Hundreds of thousands of people have fled to north-east Cameroon amid violence by Islamist extremists. As the influx puts pressure on the region’s natural resources, locals say their forest has suffered. Now displaced people are seeking help to replace trees and find alternative fuel sources.
Adele Zaouda sweats profusely in a desperate effort to dig up the roots of a tree. The acacia tree itself has already been cut down and used for cooking.
With no other trees left standing, Zaouda has resorted to digging up roots. It has become her one source of fuel.
“We used to go to the forest to fetch wood. Now there are no more trees in the forest. We have to dig up the roots,” she tells RFI.
Strain on resources
The forest in question is the Zamai Forest Reserve in Cameroon’s Far North region. The reserve once spanned some seven square kilometres and teemed with several species of wildlife, including cheetahs, crocodiles, elephants, giraffes, leopards, lions, monkeys and warthogs, among others
Now, they are all gone,” says Oumarou Souley, personal secretary for the Lamido (traditional ruler) of Zamai.
“We deplore the fact that the Zamai reserve has disappeared. Refugees came here in large numbers. They felled every tree, they even dig up the roots. The reserve, with its rich wildlife, is gone,” Souley told RFI.
Source : Yahoo