Vedir”, a three-year project covering four countries of the Congo Basin was launched in Yaounde this month.

Communities that have hitherto suffered violence from investors in the Congo Basin will henceforth receive backing from their governments through Non-governmental Organisations, NGOs.

In effect, a new project code-named “Vedir” has gone operational in some four countries of the region - Cameroon, the Central Africa Republic, Congo and Gabon.

The three-year European Union funded project has been designed to protect the rights of communities and community leaders who practice environmental protection.

The one million EUR (approximately FCFA 655 million) regional project was launched in Yaounde lately.

The project crusader, the European Union and the Center for Environment and Development, CED, alongside other regional NGOs are aiming at a solution whereby communities and environmental protection leaders will no longer suffer harassment from investors because they oppose forestry, mining and oil exploitation to their disfavour.

The project targets 70 associations in 30 local communities.