Stakeholders in Meme Division have given their blessings to the Mount Cameroon National Park, MCNP, Management Plan.

The stakeholders have recommended that the data on seismic management and occurrences in the University of Buea and the Institute of Geological Research Ekona, be exploited in the management plan, and that management of revenue from eco-tourism and other sources should constitute part of the funds to support activities through the Mount Cameroon Foundation, MCF, and that the government should support the establishment and management of the MCF.

These recommendations were echoed in a meeting which took place at the Kumba City Council Hall on October 14, 2014 and was presided over by the SDO for Meme Koulbout Aman David, with the presence of the South West Regional Delegate for Forestry and Wildlife, Eben Ebai Samuel.

The meeting was organised by the management of the MCNP, in collaboration with the Programme for Sustainable Management of Natural Resources, PSMNR, South West Region and the World Bank’s Competitive Value Chain Project, PCFC.

According to the MCNP Conservator cum Coordinator, Besong Simon Besem, in adherence to legal demands, which require that protected areas have an elaborate and sustainable management plan, the park management, thought it worthwhile to engage local communities, Divisional and Regional Administration as well as development and conservation partners to actively participate in meetings in order to elaborate and validate a management plan for the park.

To better understand the management plan of the park, power point presentations were made in relevant thematic issues, reason why participants received lectures on the objectives and advantages of the management plan from facilitators who included, the Chief of service for National Parks in the Ministry of Forestry and wildlife, Antoine Njiang, the MCNP Coordinator, Besong Simon, the National Expert of PSMNR/SWR, Dr Tchouto Peguy, the Technical Director of PSMNR/SWR, Dr Julien Dupuy and Mor-Achankap Bakia of the GIS Office who gave an in-depth elucidation of the proposed Zoning plan for MCNP.

At the close of the workshop, six proposed Management plan was also approved and included, Administration and Finance, park protection, community development and local participation, eco-tourism development, research and monitoring as well as a sustainable finance mechanism.

The MCNP is one of the 18 National Park created by a Prime Ministerial Decree No 2009/2272/PM of 18/12/2009.It is located around Mount Cameroon and is boarded by 41 villages with at total human population of 100.000 inhabitants. Thus the management plan for the park is said to ensure the sustainability management of this biodiversity hotspot.