The representation of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-Cameroon launched on December 9 in the city of Sangmélima the Tridom project for the cross-border security of elephants
The project “Transboundary Elephant Tridom Cameroon Security Project,” will run for a period of two successive years. The project implementation is financed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS or USFWS), a federal agency of the US dependent on the US State Department of the Interior, responsible for the management and preservation of wildlife.
The aim of this project is to stabilize the elephant population in two main poaching centers in the Tridom area, namely Minkebe National Park in Gabon and the Nki and Messok-Dja cross-border complex straddling Cameroon and the Republic of the Congo (RC).
“This is for us to develop a coordinated business strategy to reverse the trend and stabilize the population of elephants in the subregion. It will therefore be in the workshop that we will develop a clear and concise plan of work, to determine the roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders,” said Joseph Lekealem, director of wildlife and protected areas of Cameroon.
The implementation of this project will benefit from a strict collaboration between the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF) of Cameroon, the National Agency of National Parks (ANPN) of Gabon, and the global fund conservation joint program for nature and the Ministry of Forest Economy, sustainable Development and Environment (WWF Mefdde).
“The Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife of Cameroon, for its part, reiterates on this occasion its commitment to pursue its policy of sustainable management of wildlife resources through capacity building of its staff, while counting on the support of its partners,” added Joseph Lekealem. The implementation of these actions in the segment Congo space Tridom Interzone is part of the anti-poaching protocol that follows the cooperation agreement for the implementation of the Tri-National Dja-Odzala -Minkebe signed in Brazzaville, on 4 February 2004.
The conservationists of Congo, Gabon, and Cameroon assembled at the launch of this project, proposed a work plan that can enable better security of border areas. They proposed inter alia: the institutionalization of a biannual meeting of Tridom stakeholders to review the progress of implementation of the roadmap and the establishment of a sustainability strategy project.
“In this context, the technical and financial support of WWF-Cameroon for the Inception Workshop, is an example of partnership that advocates the above-mentioned conservation objectives. I remain convinced of the commitment of all in this vast project on the issue of security of elephants in space Tridom,” commented Joseph Lekealem, director of wildlife and protected areas of Cameroon.
The project has relieved more than one conservationist, including Gilles Etoga, Project Manager for WWF of Jengi Tridom, who said: “In the great problem of poaching elephants in the Congo Basin in general, and the Tridom space in particular, this workshop comes to breathe new life into country strategies to controvert the big poaching. Funds of USFWS through WWF will help target cross-border landscape issues between Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, and Gabon, facilitate information exchange, and ensure operational functionality of currently installed teams in the most remote locations. If the funds mobilized are moderately important in relation to other funding, their uses will be optimal.”
Recall that the delegation of Congo to Sangmélima was represented by: Dieudoné Ekoutouka, National Coordinator of Space Tridom Interzone Congo (ETIC), Cornelius Moukson Kutia, legal assistant of the World Wide Fund for Nature, Space Tridom Interzone Congo (WWF ETIC), and Christian Itanguy, patrol leader of anti-poaching fight ETIC.