Lebialem Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative
Landslides such these are common across Lebialem Highlands
Lebialem Division is found in the South West Province of Cameroon. This Division is characterized by a hilly topography with a rich diversity of flora and fauna. The mountain ecosystems through out the Lebialem Highland have been under serious pressure from the local people living within these ecosystems. Forest destruction is causing the local extinction of globally threatened biodiversity (plants and mammals etc ) watershed destruction and degradation of livelihood systems, property and live. The action of the local people, usually lead to untold suffering including homelessness, loss of income sources leading to extreme high levels of poverty, loss of cultural values and serious degradation of ecosystems and habitats. Yet, these areas are centres of high endemism for many taxa (plants, reptiles, amphibians, mammals and birds) whose destruction could lead to their extinction.
The Issue
Due to precedent geological and geographical history of these mountain areas and coupled to the high annual rainfall (3000-10.000mm) and humidity, these areas are perpetually having landslides on a yearly basis. The documentation of landslides along the Cameroon Volcanic Line (CVL), to which Lebialem Highlands belong, began from 1957 and has continued till the present day says Richard Goghomo, Geologist and Environmental scientist at the University of Yaounde 1, Cameroon. Landslides are caused by the anthropogenic activities of the mountain communities who ignorantly crop these ecosystems, even the marginal lands for survival (due to extreme poverty) removing the last remnant forest vegetation leaving landscapes vulnerable to erosion. As a consequence, there have been landslides that have caused hundreds of deaths, loss of property and loss of productive forest and land for farming including substantial loss of biodiversity species and habitats.
Lebialem highlands lie along the Cameroon mountains chain in the Western Highlands of Cameroon. It holds some of the globally threatened and endemic species such as the critically endangered Cross River gorilla, chimpanzee, flying squirrel, endangered Bannerman’s Turaco and Banded Wattle-eye, vulnerable Red-headed Picathartes and Data Deficient Monterio Bush-shrike, and several Red Data plant species like Prunus africana, Impatiens kamerunensis, Chassalia liakomensis and Scheffleria manni. Many of these species are also restricted in range. Similarly to the species diversity in the region, it possesses a heterogeneous ecosystem ranging from an assemblage of lowland, submontane/montane forests and savanna grassland to the north towards the Bamboutous mountain range. The montane forest in the northern part of these highlands, remain the last stronghold of montane biodiversity across the Bamboutous mountain range. These ecosystems continue to produce valuable goods and services to local people in the region and is an important watershed lodging the tributaries of Manyu River that drain into the Cross River.
 A view of the Landslide site
Impact
Deforestation, habitat fragmentation and the conversion of large forest areas into agricultural lands through slash and burn methods continue to have a deleterious effect on the survival of this unique ecosystem. In addition to hunting, lack of education and law enforcement are causing significant decreases in wildlife populations especially the globally threatened ones. The continuous destruction of ecosystems and the unsustainable exploitation of the region’s natural resources will certainly lead to the lost of the unique biodiversity if appropriate and timely measures are not taken to reverse this trend. Statistics recorded over the last 40 years (Nkembi, 2004); tend to abundantly indicate the urgent need to redress the landslide problems, as the region tends to coincide with areas of high population densities and high human activity as well as critical biodiversity sites and watersheds. In the landslides of 1957, 12 people died, one compound was swept away, 3000 people had to be resettled elsewhere and 200 people remained homeless. In 1998, one person was injured and property valued at US $42000 was damaged. In landslides of 2003 in the same region, 25 people died and property valued at US $803 773.6 was destroyed (Ministry of Territorial Adminstration and Decentralisation, 2003). Thus only concrete actions developed at the base and backed by adequate government supporting policies are necessary to overcome these calamities. It is within this framework that this project is being conceived.
Human victims of 2003 landslides at Magha, Lebialem Division
Opportunity
Data collected over the past 3 years by ERuDeF indicates that the region is biologically rich and is one of the remaining unique ecosystems in Cameroon after Mounts Cameroon, Oku and Kupe-Muanenguba. However, this information needs to be communicated to all stakeholders and transcribed into meaningful actions that will safeguard the biological uniqueness of the region. Over the past two years, ERuDeF has obtained community commitment through rapport building and education. The local people have understood the threats posed to the ecosystems by their actions and have resolved to find lasting solutions to guarantee protection of their livelihood systems and the ecosystems on which these livelihood systems depend. To them, this can only be achieved by the designation in the region of permanent land use options such wildlife and ecological reserves, community forests, reforestation, etc and a concerted community commitment through the development of communities’ development and strategic plans. Enhancing public awareness and influencing policy through the publication of research findings, organisation of a sub-regional workshop, production of a documentary on the region and the production of a strategic plan will be crucial to influencing government policy towards the development of permanent land-use options and attracting national and international partners. These activities will lead to the development of a « road map » for the long term management of the fragile ecosystems of the area, development of sustainable livelihood systems and conservation of the endangered and threatened biodiversity. The specific changes ERuDeF seeking to bring about include
- ) Development of sustainable livelihood systems across the highlands
- ) Increased public understanding of the unique biodiversity and need for protection of fragile ecosystems of Lebialem Highlands region, through the publication of research findings and organisation of a sub regional
- ) workshop on conservation of biodiversity and protection of fragile ecosystems in the region.
- ) Development of a sustainable natural resource management and community development frameworks through the development of a 5-year strategic plan for the region.
- ) Lobby and influence government to create a Technical Operational Unit (TOU) which will guarantee permanent land-use options for the region. This will also be achieved through the production of a documentary on the region.
- ) Improve networking opportunities and strengthen coalition building between like-minded organisations and forge new partnerships as an important step towards re-inforcing advocacy and sustained funding.
ERuDeF’s design considers both the ecological and human needs and seeks to reconcile them using an integrated approach. It makes use of collaborative approaches to harmonize the many land-use decisions of stakeholders with aims of restoring ecological integrity and enhancing the development of local communities and national economies. ERuDeF’s forest restoration programme builds on the concept and principle expounded by the “Global Partnership in Forest Landscape Restoration” and on the ITTO “Guidelines for the restoration, management and rehabilitation of degraded and secondary tropical forests”.
ERuDeF’s forest restoration approach considers the following salient features:
- landscape perspective.
- the “double filter” approach.
- its collaborative process.
- its cross spectrum approach that includes all degraded forest types.
ERuDeF’s forest restoration programme activities include; rehabilitation and management of primary forests, management of secondary forests and promotion of natural regeneration of degraded lands and marginal agricultural areas, ecological restoration, plantations and planted forests, agro-forestry
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