Environment, Natural Resources, and Climate Change
Tropical Forest and Rural Development from Cameroon wins the Equator Prize 2021 Empowering Indigenous communities in the Dja Biosphere Reserve in Cameroon, this community organization promotes cocoa-based agroforestry and the collection of forest products for better local incomes while protecting a vulnerable forest.
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community-based enterprise operating around the Dja Biosphere Reserve in southern Cameroon, Tropical Forest and Rural Development is empowering Indigenous communities through cocoabased agroforestry value chains and the collection of moabi, wild mango and other fruits. The group has planted over 70,000 trees for production and provides training in collection quality standards to obtain higher prices for food and cosmetic products. Agreements between Indigenous women collectors and government agencies secure access and use rights in the Reserve. The model’s viability is proven through the avoidance of deforestation and a reduction in poaching in the communities. The initiative focuses on the economic inclusion of several Indigenous groups, some of them pursuing traditional semi-nomadic lifestyles, through access to education, the registration of community businesses, and jobs for 500 women collectors and 300 cacao producers. Tropical Forest and Rural Development maintains partnerships with several food and cosmetics wholesalers.
Rethinking stabilization as a Unique Instrument to Counter Insurgency in Africa
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a time when the gradual disengagement of Operation Barkhane and the establishment of Takuba fuel the debate on the effectiveness of the fight against jihadist groups in the Sahel, the Liptako-Gourma area enters a phase of stabilization. While the French operation demonstrates the limits of military response against violent extremism, Stabilization programming becomes a key element for a comprehensive response. Security and development challenges must be addressed simultaneously. A CONTINENT FULL OF THREATS Over the past decade, all African regions have been plagued by terrorist organizations. This regionalization concerns both the older Shabab and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and the franchises and other endogenous emanations that have developed in contexts of intertwined conflicts and sources of fragility.
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UNDP in Action / N°35 May – August 2021