Building a post-hunting wildlife economy in Dja

We increase income, food security, and sustainability by providing alternative livelihoods to bushmeat hunting, poaching, and unsustainable agriculture. We've trained people in improved cocoa farming, fish farming, and sustainable harvesting of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) like njansang and moabi. We also contributed to community resilience by improving market access and pricing as well as providing transportation for communities who gather NTFPs and cocoa.

Learn how business can help wildlife
cocoa

Strengthening wildlife protection

We supported Cameroon’s wildlife ministry in developing a five-year anti-poaching strategy for Campo Ma’an National Park and have ensured that the park’s staff is equipped with the latest anti-poaching and ecological monitoring tools and knowledge. Armed with GIS-based tracking equipment, AWF-trained rangers have helped reduce poaching by seizing large caches of bushmeat, snares, and firearms. With our assistance, the ranger units boosted patrol days from slightly more than 5,000 to more than 10,000 per year.

Read a patrol success story
SMART tracker

Promoting new livelihood models

Together with us, communities in the Faro landscape generate income and improve food security. AWF and the World Agroforestry Center, for instance, collaborated with local people around Faro to establish the Tchamba Rural Resources Center, which functions as a springboard for agroforestry cultivation. The center's nursery has cultivated and distributed to communities approximately 8,000 indigenous tree seedlings, including moringa, anacardium, mangifera, guava, pawpaw, and citrus.

Learn the value of planting trees
seedling farm

Participatory planning benefits people and wildlife around Dja Faunal Reserve

We bring together everyone in and around Dja Faunal Reserve with a vested interest—including community members, government officials, and Indigenous peoples—to shape conservation strategy. With our technical assistance, the parties have created strategies that prioritized not only wildlife protection but also the improvement of local livelihoods.

Learn how a strategy comes together
Participatory planning meeting