Living Earth and FCTV, in partnership with Bristol Zoo Gardens, have released a vibrant music album ‘Voice of the People’ which talks about issues facing forest people living in the Dja Reserve in South Eastern Cameroon.  The songs deal with issues from corruption to the poaching of gorillas, and they are a blend of Cameroonian rap (courtesy of the artist Vicky Brown) and traditional West African beats and harmonies.

Cane rat farming

Vicky Brown sings for the Dja!

Vicky Brown, a talented Cameroonian rap artist joins forces with Living Earth Cameroon as part of the Dja Periphery Community Engagment project. His songs give a voice to the people of the Dja reserve. He draws attention to the delicate balance that must be managed between the need to protect natural resources and the immediate needs of his local community.

You can listen to Victor's music here

Foreign Office visits Living Earth Cameroon project

During October 2007 Euan Wallace, Head of Sustainable Development at the Foreign Office, and Ross Matthews, 2nd Secretary at British High Commission, Yaoundé, made a two-day visit to the Living Earth Cameroon project in the Dja Reserve.

The Nlobesse village band welcome the visitors

They were able to see both the tangible benefits that the project has brought to communities living around the Dja Reserve and to understand the wider processes through which sustainable conservation may be achieved.

Both declared themselves highly impressed by Living Earth’s work. The visit was covered extensively by local television media.

Find out more about the project here.

Launch of 2 new publications

In partnership with the Government of Cameroon (GoC) and with the participation of teachers and people working in the informal sector with communities, Living Earth Cameroon has designed and developed two environmental education manuals, published in both French and English.

New project in the Dja Biosphere Reserve

Living Earth Cameroon is currently working on the Dja Periphery Community Engagement Project (DPCEP) a project assisting local communities living around the Dja Biosphere Reserve (DBR) to engage more effectively with the government of Cameroon and biodiversity protection agencies, to render more effective conservation activities, particularly the protection of great apes.

The project is part of Cameroon’s National Great Ape Survival Plan (NGASP), which is part of the global initiative Great Ape Survival Partnership (GRASP).

Find out more...