Kilum-Ijim Forest Project, Cameroon
 BirdLife
Planning meeting in Kilum Ijim
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Location
This project works with the 35 communities that surround the Kilum-Ijim Forest, the largest remaining patch of Afro-montane forest in West Africa. It is found on Mount Oku (the second highest mountain in mainland West Africa) and the adjoining Ijim Ridge. Traditionally, three Fondoms (or kingdoms) cover this area - those of Kom, Nso and Oku. These traditional authorities, headed by the Fons (or paramount chiefs), are highly respected and play an important role in the governance of the region.
Project objectives
The goal of the project is that the biodiversity, extent and ecological processes of the Kilum-Ijim Forest are maintained, and that the forest is used sustainably by the local communities.
For the past five years, the project has followed a four-pronged strategy to achieve this purpose, as indicated by the four core objectives:
- An effective, participatory, community-based forest management system for conservation and sustainable use of the forest is in place and functioning.
- Communities, traditional authorities and government have the capacity to implement community forest management.
- Local livelihoods are improved in ways which contribute to the conservation of the Kilum-Ijim forest.
- A permanent system is in place for monitoring the effectiveness of forest management
The project is now in its final phase and the core objectives have evolved to reflect an increasing emphasis on the establishment of permanent structures to ensure the long-term conservation and sustainable use of the Kilum-Ijim Forest. These include:
- The entire Kilum-Ijim Forest is effectively managed by the local communities with support from traditional authorities and government for conservation and sustainable use.
- A permanent government structure to support community forestry and conservation at Kilum-Ijim is in place and functioning.
- A permanent, independent system is in place for monitoring the condition of the forest.
- A trust fund is in place to support ecological monitoring and other strategic activities that contribute to the long-term conservation and sustainable use of the Kilum-Ijim Forest.
 BirdLife
Bannerman's Turaco Tauraco bannermani
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Project activities
Helping communities to put in place a system for forest management involves many aspects. Communities may require assistance with:
- physically demarcating forest limits
- putting in place a legally recognised organisation to manage the forest
- producing inventories, to ascertain exactly what is in their forests and how the resources have been managed in the past
- developing rules for forest use, and producing management plans
- navigating the legal process which must be followed for the legal attribution of each community forest.
At each step, communities may require training, material support, or help in facilitating a particular process. At Kilum-Ijim, most of the communities are now at the latter stages of the process of establishing community forests, and have already taken on many forest management functions.
To support government's role in forest management the project is working towards the establishment of a Technical Operations Unit (TOU). This will be a permanent part of the Ministry of the Environment and Forestry (MINEF) with a mandate to support community forestry and conservation at Kilum-Ijim.
Project staff are working with MINEF staff to develop the terms of reference for the TOU, and are helping to determine and implement an appropriate staffing structure.
In addition to the community and government structures described above, the project is also developing an independent structure for ecological monitoring of the Kilum-Ijim Forest. The system and methodology for ecological monitoring have already been developed, and the project has established a long-term institutional home for the programme. This unit will provide feedback to all interested parties, locally and internationally, on the condition of the unique species and habitats of the region.
The project is also working with the Cameroon Mountains Conservation Foundation (CAMCOF) to put in place a trust fund that will support ecological monitoring, conservation and sustainable use of the Kilum-Ijim forest and other significant parts of the Cameroon Mountains in the long-term.
 BirdLife
Mural painting a Kilum-Ijum
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Actual outcomes
The project's most significant achievement to date is the conservation of the Kilum-Ijim Forest. While montane forests are fast disappearing throughout the rest of the Bamenda Highlands region, satellite imagery shows that the amount of forest in the Kilum-Ijim area is actually increasing. The process of communities taking responsibility for forest management with support from MINEF is working well.
Pic Planning meeting in Kilum Ijim
All of the communities have completed the initial phases of the community forestry process, have established village-based forest management institutions (FMIs), and are now in the latter stages of the legal attribution of their community forests. Eight of the nineteen forest management institutions have completed the attribution process and are now legally managing their forests.
By participating fully in the process of establishing this system of community-based forest management, all three main actors (the community, traditional authorities and government) have developed their capacity to implement community forest management.
The livelihoods programme, which has now been completed had an important impact on the lives of the local population. A study by the International Institute for Environment and Development found that the livelihoods programme had had a positive impact on changing people's attitudes and behaviour with respect to forest conservation. The project has also developed and implemented a system of ecological monitoring trained national staff to continue the programme, and established an independent organisation to allow for the continuation of ecological monitoring in the future.
Pic: Mural painting at Kilum-Ijum
The monitoring system provides regular information on the condition of the forest to MINEF, local communities and the international conservation community, in order to better manage the forest and verify that conservation objectives are being met. This system is now fully operational and documented, although it continues to develop as knowledge of forest biodiversity and processes increases. A methodology for communities to monitor the condition of their forests and the health of their FMIs has also been developed.
Other agencies involved
The Kilum-Ijim Forest Project is being carried out by BirdLife International in collaboration with the Cameroon Ministry of the Environment and Forestry and the communities adjacent to the Kilum Ijim forest.
Donors
The Kilum-Ijim Forest Project is currently funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF/UNDP) and the British Department for International Development (DFID) through the Civil Society Challenge Fund. In the past, it has also received funding from the Joint Funding Scheme (DFID), the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the Cameroon Biodiversity Conservation and Management Programme, the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries through the Programme International Nature Management (PIN) and WWF Netherlands.
For further details contact:
The Project Manager
Kilum Ijim Forest Project
P.O. Box 275, Bamenda,
North West Province,
Cameroon
Tel: (237) 336 21 93 (to leave a message).