The era of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is gone for good with many nations achieving some of it at least. Here we are again in another committed task the Sustainable Development Goals, What is it all about? Are we ready for it? Sustainability should be our watch word. Find out!
TroPEG Newsletter, July 2015 6th Edition
Inside this issue:
- Latest on Cameroon Mountain Biodiversity Project ………………………………………………………………………….3
- TroPEG extends technical assistance to a Sustainable Development Initiative (SUDEVIN) Group.…………………….6
- Dikome Balue Rumpi Hills (DIBARUH ) Tea Business latest ……………………………………………………………10
Editorial Board Address Research Director: Tropical Plant Exploration Group (TroPEG), Cameroon Moses N. Sainge
P. O. Box 18 Mundemba, Design and Layout: SWR, Cameroon Ngoh Michael Lyonga
Blog: tropegcam.blogspot.com Conception and Editors: Website: www.tropeg.org Benedicta Jailughe, Ngoh Michael Lyonga, Email: [email protected] Moses N. Sainge Tel: +237 677 513 599
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Latest on the Cameroon division in the west. Some authorities have classified the Rumpi Hills forest Mountains Biodiversity Reserve as a critical site for biodiversi- Project ty conservation in Central Africa (Doumenge 1997, Thomas pers. Com.) he Cameroon Mountains Bio- but till date remains a data gap for bio- diversity Project is on and diversity studies. It is in this regard that waxing strong as far as field Tropical Plant Exploration Group expedition and data collection (TroPEG) Cameroon began her cam- T paign from the Rumpi Hills to explore Village at the foot of Mt. Rata is concern. Thanks to our faithful fund- ing bodies that are always willing to the vegetation of the Cameroon Moun- provide the necessary funds to explore tains along the Cameroon volcanic line. the vegetation of this landscape. This project kicked off from the Rumpi Hills with funding provided by the Rufford Small Grant Foundation UK. Rumpi hills has been in existence since 1937 as Rumpi Hills Native Authority Forest Reserve created by an ORDER Made under The Forestry Ordinance Rumpi Hills Forest Reserve No. 38 of 1937 with a size of 458.2 Km2 (Rumpi Hills Native Authority Road to Rumpi Hills Forest Reserve In the last edition of our newsletter Forest Reserve order No.51 of 1941). published in April 2015, we announced This piece of land found in the territory the commencement of this project with of Ndian division, South West Region funding assistance from the Rufford of Cameroon, is occupied by the Oroko tribe with clans such as Ngolo, Bima, Small Grant Foundation UK. At the Bakundu and Balue sharing portions. time, 12 hectares sampled vegetation Administratively, it is surrounded by (trees and herbaceous life forms) in the four sub-divisions; Toko in the north, Northern section of the Rumpi Hills Dikome Balue in the east, Ekondo-titi were already completed. Currently, this in the south, and Mundemba sub- Rumpi Hills Forest Reserve
TroPEG Newsletter, July 2015 6th Edition 3 project is still in progress with 25 hec- ings to all field visitors making their natural waterfall running on its roof tares of study area completed. Of these way into the reserve. and falling at the doorway. How useful 25 hectares, 13 ha are found in the can this waterfall be? We used the wa- Southeastern section and 12 ha com- While in the field, a good number of ter from the waterfall for drinking, pleted in April are found in the North- caves were discovered and the most bathing, washing of field dresses, ern section of the reserve. interesting among all was the cave with cleaning of dishes, and enjoy the aes- a capacity of about 200 persons and a thetics. Botanical expedition or vegetation ex- ploration as it is usually called is also understood to be a kind of touristic venture for those who have made at least a trip before. Here we are at a platform where the potential of the Rumpi Hills is for the first time not on- ly being discussed on biodiversity but also is show cased in a tantalizing manner as a Touristic Jungle. TroPEG did not only limit herself to data collection on plants, rather, she Libation rites to ease visit to reserve Cave at Rumpi Hills Forest Reserve went as far as unraveling the touristic potentials of the Rumpi Hills Reserve yet to be discovered by many.
