Report of Pilot Visit to the Takamanda Area. Done by. Asoh Bedwin Ngwasina. May P age

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1 Report of Pilot Visit to the Takamanda Area Done by Asoh Bedwin Ngwasina May P age

2 Table of content Acknowledgement..3 Introduction.4 Background.5 Method..9 Results 9 Picture gallery 15 General observations 22 Suggestions..24 Conclusion.24 2 P age

3 Acknowledgement We are grateful to the funders of AWP and her well wishers for making the funds available for this trip. We equally want to comment the efforts of WCS management for partnering with us and facilitating the work in the Takamanda area. We also say thanks to the community and school authorities for their hospitality and cooperation. 3 P age

4 Introduction The Wildlife Run is a large scale community based approach to improve the situation of wildlife in Takamanda Mone Landscape. It carries out a modern education program, raising awareness of endangered species such as the elephant, the chimpanzee and cross river gorilla. It provides information and positive spirit of how to deal with natural resources in a sustainable way to communities located in landscape. By participating in this Road Event local communities will be able to learn about sustainable resource management through an interactive video game. Key Messages Conservation is our individual concern Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli), Nigeria Cameroon Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti), African elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis) are ENDEANGERED The future lies in our actions today Purpose of the trip: To familiarize with the communities and schools in the Takamanda Mone landscape, know the realities on the ground, prepare communities and schools towards the implementation of the alpha test of the mobile app in schools and subsequently the road show in communities. Target audiences Primary school children Secondary school students Adults in communities Activities: Creating contacts with local authorities and head teacher Collection population data in communities, number of schools and enrolled population in schools. Distribution of handouts (brochures) Geo reference communities and schools 4 P age

5 Background Description of Takamanda National Park For the Conservation of high biodiversity and endemism as well as contribute to improvement in livelihoods of local communities living adjacent to this forest entity, the Takamanda National Park (05 o o 21 N; 09 o o 30 E), covering an area of c. 67,599 ha was classified by Prime Ministerial Decree No. 2008/2751/PM of 21 st November 2008 from the Takamanda Native Authority Forest Reserve created in 1934 as a production forest. At present it is one of the ten rainforest national parks in Cameroon and is situated along the Cameroon Nigeria border in south west Akwaya Sub Division of Manyu Division in South West region of Cameroon (Figure 1). The biodiversity richness and endemism comprise of 22 large mammal species including the endemic and critically endangered Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli), 75 species of reptiles and amphibians, 313 bird species most with restricted range, 67 dragonfly species, 111 butterfly species, over 54 fish species, and over 1000 identified plant species. Ethnicity in and around Takamanda National Park is heterogeneous with dominant Anyang in the south and central, Boki in the southwest, Asumbo in the northeast, Becheve in the north, Basho in the east and the Belegete (Vande) in the northwest. However, the Aku of Nigerian origin and Funali (Bororo) from further north of Cameroon and Nigeria both immigrants in the area now intersperse the Becheve and Asumbo ethnic groups in the grassland, north of the park. All these groups currently have very strong economic, social and cultural relations with Nigeria and interact on daily basis. The human population in the 18 villages of Cameroon and 6 of Nigeria sharing direct boundary with the Park is c. 16,000 people with c. 50% being youths means high probability of increasing future threats to biodiversity conservation in the current wake of economic crisis, youth unemployment and increasing demand for agricultural land in the area. The previous management orientation of Takamanda Native Authority Forest Reserve as a production forest left a leniency that allowed the local population to undertake a lot of unchecked activities for livelihood that now threaten the new orientation for management towards conservation of biodiversity. The human infiltration into Takamanda National Park from more distant populated Nigerian towns and villages for illegal collection of NTFPs, 5 P age

6 hunting, fishing and timber harvesting often in high complicity of their Cameroon relations increases the threats levels of the park. During a 5 days stakeholder workshop held in December 2007 at Mamfe to establish a conservation and community access agreement for the collection of NTFPs in the Takamanda National Park, the Wildlife Conservation Society (a leading Conservation partner in the Management of TNP) provided a guiding presentation which compared the levels of biodiversity and endemism, abundance of common key flagship species and human pressures/threats of TNP with other National Parks Cameroon and the Central African sub region. This demonstrated that biodiversity level in TNP was very high but abundance very low due to very high levels of human pressures/threats. These situations therefore necessitate the development and strict implementation of a powerful Anti poaching Patrol Strategy that involves major stakeholders in order to minimize the human pressures/threats if not halt them to allow for recovery and build up of the abundance in the biodiversity especially the flag ship species. Global Conservation objective of TNP The global conservation objective for the creation of Takamanda National Park as stated in the approved Management plan is; To conserve the biodiversity of Takamanda National Park and its periphery with the participation of all stakeholders while contributing towards the sustainable development of its local communities The specific conservation objectives of Takamanda National Park also stated in the approved MP that are protection related include; To assure optimum protection and integrity of TNP to contribute to the fight against climate change To promote participatory management and support alternative income generating activities for sustainable development To support research and bio monitoring To ensure effective trans boundary management 6 P age

