By Yerima Kini Nsom & Daniel Gwarbarah
The Mayor of the Massok Council in the Sanaga Maritime Division of the Littoral Region has said the eventual creation of the Ebo National Park will serve as a development vector in the locality. Paul Hyol said the park would trigger the development of other income-generating activities for the local population such as eco-tourism, tourist guards, revenue from lodging, the sale of food stuff and crafts.
Hyol made the declaration to press at the Yaounde 110 Military Base Tuesday, February 2, shortly after a low altitude fly-over to appreciate the potentials of the Ebo forest area. The fly-over, coordinated by the World Wide Fund, WWF, technicians who have been working over the years to prepare Ebo for a National Park, also had government officials, representatives from the Dutch Embassy in Cameroon, local community leaders and the media.
On what special thing the park would bring to the people of Sanaga Maritime and Nkam Divisions, where it stretches to, Hyol said, during concertation meetings, members of the community were convinced of the benefits that would emanate from such a venture. He said his people are looking at the venture as a factor of development that must be promoted.
However, according to an elite of Yengi, located in the neighbourhood of the envisaged park, Barrister Florantine Onotiang Mapeine, some of her people are resisting the project. She noted that about 50 years ago, there were village communities in the area but because of the intense war government launched against members of the UPC then, the villagers were advised to evacuate. Going by her, those resisting say they intend to go back to their villages.
Barrister Onotiang, who was also part of the team that flew over the area, described the forest as thick, rich and void of settlements and therefore must be protected at all cost. She recommended permanent sensitization of the people on the importance of the park. Onotiang's view was shared by the Director of Wildlife and Protected Areas, in the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife, Philip Tabi Tako-Eta, who said in all conservation efforts, a middle ground is always reached.
According to Dr. Atanga Ekobo, Coordinator of the WWF Coastal Forests Programme, the urgency of protecting that forest lies in the proximity of the area to Douala where commercial bush meat trade constitutes a constant negative pressure on the various species. He also talked of increasing foreign professional hunters streaming into the area from the east of Cameroon, the pressure on certain species prone to extinction and the need of encouraging man and nature to live in harmony.