On the 28th of March 2023, a meeting of the members of the IUCN Cameroon National Committee was held at the headquarters of the IUCN National Office – Cameroon. Green Connexion was represented at this meeting. The objective of the said meeting was to review the activities of the Cameroon committee so far and to define the main orientations of future actions to be carried out for the good functioning of this committee.
As planned in the agenda, the meeting started with a word from the IUCN Director for Central Africa, Mr Kennet ANGU ANGU, who welcomed the participants and urged the members to continue the noble cause of protecting our dear Biodiversity; he also invited the members to work more in synergy for more efficiency. Before retiring, he wished that the activities would be carried out in good conditions and that everyone would return home smoothly.
After this welcome, the President of the National Committee of IUCN members, Prof. Roger Ngoufo, made a speech which was essentially based on the need and importance of this meeting. He ended his speech by inviting each representative to introduce himself and his organisation as well as its main activities.
After the presentation phase, the regional facilitator, Ms Eva MOUZONG, took the floor to briefly present IUCN at the global, regional and national levels. Overall, we can note that :
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IUCN currently has more than 1450 members, 6 specialised commissions and 7 ecoregions
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The Central and Western Africa Regional Programme (PACO) has about 103 members
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The election of the committees’ officers is done every 4 years
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The current focus is on the organisation of the forum and the question is whether to organise a single forum for the African region or forums in sub-regions
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Reflections on the organisation of the next forum in Cameroon are underway but the chances are slim in view of the security conditions
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The members of the national committee office are not very active
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Green Connexion is not up to date with its dues
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She congratulated the presence of younger and younger focal points, which proves the will of the members to prepare the next generation; moreover, it would be important to keep the same faces to ensure that all are always on the same wavelength at national, regional and international meetings.
After this session, the president took the floor to inform the participants about the history and the state of affairs of the Cameroon Committee:
- At its creation, the objective of the national committee was among others to facilitate cooperation between members and IUCN in Cameroon, develop strategies to increase membership, capitalize on the expertise and experience of its members, encourage capacity building of its members, and put in place joint projects and initiatives in order to achieve the strategic objectives of IUCN
- To achieve these objectives, several activities were carried out, such as meetings among members (at Green Connexion on 18 September 2019) to strengthen cohesion, advocacy and mobilisation actions such as the case of the national forum PSFE-CEFDHAC and the organisation of the World Environment Day at ENEF under the initiative of Green Connexion, participation in the process of revising the forestry law etc.
- The national committee has participated in 4 congresses since its establishment (2008, 2012, 2016, 2021)
In the future it will be interesting to strengthen the functioning of the national committee by creating full members and honorary members.
Proposal of the new bureau:
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President: CEW
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Vice President 1: CAFER
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Vice President 2: CamEco
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Treasurer: ONED
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SG: CARFAD
Communication officer and in charge of relations with specialised commissions: Green Connexion
Other perspectives
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Strengthening the network
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Advocacy with the State of Cameroon and other member states of the sub-region
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Organise at least one media event per year
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Review and operationalise the 2021-2024 programme
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Prepare the next congress
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Seek support
After this phase, the word was given to the administrations who made the recommendation that IUCN should seek to meet with the different Ministers to present their action plans in order to obtain the requested support.
The exchanges were closed at around 2pm with a family photo.
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