7 According to the above listed Wildlife Run will be a very good tool to facilitate the achievement of specific objective I given that a change in both altitude and lifestyle will guarantee an optimum protection of TNP as well as fight climate change. In our pilot visit to the Takamanda area we visited some communities in the TNP, some around the park as we as some communities of the Mone forest reserve as represented in figure I and II below. 7 P age

8 Fig.I: Takamanda National Park 8 P age

Fig.II: Mone Forest Reserve Method The participatory and illustrative approach was use to present the Wildlife run brochure to both the communities and schools.

9 Fig.II: Mone Forest Reserve Method The participatory and illustrative approach was use to present the Wildlife run brochure to both the communities and schools. Room was also given for questions and answers as need arises. Results In total, twenty (20) communities and twenty two (22) schools were visited. Names of contact persons and the position they occupy either in the communities or in schools were taken and where applicable telephone contacts were collected. Population of both schools and communities were collected. Brochures were distributed to both communities and schools as indicated in Table one below. We visited the community of Mukwenpong and the school but brochure were not given because no competent authority was on seat. A total of four hundred and thirty five (435) brochures were distributed during the trip. 9 P age

10 Table one: Place visited, population, address of contact person and number of brochures given. Number Name Contact person Population No. of brochures 1 GTC KESHAM Math teacher Abang Louis Takum Tel: GS KESHAM Assistant Head teacher Ekuli Irine Tel: KESHAM Vice Chairman Agbor Osana Joseph Tel: GSS BACHE Principal Abangma Micheal Tel: BACHE Vice Chairman Achaw David Tel: GS BACHE Teacher Takah Aaron Takah Tel: GS OKPAMBE Headmaster Achaw Rymond Enow Tel: OKPAMBE Chief Nyambi Samson Tambe GS NYANG Assistant Head teacher Bessong Bessong Tel: Nyang Vice Chairman Obi John P age

11 11 Mukwenpong 12 GS Mukwenpong 13 MBU Vice chairman Eno Benedick 14 GS MBU Headmaster Tiku Moses Ebia Tel: NFAKWE Vice Chairman Samson Enow Ebia Tel: KEKPANI Chair lady Nchia Frida 17 G.S NFAKWE Teacher Aku Odilia 18 BASHO I Vice Chairman Anyia Mathias Alpha 19 GS BASHO I Headmaster Manyne Emmanuel Tel: BASHO II Chief Avah Saker Ayancha 21 MBILISHI Chief to be Avah Abraham Tel: GS MBILISHI Head master Echu Charles Tel: AKWA Secretary General Tarh Cletus Tel: GS AKWA Assistant Head teacher Menge Richard P age

12 25 GSS AKWA Principal Ashu Clement Ezah Tel: GS BAKEM Teacher Ojong Sheltrice Tel: BAKEM Counsellor Ebua Charles Enow 28 EBINSI Chairman Eyong Enest Mbua GS EBINSI Assistant Head teacher Gwendoline Bisong Tel: GHS KAJIFU Principal Mandi Lawrance Tel: KAJIFU I Chief Mbua Simon lekan Tel: GS KAJIFU Headmaster Enu Emmanuel Tel: KAJIFU II Chairman Enu Ndoma Simon Tel: KAJIFU II Police Commissioner Ntonjo Joseph TeL: TNP HQ The conservator (Takamanda Walter Ashu National Tel: or park P age

13 headquarter ) 36 Kekukesim Chief Augustin Agbor Tel: G.s Head master Kekukesim Eban John Tel: Obonyi I Chief Ashu Elias 39 G.S Acting Head teacher Obonyi I Eno Elias Keto 40 G.S Head master Obonyi III Oyong Geoffrey Tel: Obonyi III Chief Agbotoh Elias 42 G.S Assistant head teacher Takamanda Eke Elvis Terhide G.S.S Principal Takamanda Defang Charles A 44 Takamanda Chief Etchu Andrew Mbua Tel: Total 435 As suggested in the plan, all communities and schools visited were supposed to be georeferenced. This was not possible in some cases because the GPS we took to the field was not working for a number of days and we had to go back to Mamfe to get another. It was cumbersome for us to repeat the communities where we have been before reason why some places do not have GPS points confer table two. 13 P age

