ECOCLUB, Issue 92
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19
Developing Ecotourism in the Cameroon highlands
by Tim Woods*
The north-west highlands of Cameroon are a spectacular mountain region. With several trekking routes, diverse wildlife and
friendly locals, the potential for ecotourism is huge. However, there is currently little tourism development in the region. Green
Care, a local environmental group, has ambitious plans to change this.
Green Care works in partnership with other environmental groups.
BTCV International, a practical conservation charity based in the UK,
has already started running holidays in Cameroon. Volunteers will
help to plant native trees in the region to protect water catchments and
get involved with other environmental activities. Working with these
overseas visitors will help Green Care members to develop vital
skills, such as catering for groups and planning trekking expeditions. I
visited Green Care earlier this year on behalf of BTCV International.
The partnership between the two organisations is continually
developing, and in 2007 BTCV offered their first conservation
holidays to Cameroon. Having previously conducted research into the
impacts of ecotourism on communities in the Western Ghats in India,
I was particularly interested in how Green Care planned to ensure that
their environmental projects benefited local people and included
them. At present, there is no suggestion that everyone will benefit
directly from ecotourism; the projects will be small-scale, and given
the lack of tourism in Cameroon it is likely that visitor numbers will
be low at first. However, ecotourism will help to support the community forest, a project which is of vital importance to the
people, the wildlife and the environment in this fragile part of West Africa.
Green Care is based in Shisong village. Their key objectives are to protect and enhance the local environment. Activities include
agricultural training for local farmers (for example keeping bees and wild pigs) and planting trees to protect water supplies.
They also run environmental awareness campaigns, such as information about the risk of fire. They now hope to develop
ecotourism to support environmental regeneration efforts and supplement livelihoods in the region.
There is some tourism development in the region. The nearby town of Oku has several small scale ecotourism ventures,
including forest walks and bird watching trips. However, there is frustration the lack of progress in developing the tourism
industry in Cameroon, especially considering the array of cultural and national attractions in the country. This is mainly due to a
lack of marketing skills and the limited infrastructure in the region.
Tourism in northwest Cameroon could bring much-needed additional income into this remote region, where agriculture provides
a stable but limited income for most people. Possibilities include local people working as trekking guides or setting up
accommodation, and tourists buying food and supplies from local businesses and markets. The region already receives visitors,
due to a highly reputed hospital in Shisong, so there is a potential source of African tourists as well as overseas visitors.
A community forest
In the past few years, Green Care have campaigned hard for a community forest in the region. This is an important feature of
their long term ecotourism plan. There is a site about 20 kilometres from Shisong with several remaining fragments of montane
forest which can be reconnected. Green Care have managed to obtain support for a community forest from all levels of the
community, from villagers near the proposed site to the regional environmental departments. Most importantly, they also have
approval from the local fon, the traditional chief of the region whose decision in such matters is final. The next steps are to
establish a Forest Management Committee and identify the exact forest boundary. They will then map the site and prepare an
inventory of plants and animal species, to use as a baseline for monitoring changes in biodiversity over time.
Community involvement in environmental projects is a key feature of Green Care’s work. For example, a local residents’
committee manage each of the catchment projects, which replant native trees around natural springs to protect village water
supplies. The catchments are ‘community owned’ - each community contributes to management decisions and maintains the site
after it has been planted.
Green Care's tree nursery in Shisong. Members collect seeds of
native trees from the forst and nurture seedlings for their replanting
programmes.
