The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has officially approved a $46 million climate initiative (Project FP312) aimed at transforming land use and forest management across Cameroon’s permanent forest areas.
Entitled Securing Permanent Forests to Combat Climate Change and Enhance Sustainable National and Local Economies in Cameroon, the project addresses widespread tree cover loss and ecosystem degradation driven by unsustainable harvesting, population growth, and changing weather patterns. Between 2001 and 2024, Cameroon lost approximately 2.2 million hectares of tree cover.
The initiative spans three major ecological landscapes; Dja-Lobéké, Bakossi-Bamboutos, and Waza. It aims to bring over 60 000 hectares under sustainable management or restoration, update outdated forest management plans, and bolster non-timber forest product value chains to support local micro and small enterprises.
Marking one of Cameroon’s first two single-country GCF projects, the initiative aligns with the COP30 Belém Call to Action for the Congo Basin Forests. It is projected to avoid 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions and increase the climate resilience of roughly 1.5 million people, including women, youth, and indigenous communities.
The $46 million total project value comprises $29.7 million in GCF grant financing alongside $16.3 million in co-financing, implemented in partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Cameroon’s Ministry of Environment, Protection of Nature and Sustainable Development.
–ChannelAfrica/GCF–
