Forestry and wild life

NATIONAL REFORESTATION & FOREST PROTECTION POLICY

Restoring Our Land. Protecting Our Future.

Cameroon’s forests are a national treasure and a pillar of climate stability, food security, biodiversity, and economic resilience. Yet they are being lost at an alarming rate. Current data shows that Cameroon loses approximately 90,000–100,000 hectares of forest each year, equivalent to nearly 50 million trees annually. 

Between 2001 and 2024, the country lost an estimated 2.2 million hectares of tree cover, representing a 7% decline since 2000, with periods of accelerating loss.

If this trend continues, it threatens the environment, rural livelihoods, water systems, agriculture, and the wellbeing of future generations.

Our administration will treat forest protection and restoration as a national priority backed by law, funding, and accountability.

We will introduce and enforce a National Reforestation Law that mandates the planting of 1 billion trees every year, positioning Cameroon as a continental leader in environmental restoration and climate action.

To achieve this target efficiently and at national scale, our administration will adopt a dual-method reforestation system:

• 500 million trees annually through systematic hand or machine planting, focusing on high-value zones such as degraded forests, watersheds, farmlands, riverbanks, and urban green spaces.
   
• 500 million trees annually through large-scale seed scattering, using aerial and ground-based techniques to rapidly regenerate vast and hard-to-reach areas.
   

Both methods will prioritize indigenous, climate-resilient species suited to local ecosystems.

1. Reverse Forest Loss at Scale

• Restore degraded land across all ten regions
   
• Rebuild natural ecosystems and biodiversity corridors
   
• Strengthen soil health, rainfall patterns, and water security
   

2. Make Reforestation a National Civic Duty

• Mobilize youth, schools, farmers, local councils, and traditional authorities
   
• Create paid community reforestation programs to generate employment
   
• Integrate tree planting into education, national service, and public works
   

3. Enforce Strong Forest Protection Laws

• Impose strict penalties for illegal logging and forest destruction
   
• Require mandatory replanting for all commercial forest activities
   
• Use satellite monitoring, audits, and public reporting to ensure transparency
   

4. Deliver Climate, Economic, and Generational Benefits

• Protect biodiversity and strengthen food security
   
• Reduce climate vulnerability and environmental degradation
   
• Position Cameroon as a regional and global climate leader
   
• Preserve a healthier, greener nation for future generations

 Wildlife and Forest Conservation Policy

Our administration is committed to urgently stopping and reversing the dangerous decline of Cameroon’s wildlife and forests. Cameroon sits at the heart of the Congo Basin, one of the most important ecological regions on Earth. Our forests are home to some of the world’s rarest species, forest elephants, gorillas, chimpanzees, drills, pangolins, parrots, and many others. These animals are not symbols. They are part of who we are as a nation.

Today, many of these species are close to disappearing. Poaching, illegal logging, bushmeat trafficking, unchecked agricultural expansion, mining, and poorly planned infrastructure have pushed wildlife populations to critical levels. Forest elephants are now counted in the hundreds in key areas. Cross River gorillas number fewer than 300. Drills and chimpanzees are rapidly declining. African grey parrots have lost more than half of their population in just a few generations.

This is not acceptable. Our administration will act.

We will enforce the law without compromise. Eco-guards will be properly trained, equipped, and supported under the updated Forest and Wildlife Law. We will deploy modern tools such as SMART patrol systems, drones, and real-time monitoring. Environmental crimes will carry serious penalties, and we will work with international partners to dismantle trafficking networks targeting elephants, pangolins, parrots, and great apes.

Conservation will not succeed without people. We will place Indigenous Peoples and local communities at the center of forest protection. Communities will have a voice in protected-area governance and will benefit directly through alternative livelihoods such as ecotourism, beekeeping, sustainable farming, and conservation jobs. Human-wildlife conflict will be addressed with practical, fair solutions—not punishment.

We will expand and properly manage protected areas, enforce bans on illegal and unprocessed timber exports, and require sustainable certification for forestry and agriculture. Large-scale reforestation will be accelerated in line with Cameroon’s AFR100 and Bonn Challenge commitments. Forest restoration will be treated as a national priority, not an afterthought.

Our administration will fully implement national action plans for priority species elephants, great apes, pangolins, and parrots. We will strengthen and scale rehabilitation centers such as Limbe Wildlife Centre, Sanaga-Yong, and Ape Action Africa.

Over a 10-year period, and guided strictly by science, habitat readiness, and veterinary standards, we will support carefully planned reintroductions of native wildlife into secure forest areas. Our targets include:

• 100–200 forest elephants into protected core habitats
   
• 1,000 rehabilitated primates, including drills and colobus monkeys
   
• Up to 5 million African grey parrots through long-term recovery and breeding programs
   
• 500 gorillas and chimpanzees combined, released in phases with full monitoring
   

These efforts will prioritize genetic diversity, animal welfare, post-release survival, and ecosystem balance. This is about rebuilding life, not making headlines.

We will work openly with conservation organizations, researchers, donors, and communities. Wildlife data, forest cover, and enforcement outcomes will be publicly reported. Conservation funds will be traceable. Results will be measured, not assumed.