Mrs. G.E. Burnley
In Cameroon, as in many other developing countries, people at the grassroots, especially women, are unaware of the majority of the debates on "the changing environment". It is postulated that there are direct links between poverty and environmental degradation. Recent field experiences show that alternate means of making a livelihood can save the environment from resource over-exploitation and degradation, especially when alternative income-generating activities are aimed primarily at women. This paper discusses some of the projects undertaken by women in Southwest (SW) Province, Cameroon, both on an individual basis and in groups aimed at protecting the environment and improving their socio-economic situation, as well as gaining time for leisure and increased training opportunities. Some preliminary results are presented, highlighting some of the successes and associated problems.
Key words: Women, poverty, deforestation, environment protection, non-wood forest products
In Cameroon, poverty and hardship, following changes in foreign trade balances deepened in the early 1990s with devaluation of the CFA franc in 1994 bringing further economic difficulties. This "economic crisis" caused mass redundancy in the public and private sectors, dismissals, salary cuts, early retirement and freezing of assets, arrears and debts owed to people, particularly civil servants. Many people turned to farming to sustain their families and consequently there has been significant urban to rural migration. As forests have been cleared for subsistence agriculture, the availability of products from the original forest such as firewood, forest fruits, vegetables, leaves for wrapping, nuts, seeds, spices, medicines, stimulants or craft materials has been reduced. In addition, organised, yet illegal, fuelwood merchants have destroyed private farms and forest reserves in public lands often felling trees, including fruit and coffee trees to supply the market for fuelwood which sold at increasing prices because of the high demand. Large trucks with firewood towering high in tottering vehicles have become a common feature of our towns and cities.
To halt this fast-deteriorating situation, a new forestry law was passed in Cameroon in 1994 to define measures to be taken to ensure the wise management of forestry resources. The new measures call for the equitable sharing of benefits, the sustainable and viable use of resources, the enhancement of effective popular participation and the need for more effective partnerships to surmount environmental difficulties. In particular, the new legislation has targeted women as playing an increasingly important role in forest conservation and rural development initiatives.
Women's groups began timidly in colonial days and, although becoming stagnant in the 1970s and 1980s, have gained much ground in terms of numbers, intensity of activities and political importance in recent years. Growing interest in women's active role in development in the last few years culminated in a massive participation and contribution of Cameroon women at Dakar, 1994, and at the Beijing Conference in 1995.
There are many international NGOs with a strong presence in Cameroon, such as the Associated Country Women of the World, International Council of Women, the International Federation of Business and Professional Women, Soroptimist International, the Association for Creative Teaching which was succeeded by Business Enterprise Development (ACT/BEDO). There is also a plethora of local community-based organisations, common initiative groups and co-operatives. Many of these groups are involved in environmental activities linking the desire for forest conservation with the need to support the family unit from forest-based activities.
The cultivation of fuelwood trees and other forest products by women seemed to be a practical way to help solve one aspect of the environmental destruction by reducing the pressure on the harvesting of wild stocks whilst providing substantial benefits to the family or group concerned. Involving women in large numbers in the cultivation and distribution of a wide variety of forest products seemed to make sense because women constituted the vast majority of both farmers and end-users of many of the products concerned.
Fish, especially dried fish, a local staple in many parts of Cameroon, has become very expensive because firewood and charcoal are becoming rather scarce and difficult to obtain. Women often have to travel far into the hills to collect twigs or wait for the firewood dealers, illegal timber merchants, to bring the overloaded vehicles with their merchandise. Many women's groups identified the need and desire to cultivate fast-growing fuelwood species on their farms. To address this need, a joint Limbe Botanic Garden and Women in Development/Business Environment Development initiative began in 1994 with funding from Africa 2000 and, more recently, the Rainforest Alliance.
The project began with the selection and construction of a permanent nursery. Once this was established, suitable species were selected, seed material for propagation was obtained and many thousands of seedlings were raised. Technical training for extension workers and other interest groups as well as advice on planting and care preceded the distribution of the seedlings to a wide range of women's groups, often in demonstration workshops. The extent of planting and preliminary results are discussed below. In addition to the distribution of seedlings, improved wood stoves have also been introduced to ensure fuel wood economy by both domestic and commercial users.
