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An innovative National Park model for the conservation of great apes in Cameroon
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On 30 October 2020, the AFD signed a financing agreement on behalf of the French Facility for Global Environment with the Electricity Development Corporation, the public agency in charge of managing reservoir dams in Cameroon. Worth €990,000, its primary objective is to consolidate the model put forward by the Deng Deng National Park, created in 2010 to protect the region’s great ape population.
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Covering a total of 68,200 hectares, the Deng Deng National Park, located in the forest massif of the same name, was created in 2010 to offset the impacts of the Lom Pangar hydroelectric project. The primary objective of this hydroelectric project was the construction of a regulating weir on the Sanaga river to secure water supply to the Song-Loulou and Edéa hydroelectric power stations during low water periods. It has since become a refuge for great ape populations - mainly gorillas and chimpanzees ― but is heavily targeted by poachers, an endemic problem across the region.
An innovative governance model
The financing agreement signed on 30 October 2020 on behalf of the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM) with the Electricity Development Corporation (EDC) forms part of a continuing concession agreement on water charges signed on 7 September 2020 between the EDC and the State of Cameroon. This enables hydroelectricity producers to remunerate EDC directly for the management of reservoir dams in the Sanaga River basin.
The funds released within this framework will also be used to set up a sustainable and innovative governance and management entity for the Deng Deng National Park and its surrounding areas, uniting the State with a partner specialising in the management of nature parks. This is an efficient way of ensuring transparency when it comes to revenues generated by the Lom Pangar reservoir dam water charges. Long-term, this new governance model will also ensure the conservation of the park’s rich biodiversity and maintain the ecosystemic services it provides across the region.
A project intersecting multiple SDGs
Globally, the project addresses several environmental challenges and encourages climate action, bearing witness to the AFD’s long term commitment to supporting Cameroon’s transition towards a more sustainable development model. It also intersects several other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): clean water and sanitation (SDG6), affordable and clean energy (SDG7), climate action (SDG13), life on land (SDG15), and partnerships to achieve the goals (SDG17)