Walter Wilson Nana
Buea, Cameroon
Civil society organisations and enthusiasts of environmental protection have said continuous sensitisation and change of behaviours must be central in efforts towards protecting the environment.
At a weeklong activities in the campus of the Buea Alliance Franco-Camerounaise, April 8 – 14 2013, dubbed GREEN WEEK, the NGO Green Cameroon and partners organised exhibitions, movie projections, debates, workshops, presentations and general discussions on forest, water, waste, land and agriculture.
Tijs De Seager and Marie Dominique volunteers for enviromental protection from Belgium
Marie Dominique Remion, a Belgian and volunteer with Green Cameroon said environmental protection will succeed if the people of the community are involved and adequately educated on what the environment is all about. “Environmental problems are everywhere in the world, including Europe where I come from. In Cameroon as in other parts of Africa, you can feel the consequences of global warming more than elsewhere. So, we have to begin from our communities to sensitise the people not to dump their waste in just any manner and everywhere, respect the forest, avoid deforestation and more,” she explained.
The Belgian-born volunteer said while they look out for solutions in the course of their activities, they are also interested in reaching out to as many people as possible. “People have to be responsible towards and be sensitised on the environment. People must have the right information, the right tools and the right behaviour on the environment.
member of a partner NGO with GREEN CAMEROON
If you don’t, you will keep doing the wrong thing on the environment and continuing with global warming,” she noted.
Reiterating the need for environmental awareness, Jaynas Anutebeh, President of the Environmental Science Students Association of the University of Buea, ESSA, welcomed the GREEN WEEK initiative, adding that it is part of their objectives. “We take the message of environmental protection to the primary and secondary schools for the younger generation to be aware of the ongoing degradation of the environment,” he said.
Anutebeh decried poor waste management in Buea and across Cameroon despite the efforts made by HYSACAM, a waste management company in Cameroon. “The population is yet to catch up with HYSACAM in their endeavours to manage waste from the communities. There is deforestation; people are cutting down trees without planting another. These affect the climate change. The forest act as carbon sync for carbon dioxide. We’re joining our voices to that of Green Cameroon to fortify that awareness.
civil society organisation at the Buea GREEN WEEK
While felling down a single tree that took about 250 years to grow, we must plan about five others, which will take about that same number of years to grow. Even if we’ve to harvest, let’s harvest sustainably,” he advised.
Considering the harmful nature of waste, the varsity student entreated the population to follow the advice of HYSACAM. “Ignorance is part of the problems. People should attend conferences like this one to update themselves.”
According to the Executive Director of Green Cameroon, Massango Sone, there is lack of interest on environmental issues in the Cameroonian society; hence he packed the GREEN WEEK initiative to drive home a message. “It is all about a deep reflection and looking at environmental issues in a profound manner.
We’ve taken notes on some environmental issues that need redress. We have to raise the knowledge of community members on environmental concerns and getting all involved in conservation issues,” he said.
participant learn new ideas on enviromental protection
In their quest to change behaviours on environmental issues Masango said they are employing all the opportunities available. These include; the print media, radio stations, online media houses, the social media – twitters, face book and more to reach as many people as possible. “All these are time consuming, we need everybody on board and interestingly we’re happy that people do understand what we’re talking about. The feedback so far is positive. We are putting the problems in a strategic manner and letting the people know they are at the centre of it,” he mentioned.
From the Bimbia Bonadikombo Community Forest in Limbe, Philip Wotany wished that the environment should be protected for posterity. “We’re collaborating with Green Cameroon to ensure the protection of our forest. Some people are getting the message, others are not. The world belongs to all of us. If we destroy it, we will all suffer, especially the generations to come. We must be on the guard today.”