Touristic Potentials The main entrance to the North of the reserve is at Matamani village. Entry procedure into the reserve always starts with traditional rites (traditional bless- ing) performed by the Chief and his notables; which constitute libation in front of the Palaver House (traditional Libation rites to ease visit to reserve TroPEG members bathing in waterfall hall). This rite is aimed at giving bless-
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In addition to this great sceneries we
observed wonders of outstanding biodi- versity including fauna and flora some of which we captured with our camer- as.
Cave entrance; view from inside Tree frog
Chameleon
Inside one corner of the Cave
Tree fruits
Access to the south of the Rumpi Hills
Reserve can be gotten through Monyange and Nalende villages, to the east through its cold beautiful hills, and springs at Dikome Balue village. This village is unique based on its climate, Giant Pangolin cultural values, and hospitality. Its land TroPEG members enjoying waterfall
TroPEG Newsletter, July 2015 6th Edition 5 scape is beautiful with a clear view of TroPEG extends technical assis- Mount Rata from the village. It also tance to a Sustainable Development has many rivers (Mana, Moko .....). Initiative Group (SUDEVIN)
SUDEVIN is a nongovernmental or- ganisation based in the Buea Munici- pality with the major goal of promot- ing sustainable development through Traditional dance of the Balue clan the management of Cameroon’s natu- ral resources. Headed by Lyonga Wil- liam Mumbe, the organisation has been very active in the domain of ag- riculture/agroforestry, apiculture, Mount Rata showing forest reserve and management of natural re- sources such as Water Catchments. In May 2015, SUDEVIN’s won a grant from the Australian Govern- ment on the sustainable management Tourist/TroPEG visitor playing with kids and protection of water catchment systems in the entire Buea Munici- pality. In the execution of this project the Cameroon Government through authorities at different services has been very supportive and collaborative. Mount Rata; Highest peak in Ndian Never the less, TroPEG could not be left out. TroPEG was very instrumen- tal through her technical assistance Children playing in one village which basically was focused on the
TroPEG Newsletter, July 2015 6th Edition 6 integration of Analogue Forestry and Analogue Forestry Technology is rel- Agro-Forestry as a strategy to protect atively new in Cameroon and to Cam- and better manage water catchments eroonians most especially to the people in the Buea Sub- Division. of Buea. Upon adoption of analogue TroPEG’s involvement was at two lev- forestry as a tool for the management and protection of water catchments in els; firstly we mapped out and demar- cated both old and new catchments Buea, TroPEG has already trained for posterity use. Later,, TroPEG more than 50 Water Catchment man- Evaluating water catchment site agers in Buea Municipality. The ap- through her representative (Ngoh Mi- chael Lyonga) held a meeting with proach taken by Ngoh Michael the project management team during Lyonga the Analogue Forestry Train- which the importance of Analogue er from TroPEG was an integrated one. He presented a talk at the train- Forestry Technology as a major tool in the execution of the project was em- ing workshop of Water Catchment phasized and at the end , analogue Managers entitled: Agro-Forestry and Analogue Forestry Techniques in forestry was given due consideration. the Protection and Management of Water Catchment Eco-System: An Evaluating water catchment site integrated approach. The entire audi- ence got a clear picture of this ap- proach in the management and pro- tection of water catchment systems and pledge to follow the advice pre- sented by TroPEG using the concept of Analogue Forestry integrated with Agro-forest. TroPEG’s recommenda- Mapping water catchment site tion was that all the different Water Mapping water catchment site Management Committee should adopt
TroPEG Newsletter, July 2015 6th Edition 7 an integrated approach to protect and manage their water catchment ecolog- ical systems.
Group photograph after workshop Farming in water catchment site is not advisable.
