AFRICAN
CONSERVATION AND WEB SITES FOR AFRICA FROM
AFRICANWEBSITES.NET
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Cameroon Wildlife Aid Fund (CWAF) is a UK registered
charity that runs the Mvog-Betsi
zoo and Mefou
National Park in
Cameroon,
in conjunction with the Cameroon government. They also have a full education,
community outreach, and volunteer programme. CWAF aims to ensure Cameroon's
primates have a healthy future. Working with the government, local communities
and other ecological groups around the world, they hope to show people the
amazing diversity of wildlife in Cameroon, and explain exactly how and why
it should be protected. CWAF operates two sites in Cameroon in co-operation
with MINEF, the Cameroon Ministry of Environment and forests :
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The
Rainforest Action Network
(RAN) works in various countries in Africa helping groups and
communities to protect their land and forests by allowing
their voices to be heard in the power institutions to which these local people
have no access. RAN focuses primarily on one of the many threats to Africa's
forests, those institutions and companies based in the industrialized countries
that are profiting immensely from Africa's riches, and leaving destruction
in their wake. RAN has confronted the World Bank and their role in creating
and dictating an economic framework that insures the continued exploitation
of the land at the expense of real sustainable development. They work most
closely with local groups who are willing
to risk confronting repressive governments and the foreign
companies with whom they work in order to protect their land and culture.
If you'd like to join RAN or find out what you can do to help, you can email
RAN at either rainforest@ran.org
or osani@ran.org.
Earthwatch
Institute is
a non-profit organization matching members of the public with scientists
all over the world. You can explore for projects and expeditions in Ghana
- such as an expedition to the Hippo Sanctuary - which can use your help.
Earthwatch
Institute operates on a very simple but radical notion : that if
you fully involve the general public in the process of
science,
you not only give them understanding, you give the world a future. They say
"Join us. The next discovery may be yours." There are a number of email addresses
on which you can contact them, depending upon what part of the world you
are in : Europe -
info@earthwatch.org.uk USA -
info@earthwatch.org; Australia/Japan
- earth@earthwatch.org.
The
WWF Cameroon
Programme Office was opened in Douala in 1990. he biological
diversity
of Cameroon is important on a global scale. The protection of biodiversity
through the creation and management of a viable and representative network
of protected areas and other important
biological
sites is one of the principle strategies for achieving WWF's Mission in Cameroon.
Cameroon has been encouraged to increase the percentage of its national territory
under protected area management by its obligations (ratification) under
international treaties, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD),
by outside agencies, such as the World Bank (GEF), and through its own
legislation - which foresees (rather unrealistically) eventually 30% of the
national territory as protected areas. Presently a certain percentage of
the national territory is under protected area status (NPs and WRs) and another
percentage (important biological sites) is under some form of conservation
management. Within the total network of conservation sites some ecosystems
may be over represented while others may be under represented. With the support
of
WWF and others, Cameroon is making progress in the establishment of a national
protected area network that is representative of its biodiversity. A number
of new national parks and reserves are being created and a number of biologically
important forest and montane areas are being established as community managed
reserves. Ecoregion based conservation planning demands for an ecological
audit (review) of the existing protected area system as well as the
identification of important biological sites to be included in the conservation
effort.
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) (Headquartered
at the Bronx Zoo, U.S.A.), works to save wildlife and wild lands throughout
the world. For more than a century, WCS has inspired care for nature,
pioneered environmental education programmes
and helped sustain biological diversity. WCS supports programmes in
Africa to gather information on wildlife needs, train local conservation
professionals, and work with in-country staff to protect and manage wildlife
and wild areas for the future. For information on any of their current projects
in Cameroon - detailed below - you can email them at
feedback@wcs.org :
Conservation and community participation in Banyang-Mbo Forest
Reserve.
Crop raiding and the economic losses faced by local communities.
Biological Inventory of the Banyang-mbo Forest Reserve.
The mission of the
International Fund for
Animal Welfare (IFAW) is to improve the welfare
of wild and domestic animals throughout the world
by reducing commercial exploitation of animals, protecting wildlife habitats,
and assisting animals in distress. They seek to motivate the public to prevent
cruelty to animals and to promote animal welfare and conservation policies
that advance the well-being of both animals and people.
IFAW was founded in 1969
to confront the cruel commercial slaughter of harp and hooded seals. Having
successfully rallied worldwide condemnation of the hunt, they have grown
to become one of the largest international animal welfare organizations in
the world. Today IFAW
has offices in 12 countries and a staff of more than 200 experienced campaigners,
legal and political experts, and internationally acclaimed scientists. They
are a pragmatic and dedicated family of professionals who believe that animals
suffer far too much from commercial exploitation, habitat destruction, and
needless cruelty. And they are joined in that belief by more than 1.8 million
supporters. You can email
IFAW -
info@ifaw.org.
If you would like to
contact us please email
terry@africanconservation.org
