Innovative management and business plan for Mount Cameroon National Park in Cameroon
Mount Cameroon National Park (MCNP) in Cameroon was created in late 2009 and covers an area of 58,178 ha. The park hosts the highest mountain in West Africa and is a biodiversity hotspot with over 2,300 plant, 86 reptile, 70 butterfly, and 400 bird species many of which are endemic. The park is one of four protected areas managed under the Program for Sustainable Management of Natural Resources in the South-West Region of Cameroon (PSMNR II). Since 2006, GFA Consulting Group has acted as fund manager and program coordinator implementing sustainable forest and wildlife resources management in close cooperation with the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF) at the regional level. The complex program is a cooperation venture of MINFOF, KfW, GIZ, WWF, and the World Conservation Society (WCS). The main role of GFA is to direct and provide technical assistance to the program, and to administer the investment fund and the program’s community forest component.
In 2014, the GFA team of experts have prepared a management plan and a business plan for the period 2015-2019 in cooperation with all program partners. To this end, socio-economic studies were up-dated, a zoning plan was developed and the eco-tourism potential was assessed. Finally, a range of stakeholder consultations and validations were carried out from local to national level. The plans were endorsed by Cameroon’s Prime Minister in April 2015.
The management plan developed six individual programs to guide management interventions within the park and its peripheral zone: administration and finance, park protection, collaborative management and local development, research and monitoring, ecotourism, and sustainable financing of park management.
The creation of a sustainable financing mechanism is of particular importance for MCNP. As part of a financial gap analysis, annual financial needs for the park were estimated to be 585,000 Euros and 138,000 Euros for the peripheral zone to improve local livelihood through green income-generating activities. Co-financing by KfW is scheduled to phase out in 2017 and sustainable financing options are sought. One option integrated in the Management and Business Plan is the creation of a Mount Cameroon Fund (MCF). The elaboration of a sustainable financing mechanism for the national park management, an assessment of carbon revenues and the overall financial feasibility of REDD+ measures will be investigated in the years to come.
>> Project website: http://psmnr-swr.org/
