Located at the northernmost tip of Cameroon and spanning around 95,000 hectares of dry tropical savannah, the Bogo landscape encompasses the Sahelian zone of the Lake Chad Basin and the western foothills of the Mandara Mountains. Cameroon’s Bogo region is a typical Sahelian environment with diverse natural resources, including high biodiversity and rich alluvial soils. This landscape is home to more than 128,000 people across 227 villages, making up a mosaic of ethnic groups that make a living from agriculture, livestock rearing, fishing, hunting and trade.
However, severe environmental degradation and declining vegetation cover have been seriously affecting the Bogo region. These problems, coupled with climate change and weak governance, have significantly reduced the resilience and wellbeing of local communities. Over the past 10 years, the GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP) and the Community Development and Knowledge Management for the Satoyama Initiative Programme (COMDEKS) have been addressing these issues in the Bogo landscape.
Under COMDEKS Phase 2, implemented over the period 2013 to 2016, COMDEKS Phase 2 aimed to enhance biodiversity conservation and improve community livelihoods. However, with persistent challenges such as soil infertility, climatic shocks, and declining agricultural productivity exacerbating food insecurity and poverty, there is still a long way to go in Bogo towards sustainable development.
Participatory mapping exercise being conducted with SAILD in 2024
In COMDEKS Phase 4 SGP Cameroon will continue to build on the past decade of work done in the Bogo landscape. In 2024, an assessment led by the civil society organization Support Service for Local Development Initiatives (SAILD) was conducted to evaluate Bogo’s socio-ecological state. Focusing on ecosystem protection, agricultural biodiversity, knowledge and learning, governance, social equity and livelihoods, the assessment found that urgent action is needed to improve the resilience of local communities. According to the study, several environmental and socio-economic issues affect both the landscape and the people of Bogo, including extreme climatic conditions, weak governance, precarious living conditions and the limited participation of women in decision-making processes. Despite persisting challenges, the assessment also found progress in several areas, such as increased tree planting and reforestation, expanded water wells to improve water security, establishment of new health centers and schools, and the installation of solar panels improving clean energy access.
There are currently seven COMDEKS Phase 4 projects under implementation in the Bogo landscape. These projects are focusing on restoring forests, rehabilitating pastures, promoting sustainable agriculture and supporting environmentally friendly local enterprises. Strengthening governance systems and enhancing women’s participation in decision-making are also critical priorities. These integrated actions aim to improve the resilience of both the landscape and its communities, ensuring sustainable natural resource management and improved living standards. By building on the lessons of the past decade and prioritizing community-led solutions, COMDEKS Phase 4 aims to secure a more resilient and prosperous future for the Bogo region.
Societies in harmony with nature: Launched in 2011 as a flagship programme of the Satoyama Initiative, COMDEKS is a global effort to promote the sustainable use of natural resources in landscapes and seascapes with local communities whose livelihoods and cultural heritage depend on them. It provides small-scale finance through SGP directly to local communities, Indigenous Peoples and civil society to implement locally-led projects that improve livelihoods and well-being, conserve biodiversity, address climate change, build resilience and support local cultures and traditional practices. Launched in 2022, COMDEKS Phase 4 is funded by the Ministry of the Environment Japan (MOEJ) and the Keidanren Nature Conservation Council (KNCF) and implemented by SGP.
