Cameroon: Greenpeace Rejects Ebo Forest Plan

Greenpeace Africa, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), and the Banen people of Cameroon, have rejected the government’s plan to cut down trees in the Ebo forest located in the Littoral region of the country.

Development Diaries learnt that senior government officials have approved the opening of 68,385 hectares of virgin forest to logging. But the NGO and the Banen people demanded the immediate cancellation of the plan – a demand ignored by the country’s Prime Minister, Joseph Ngute.

Ngute, with the approval of the Cameroonian Presidency, signed on 14 July, 2020, a decree aimed at opening the aforementioned hectares in the Littoral region of Cameroon.

The Forest Campaign Manager at Greenpeace Africa, Sylvie Djacbou, said ‘We again call on the Cameroonian government to reverse industrial logging plans in the Ebo forest and designate it as a community conservation area instead’.

Speaking on behalf of the Banen people, Victor Yetina, said, ‘The vast majority of Banen say no to this injustice. The Ebo forest represents above all the identity of the Banen people and their collective will use all legal means for the annulment of this decision by the government.

Ebo, an area with a high concentration of biodiversity, is home to an isolated population of western gorillas and large populations of chimpanzees.

Source: Afrik21

Photo source: Tim Gorman

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