14 Table two: Places visited and their GPS coordinates Latitude Longitude Altitude (m) Name GTC KESHAM GS KESHAM GSS BACHE BACHE GS BACHE GS OKPAMBE OKPAMBE GS NYANG GS MBU NFAKWE KEKPANI G.S NFAKWE BASHO I GS BASHO I BASHO II MBILISHI GS MBILISHI RIVER EBAI AKWA GS AKWA GSS AKWA RIVER MONE GS BAKEM BAKEM EBINSI GS EBINSI GHS KAJIFU KAJIFU I GS KAJIFU KAJIFU II TNP HQ 14 P age

5.94017800 9.21549400 55.1 RIVER EBINSI Kekukesim G.s Kekukesim Obonyi I G.S Obonyi I G.S Obonyi III Obonyi III G.

15 RIVER EBINSI Kekukesim G.s Kekukesim Obonyi I G.S Obonyi I G.S Obonyi III Obonyi III G.S Takamanda G.S.S Takamanda Takamanda Picture Gallery Bedwin Presenting wildlife run brochure to chief Ashu Elias of Obonyi I 15 P age

16 Pupils of GS Takamanda taking a close look at the wildlife run brochure 16 P age

17 Mr. Mulema and pupils 17 P age

18 Mr. Mulema and chief Agbotoh Elias of Obonyi III Bedwin and Bike guy crossing Ebinsi River 18 P age

19 Students and teacher of GTC Kesham reading wildlife run brochre 19 P age

20 Bedwin at GS Kesham Community guys help to carry bike across Ebai river 20 P age

21 Bedwin in Basho I community Mr. Mulema in Mbilishi community 21 P age

accessible in the rainy season however the areas across river Ebinsi could be reachable all round because

22 Bedwin at GS Mbilishi campus Bedwin and Mr. Mulema crossing Ebai river on the way back to Mamfe General observations Most of the communities are less accessible in the rainy season however the areas across river Ebinsi could be reachable all round because there are canoes and a fairy for humans and cars. For river Ebai, a canoe is available in the heart of the rainy season but presently people have to cross in the river. 22 P age

There is no pipe born water in all the communities that were visited above. Basic health infrastructures were also absent in about 80% of the communities visited.

23 There is no pipe born water in all the communities that were visited above. Basic health infrastructures were also absent in about 80% of the communities visited. School infrastructure are basic in about 50% of schools visited with must school lacking a toilet. Didactic material for pupils and student is a cause for concern as no school library was seen throughout the visit. About 90% of the communities visited do not have electricity so a minority can afford solar lamps while the rest are left in the dark. Communities in the park and some very close to the park boundaries have serious nutritional problems. Staple foods are products from cassava, cocoyam, plantain and corn. For the people, they are very hospitable and nice; open to new ideas and ready to collaborate. WCS and PSMNR have done some real work in this area especially in the creation of local road network. Thanks to this, Mr. Mulema will introduce AWP as a partner to WCS as well as let the people know that AWP has a mission to revamp conservation education in schools and communities. This was a real boost in morals as they looked forward to see this new technology From a personal point of view I think we can count on the communities for collaboration. We may encounter some challenges at the level of communication because network connection is not available in most areas. Mr. Mulema and guys in Akwa community backing Mone forest reserve. 23 P age

24 Suggestions Based on the accessibility, population of the school and distance from Mamfe, I suggest that alpha testing could be done in GS Kesham, GS Kajifu and GHS Kajifu. It could be important as well if the schools have a reward scheme that is different from that of the communities. If possible, T shirts and/or caps could be printed for the teachers of the schools were we will be carrying out alpha testing. Conclusion It was a great trip a hope it contribute greatly to the implementation of the alpha testing. 24 P age

6. Involving the local population in park management. 7. Involving local NGO s and researchers in park activities and management.

6. Involving the local population in park management. 7. Involving local NGO s and researchers in park activities and management. TROPICAL PLANT EXPLORATION GROUP (TroPEG) -CAMEROON Reg. No. 03/G40/606/AR/BASC/SP P.O Box 18, Mundemba. SWR, Cameroon E mail: tropeg.cam@gmail.com, tropeg_cam@yahoo.com Blog: tropegcam.blogspot.com, Website: