CBBM Annual Report _FINAL SIZE

Community-Based Biosynergy Management - CBBM

Annual Report

An Overview of the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022

December 2022

Letter from the Board and Management In 2022 CBBM firmly established itself as an ambitious player in delivering rights-based community conservation solutions in Cameroon and the Congo Basin. We have done so through advocacy, education, training, and community project implementation.

This past year, CBBM has marked four significant achievements that I am excited to share with you: 1. After rigorous community consultations, 10 Baka hunter-gatherer villages in the southern periphery of the Dja Faunal Reserve have agreed to join our communitybased wildlife monitoring program in their homeland.

2. We successfully organized a multi-stakeholder workshop to develop a strategy for prioritizing biodiversity conservation in Community Forestry projects in Cameroon.

3. We launched the Somie chimpanzee and livelihood support program 4. With two Baka students currently enrolled into University, we have successfully implemented phase one of our Baka scholarship program.

Somie Cameroon © Adrian CBBM

Now that we have fully emerged, it is time to stand tall and leverage our full potential and the support of our friends and partners to deliver on the promise that is so central to the heart of our organization: facilitating conservation solutions led by Indigenous and local communities.

As the world comes to terms with the new U.N. global biodiversity goals and targets, CBBM and its local and Indigenous partners are ready to lead the way toward a future where conservation is grounded in local values and livelihoods and not at the expense of them.

Of course we will continue to rely on the generous support of our funding and strategic partners and the tireless efforts of our staff, volunteers and interns. We continue to add to our diverse Board of Directors who, on their part, deserve a big thank you for their support to CBBM. Happy new year to you all!

Board of Directors » Sheila Tucker, MSc. » Morfaw Evaristus Nkafu, Ph.D » Denis Etiendem Ndeloh, Ph.D

» Anthony L. Rose, Ph.D » Dieudonne Alemangi, Ph.D » Simon Hoyte, MSc. » Thomas Khumbah, MSc.

Our Partners Our work is only possible thanks to our Funding Partners' support and our Strategic Partners' collaboration. The stewardship of the local and Indigenous communities with whom we work is unmatched and the only reason we are here.

Somie, May 2022 © Denis CBBM

About Us Community-Based Biosynergy Management (CBBM) is a community conservation non-profit based in Cameroon.

CBBM is registered in Cameroon (No.12/2021/RDA/C19/SAAJP) and Canada (Corporation Number 1413474-5). CBBM is led by a Board of Directors from wide academic and professional backgrounds who are united in the belief that forging alliances with local and Indigenous communities is the best way to tackle the biodiversity and climate crises. The Board meets at least three times a year to review and provide direction to the work of its staff. The implementation team is led by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). CBBM is headquartered in Yaoundé, Cameroon (where most of our staff is based), with a satellite office in Canada.

Gwendoline Angwa is CBBM Country Coordinator for Cameroon © Denis CBBM

Somie chimpanzee conservation and livelihood support program

Participatory mapping in Somie, December 2022 © CBBM

Milestones

Within the forest-savanna mosaic to the north of Cameroon, particularly in the community of Somie, CBBM was invited by the chief to mobilize inclusive partnerships to realize the restoration of severely degraded chimpanzee habitats and support livelihood projects. The objectives of this program are threefold: 1) to assess and map the distribution of Nigerian-Cameroon chimpanzees and other key species in the area, 2) to use participatory mapping and community consultation meetings to understand the dynamics underpinning current forest use practices, and 3) to support rightsbased approaches to forest management such as participatory land use planning and community forest development.

1. The Program was officially launched in December 2022 2. Community consultation and participatory mapping started in December 2022

Chimpanzee nests in Somie, May 2022 © Denis CBBM

Community forestry and biodiversity strategy

Name tags of organizations that attended the workshop © Denis CBBM

In May 2022, CBBM set out to develop a 15-year (20232038) Community Forestry (CF) and Biodiversity Intervention Strategy through a multi-stakeholder consultation and engagement process. A two-day workshop at the Muna Foundation in Yaounde was immediately followed by working visits to two sites in the East and Adamawa Regions of Cameroon. The workshop focused on perspectives of CF users, national and international non-profit organizations, government officials, village traditional rulers and invited guest speakers to identify key thematic areas of relevance to enhancing the biodiversity benefits of community forests.

Cameroon Government official-Marie-Rose presents during workshop © CBBM

Milestones 1. Multi-stakeholder workshop organised 2. A Strategic Plan under development

Workshop participants © CBBM

Baka education and training program After a successful one-year internship, laureates of CBBM’s Education and Training Program (ETP)—Bilounga Jorel Narcy and Mindako Bake Gladys—have successfully enrolled in university. Jorel is studying fundamental law at the University of Yaoundé II, Soa. Gladys is studying for a bachelor’s degree in mass communication at Siantou University in Yaoundé. Through the ETP, CBBM makes available two scholarships annually, each worth a potential 1.3 M FCFA, to eligible Baka students to access education and training opportunities at the post-secondary level. These 4 to 6-year work-study programs prepare students to apply, enroll, undertake, and complete a university education that will enable them to provide vital professional services to their communities. The funding is used for yearly tuition and the remaining put towards living expenses.

Gladys and Jorel participate in a Prosocial World funded Participatory Video training program at the CBBM office in Yaounde © Adrian CBBM

"It has been fun to mentor and train Jorel and Gladys during the past twelve months. These are very motivated and hardworking individuals who have significantly improve their computer skills and gain hand-on experience while participating in CBBM program activities—including community consultation meetings and workshops. I strongly believe that they are well on their way to fearlessly face and succeed in their studies. In the next few years CBBM will continue to do all it takes to make sure that Jorel and Gladys—and others that will come after them—succeed." Denis Ndeloh, CBBM President

Baka community-based monitoring program consultation tour In 2022, CBBM staff visited ten Baka communities located to the south of the Dja Faunal Reserve (DFR) to sensitize and seek consent to participate in the Baka Monitoring Program (BMP). The program's long-term goals are twofold: 1) generate baseline information that will enhance the protection of elephants, gorillas, and chimpanzees whose survival in unprotected forests outside the DFR is severely threatened by commercial bushmeat hunting and habitat loss, and 2) valorize Baka knowledge and reinstate Baka communities as key stewards of the their forests.

CBBM staff pose with Baka peoples during consultation tour © CBBM

Dja Faunal Reserve

Dj

a

Dja Fauanal Reserve

River

Djoum

10

Mintom 1 2

9

3

8 7

4 6 Ten Baka communities south of the Dja Fauna Reserve were consulted during CBBM visit © CBBM

5

Statement of Income and Expenditure in Francs CFA (for the year ended December 31, 2022)

INCOME Income from grants

27,897,152

Income from individual donations

5,883,930

Total income

33,781,082

Donations 17.4%

Grants 82.6%