Michael, TroPEG member presenting integration concept to Water Catch- ment Managers
Nursery equipment
Poorly managed water catchment
Our recommendation is the best inter- vention to manage and protect our catchments using Agro-Forestry and
Workshop to train 50 Water Catchment Analogues Forestry Techniques (see Managers held at Regional Delegation Figure 1 below). of Agriculture and Rural Development Agric. Delegate sharing nursery tools TroPEG Newsletter, July 2015 6th Edition 8
rural communities both social and ventional agriculture is carried out economically. In Analogue Forestry within the system. According to Forest is considered to be more than Lyonga (2012), agro-forestry system just a system of trees. associates the growing of trees with crops or pasture and it is a sustaina- It is best employed in zone where ble alternative to deforestation and pristine forest has been destroyed shifting cultivation (Schroeder 1994; and requires rebuilding for better Sanchez 1995; Sanchez et al., 1999). ecological solution. It is best practiced in areas with Collection of Non Timber Forest land scarcity that shifting cultiva- Products (NTFP) for livelihood is tion is no longer possible. possible Figure 1: Proposed approach to the Management Fuel wood and NTFPs can be col- and Protection of Water Catchment No soil tillage (Courtesy: Lyonga, NM 2015) lected for livelihood Encourages complete canopy cover Why is Analogue Forestry best in Encourages open canopy with vari- the catchment itself? No use of chemical inputs into the ous level of direct light penetration system Analogue Forestry (AF) is a system Soil tillage is possible or tree management technique which Highest level of biodiversity is en- Trade-off towards economic bene- courage seeks to establish analogue (similar fits are high features) ecosystems with architectur- Trade-off towards environmental al structures and ecological functions benefits are high similar to the original climax or sub- climax vegetation. It also seeks to Why is Agro-Forestry only best maintain a functioning tree- above 70 m radius - out of fence? dominated ecosystem while providing Agro-Forestry is a system or tree marketable products that can sustain management system in which con-
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Dikome Balue Rumpi Hills (DIBARUH ) Tea Business latest
he introduction of a new package for Dikome Balue Rumpi Hills Tea is three months old in Tthe local markets of Cameroon. Information from agents in the field says the product has been given a remarkable attention by the local consumers and this has been con- firmed by the numerous calls received by TroPEG’s Re- search Director on issues about the tea. Some of these questions were centred on whether tea is suitable for High blood patient, nursing mothers, if it helps to reduce Northwest excessive fat (cholesterol) in the body.
Some international consumers from the Biodiversity In- stitute of the University of Kansas in USA also consumed and recommended the high quality of our Tea.
After being sold only in two divisions; Meme and Fako Southwest both in the South West Region of Cameroon for two months, we are proud to inform our readers that there is progress in the management and distribution of our product. The tea is now on the shelves and at sales agents in the Southwest and Northwest regions of Came- roon (Figure 2).
Dikome Balue Rumpi Hills (DIBARUH) Tea is a product you Figure 2: Dikome Balue Rumpi Hills Tea in distribution in two out can’t afford to miss in your daily intake. Don’t miss out!!!!!!!!! of ten regions (provinces) in Cameroon
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WHAT WE DO AND SERVICES OFFER -Transect sampling -Small plots sampling -Establishment of permanent one hectare plot for bio-monitoring -Establishment of 50 ha plot for long term bio-monitoring -Identification of all forms of Plant life within the Tropics -Ecological research -Biodiversity and forest assessment surveys -Ecological niche modelling -Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Studies -High Conservation Value (HCV) Assessment
DATA ANALYSIS -All forms of Data can be arranged and analysed using specialised software such as SPSS, MINITAB, PAST and Microsoft Excel -Biodiversity informatics in Data cleaning and data publishing
TroPEG ADDRESS P.O Box18, Mundemba E– mail: [email protected], [email protected] Blog: [email protected] Website: www.tropeg.org Telephone: (+237) 33 11 48 49 Mobile phone: (+237) 677 51 35 99 ; (+237) 699 38 39 70; (+237) 677 71 64 44
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