Poachers, gold seekers, woodcutters, cattle herders and illegal fishermen all share one thing in common. When they spot our anti-poaching units, they immediately run! The dense biotope, the uneven ground caused by the bioturbation of the worms, their perfect knowledge of environment and sometimes the careful organization of the criminals, make apprehensions difficult, and sometimes hazardous.
Incursions by herdsmen and their livestock in recent years is causing the rapid disappearance of lions, which are a rare African subspecies, the Northern lion, Panthera leo leo, and are in immediate danger of extinction in Cameroon and across the rest of their range.
Cattle herds and lions need to be kept apart, largely by keeping herdsmen and their livestock outside of all protected areas.
The Protected Areas (PA) across Northern Cameroon are threatened by several illegal and environmentally damaging practices: cross-border cattle ranching, unauthorized cutting of trees, poaching, gold mining, illegal fishing, and incursive cross-border agriculture.
These conflicts of use and other harmful activities pose immediate threats to biodiversity, interconnected & interdependent ecosystems, and human security…
We have been descending the Ndugba river bed for more than 5 hours. The heat is unbearable and my body starts to cry out for mercy. My feet hurt, my legs, although hardened, support me only with difficulty. Breathless, my shoulder carrying my weapon throws me atrociously. However, I keep on going. Oscillating between hope and discouragement.
