Project to develop green industries and restore degraded ecosystems around protected areas
CERAF-Nord's activities are modest, but it has played a pioneering role in integrated landscape management and, above all, specialises in restoration. Our core business is the restoration of fragile and degraded ecosystems, with agroforestry playing a central role.
An initiative of Centre for Agroforestry, Forestry and Continuing Education Resources in the North (CERAF-Nord)
Overview of the project
We work closely with the communities living on the periphery of the Protected Area, in particular the Bénoué National Park (PNB). After analysing their needs and understanding the reasons behind their actions, which are considered harmful to these protected areas (because most of them are unaware of them).We propose innovative alternative solutions that are adapted to the needs identified. For most of those involved in the degradation of the GNP and its periphery, it has been found that their motivation is extreme poverty, the search for arable land for migrants, and grazing for transhumant herders.
The solutions proposed are the creation of green jobs within the communities, and activities aimed at re-establishing the original environment, such as restoration through participative reforestation of species of great interest, Assisted Natural Regeneration, the creation of community forests and advocacy for the supervision of transhumance around the Protected Area. We are then seeking technical and financial partners to implement these activities for the beneficiaries. The implementation of the activities begins with awareness-raising, followed by capacity-building sessions for the beneficiaries to enable them to implement the activities defined in a “do it yourself” approach. We then carry out monitoring missions to assess the extent to which the results indicators have been achieved.
Contribute upstream to the resilience of communities and ecosystems in the face of perverse effects or even negative impacts that are systematically observed due to the short-term cyclical nature of projects.
Ongoing research
Project still in progress
- 42 nurserymen trained and recruited to manage the nurseries, including 28 women, 1,700 cashew growers supported and monitored, 19 ha of orchards already in production.
- 658 litres and 34.5 kg of beeswax already produced and sold by the MA’A ZOG NOUN cooperative
- 187 beekeepers, including 81 women
- 115 beekeepers in Falingo/Faransa (41 households)
- 233 Kenyan hives in Falingo, Faransa and Sassa
- 100 ha reforested with shea
- 5 tonnes of dried almonds collected
- 48 farmers involved, including 22 women, 138 kg of shea butter pressed using traditional methods. The modern unit set up will enable the production of more than 4 tonnes of butter per campaign;
- 548,778 trees produced, distributed and planted (cashew and native species), including 28,000 Afzelia africana (4,000 ha reforested).
- 10 nurseries have been set up on the outskirts of the Benoue National Park and are managed by a network of trained nurserymen. 5,400 ha have been reforested.
Financed by technical and financial partners including Planète-Urgence, Noé and Fondem
About the
organisation
organisation
CERAF-Nord’s activities are modest, but it has played a pioneering role in integrated landscape management and, above all, specialises in restoration. Our core business is the restoration of fragile and degraded ecosystems, with agroforestry playing a central role. We rely on the needs expressed by communities to provide Nature-based Solutions, with a strong emphasis on raising awareness. For example, with the support of more than 800 trained nurserymen and 1,500 producers from the community, we have planted 548,000 trees of various species in the intervention site, covering almost 5,400 hectares restored since 2018. Three (3) sectors, shea, cashew and beekeeping, have been developed.
A project
in collaboration
in collaboration
Other partners / supporters
PPI and GIZ