BY Elias Ngalame
A regional workshop to put in place a functional platform of ecosystems of the Mount Mandara Plateau held in Yaounde September 2-4, 2024.
The meeting to formulate actions for the better management of this ecosystem shared between Nigeria and Cameroon was chaired by Guy DEBOK NGHEMNING, director of Planning and Development of Border Areas (DATMZF) MINEPAT who represented the minister.
Accordingly the NB-ITTAS Project is working to improve the management, governance and conservation of natural resources in the Niger Basin system.
The two days workshop permitted participants to put in place the different organs of the platform. Participants through a series of presentations, also examined documents on the pilot project, the capacity building program and the ecosystem monitoring system of the Mount Mandara plateau. The group work that followed the presentations allowed the participants to enrich these different documents by taking into account two aspects: the budget available for the implementation of the selected activities and their execution deadline, which must be aligned with the period remaining for the implementation of the NB-ITTAS project. On these two bases, the participants identified the most relevant activities of the pilot demonstration project to be carried out within the deadline set by the project. The workshop also looked at the program for strengthening the organizational and technical capacities of the project beneficiaries for its effective implementation. The mechanism of the joint monitoring system in support of governance structures was also discussed. The aim was to identify priority and common indicators for monitoring ecosystems on the Mount Mandara plateau in Cameroon and Nigeria.
Participants resolved to ensure that the mandate is fulfilled by implementing the project within the allotted time. In the event of non-compliance with the deadlines by the end of the year, invite donors to grant an extension of time for the end of the project.
The Yaounde workshop according to Guy Debok represents a crucial step to strengthen collaboration and environmental governance in the region, by integrating innovative technologies and developing local capacities for sustainable management of natural resources.
