Why militarised approach to Cameroon’s wildlife conservation fuels local resentment
The mixed patrols take place both inside the national parks and the surrounding Zones d’Intérêt Cynégétique (ZICs). In the former, the patrols are organised and paid for by Cameroon’s government-run conservation agency, MINFOF, and its international conservation partners – World Conservation Society (WCS) for Benoué and Bouba Ndjida, and the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), in Faro.
Insurgency, ravages of climate change pose biggest threats to wildlife in northern Cameroon
Cameroon’s Far North has long been on the frontline of climate change. The region has suffered recurrent droughts, most notably during the 1970s and 1980s. This has led to successive waves of southerly migration to more fertile regions. Perhaps the most striking symbol of the changing climate is the shrinking of Lake Chad, a large part of which overlaps with northern Cameroon.
West African militaries reduced to sitting ducks as resurgent Islamic States attacks in northeast Nigeria take worrying trend
In January, ISWAP overran an army base in Mallam Fatori near the Niger border, seizing weapons and killing the commanding officer. Events started to accelerate in March, especially in southern Borno, with attacks in Wajiroko, Kumshe and Katafila, among others.
