each, for a total production of 375 liters and generated income of 1.3 M FCFA (2000 €) (1 liter being sold at 3,500 FCFA);

 

2 trainers will conduct agroforestry training in each of the 6 villages so that the populations are able to cultivate the 20,000 seedlings and seeds of trees and local plants used in agroforestry with which they will be provided by the project (locally common fruit trees as well as Calliandra, Tephrosia, Sesbania, acacia, advised by Birdlife and Trees for the Future); these melliferous species will be planted on the outskirts of the Kilum Ijim Forest;

 

the 219 hives of PPI 3 are maintained to know the colonization rate and honey production: two harvests will first bring 800 l of honey and 2.8 M FCFA (4,300 €) from 160 colonized hives then, at the end of the project , 1000 l of honey and 3.5 M FCFA (5 400 €) from 200 hives (i.e. a colonization rate of 90%); the total income will amount to € 9,700;

 

1000 eucalyptus trees will be destroyed because this species draws water from the soil, does not allow vegetation to form under the trees and its leaves do not rot and provide no humus;

 

To facilitate the work of each Forest Management Institution, each community sets up an informal multi-partner platform bringing together forest users, government and traditional authorities, CAMGEW and the IMF;

 

A management plan “Community Forest Management Plan” is drawn up and adopted in the villages of Bihkov, Akeh and Ajung;

 

About 8 outings in the forests and classroom sessions will be planned for about 1000 children and young people in primary and secondary schools;

 

Radio broadcasts will continue to be broadcast by Oku Community Radio and Kumbo City Community Radio to promote sustainable forest management, applicable law, beekeeping methods, etc.

Emmanuel Binyuy Wirsiy
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