Within the small group of Kagnol, bordering the Dja Faunal Reserve in southeastern Cameroon, 28-year-old Alo Mpoal Frank rigorously spreads cocoa beans to dry outdoors his house. The beans, harvested from his close by farm, signify a major shift in his life. As soon as a poacher, Frank determined to go away poaching behind and undertake sustainable cocoa farming, a livelihood that respects and preserves the biodiversity of the reserve.
“After receiving sensitization from AWF, I noticed the forest couldn’t present the livelihood I wanted,” Frank explains. “Now I’ve two farms, one among two hectares and one other of three hectares, which give for my household.”
Frank, who poached from the age of 18 to 25, now anticipates a harvest of 10 baggage of cocoa, every weighing 100 kilograms—roughly $10,000 (about 6 million Central African CFA francs) in complete earnings this season. In a rustic the place the typical revenue hovers round $2,000 (about 1.2 million CFA francs) per capita, Frank’s new livelihood provides a transformative financial alternative.
Since 2018, with help from the European Union, AWF has facilitated sustainable cocoa farming coaching for communities across the Dja Faunal Reserve. This initiative promotes conservation-friendly practices corresponding to agroforestry, agriculture, fish farming, and forest harvesting, in collaboration with native communities. Frank, one among 224 group members partnering with AWF, acquired his coaching and his first set of cocoa crops in 2020. Since then, he has gained sensible expertise, studying not solely develop cocoa but in addition course of and promote it.
With elevated earnings from cocoa farming, Frank can now cowl medical bills for his spouse and fogeys. Moreover, he helps his brothers by paying their college charges and transporting them to highschool on his bike.
“I all the time encourage my buddies and brothers to put money into agriculture,” Frank says. “I’m assured that my youngsters shall be financially safe, as they’ll proceed this farming. Even when AWF leaves, I can prepare others locally who’re serious about cocoa farming.”
Utilizing income from his first cocoa harvest, Frank bought a bike, permitting him to move processed cocoa to the market, which is 1.2 kilometers from his house. To additional enhance market entry, AWF has partnered with Tropical Forest and Rural Growth, a neighborhood NGO, to deal with the transportation challenges confronted by native farmers. This collaboration has organized farmers into 4 regional teams, facilitating simpler connections with consumers.
Dja Faunal Reserve: A Key Biodiversity Space
The Dja Faunal Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Web site since 1987, covers roughly 5,260 sq. kilometers and is house to endangered species corresponding to western lowland gorillas, chimpanzees, African forest elephants, large pangolins, and leopards. It’s surrounded by 37 villages with a complete inhabitants of about 40,000 folks, lots of whom depend on farming and the gathering of non-timber forest merchandise (NTFPs) for his or her livelihoods.
Since 2015, AWF has engaged native communities to boost consciousness concerning the significance of wildlife conservation. By means of coaching on park boundaries, distributing cocoa crops, and introducing fish farming, AWF has labored to create various sources of revenue that don’t depend on the exploitation of wildlife. Thus far, over 85,000 cocoa crops and 5,000 palm kernel crops have been distributed to locals in 22 communities surrounding the reserve.
Kagnol group throughout a cocoa distribution exercise.
The collaboration between AWF and native communities has fostered a Reciprocal Environmental Settlement with the conservation service of the Dja Faunal Reserve, ruled by the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF). As a part of this settlement, villagers have pledged to keep away from poaching and unlawful wildlife commerce, with conservation officers conducting common follow-ups to make sure compliance. These caught poaching face trial and authorized penalties.
“In 2023, 185 farmers had been engaged in cocoa farming, and by 2024, that quantity had grown to 225. We proceed to work with MINFOF to observe the situations underneath which these crops are grown.”
In the course of the five-year program funded by the European Union, which concluded in FY23, native incomes skilled a 78% rise, whereas poverty ranges had been diminished by 83%
By means of its collaboration with native communities, AWF shouldn’t be solely serving to to preserve the wealthy biodiversity of the Dja Faunal Reserve, but in addition making certain sustainable livelihoods for future generations. Cocoa farming provides financial options that shield wildlife whereas empowering communities in Cameroon.
>>Learn extra on how AWF places communities on the middle of conservation.