Many forest products which were once cheaply obtained in the market are becoming increasingly scarce and prohibitively expensive. It has long been proposed that many of these products could be easily cultivated in home gardens for both subsistence use and possible sale. In a series of workshops, a wide range of forest products were introduced to many women's groups during excursions to the Botanic Gardens, where they could see for themselves the possibility of cultivating many of the plants they knew well from the forest. This was especially the case with many medicinal plants, notably those species of a "general" nature, stimulants such as kola nuts and a number of forest spices, many of which are integral to Cameroonian cuisine. This has led to a visible increase in the expanding of many kitchen gardens and compound farms, both in terms of size and diversity. Many of the women involved in this activity state that the benefits include a drop in health care expenditure as more traditional home remedies are available. In addition, the high value of many medicinal plants, local spices and kola nuts mean that a surplus beyond immediate home consumption provides a significant income to the household and many of these products are prepared, packaged and sold in local shops or market stalls.
A number of medicinal and spice tree crops, including Prunus africana, have also been successfully introduced into capital extensive cultivation systems managed by women's groups (see Nkefor et al., this volume). This is an indication that many of the co-operatives are concerned with the long-term benefits of cultivation as well as immediate profits.
A number of high-value and high-yielding fruit trees have been propagated as part of this programme and distributed to many women's groups and individuals. Species such as bush mango (Irvingia gabonensis) and bush plum (Dacryodes edulis) are extremely popular and provide potential for income generation through the sale of surplus fruits after harvesting.
Figure 1. Non-Wood Forest products on sale at a local market (Photo: T. Sunderland).
Foo-foo and eru is popular throughout Cameroon and is an important component of the national cuisine. Demand for eru has reached the point that it is now being exported to neighbouring countries like Nigeria and, from there, further afield to Europe and North America (See Tabuna, this volume). The leaves of eru fetch very high prices and the high demand has increased pressure on this non timber forest product which is fast becoming locally extinct in many areas (See Shiembo, this volume). Cultivation trials have proved very successful. Eru, as a fast growing climber using the planted trees as support, provides another valuable component to the tree-planting programme.
Target villages in SW Province: Activities and progress to date
Wovia |
Lysoke |
Munyenge |
Banga-Bakundu |
1995: 600 seedlings distributed but were lost in the nursery stage. |
1996: Distribution of 600 Cedrela odorata seedlings for fuelwood. Planted between small-scale oil-palm and rubber farms. Height of plant on inspection 3 metres (average). All plantings presently in good state. 1998: Distribution 450 of Prunus africana seedlings. Still in nursery provided by villagers due to late arrival of rains. All in good state - will be planted soon following planting demonstration workshop. |
1995: planting of 400 seedlings of Terminalia superba and Cedrela odorata in forest completely devastated by timber exploitation. 2nd visit in 1998. Trees in very good condition, 98% survival, fast growing at 1 metre annually; in a well managed state. |
1995: 1st and 2nd distribution of 600 Prunus africana planted 5m apart in a 1 hectare land inside a valley bounded on each side by palm and rubber plantations. State of farm - 60% survival, weedy. Small family farm with insufficient labour force. Trees of varying sizes with a mean height of 85cm. Advised on the need for more labour, clearing and mulching with palm cones. |
In many villages, women have difficulty owning land. The planting of trees on farmland is a traditional claim to ownership for many cultural groups and this programme, through encouraging women in planting trees, has also allowed them to own land for the first time.
In addition to problems of tenure, to improve the programme we need to:
· Encourage backyard/kitchen gardens and small tree plantations of NWFP;
· Encourage cultivation of marshes, riverbanks and fringes of villages;
· Use easily managed multipurpose tree-seedlings known to villagers for fuel and other uses rather than exotic species, beginning with fast growing species for quick financial returns.
