Takamanda, Mt Cameroon National Parks: Updated Management Plans Validated

The Takamanda and Mount Cameroon National Parks located in Akwaya Subdivision in Manyu Division and Fako Division respectively, will soon have revised management and business plans. Community members and regional authorities of the South West Region have validated the technical documents while pending the national validation before it goes operational. Meeting in a Regional Validation workshop in Buea on November 19, community members of the Takamanda National Park including traditional rulers, experts and partners joined the Regional authorities to examine and validate the management plan which will run from 2026 to 2031 on a budget of close FCFA 1.9 billion. The Takamanda National Park covers 67,547 hectares’ surface area and contains endemic and rare flora and fauna species like the Cross-River Gorilla. Meanwhile, the same experts and Regional authorities alongside traditional ruler from villages around Mount Cameroon converged on November 20 in Buea for the validation of the Mount Cameroon National Park Management and Business Plan. The protected area covers a surface area of about 58,000 hectares and it is unprecedentedly unique with its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and rare plants and animal species. The Management Plan to run from 2025 to 2030 is estimated at close FCFA 4 billion. Both management plans, according to the South West Regional Delegate for Forestry and Wildlife, Christian Manga-Bell Epie, will be implemented in a collaborative approach with the involvement of local communities. “We want to make it more inclusive to involve the local communities in the sustainable management of our natural resources,” he said. Both management plans are jointly funded by the government of Cameroon and the Federal Republic of...