CAMEROON: Tree Planting to Save Lake Chad

UNCLAS YAOUNDE 000806

SIPDIS

Department for AF/C and OES
Department Pass USAID and USDA
USDOC for ITA - Burress

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL SENV CD CM
SUBJECT: CAMEROON: Tree Planting to Save Lake Chad

REF: NDJAMENA 404


1. (U) SUMMARY: Embassy Yaounde continued its environmental outreach
with a recently signed agreement to fund reforestation projects
around Lake Chad. An August 27 tree planting ceremony near Lake
Chad, attended by Ambassador and Chadian and Cameroonian ministers,
signaled strong cooperation between the two neighbors on a key
climate change issue. Soon after the tree planting event, the
Government of Cameroon began to present its position on climate
change in preparation for the upcoming Copenhagen talks. End
Summary

Johnny Appleseed Comes to Lake Chad
--------------


2. (U) On August 27, Embassy Yaounde signed an agreement with the
non-governmental organization Organisme de Developpement, d'Etude,
de formation et de Conseils (ODECO) for a $98,000 environmental
project in the Lake Chad region. ODECO will administer the grant
under the USDA-funded Food for Progress Program and will use the
funds to develop tree nurseries in partnership with local
communities, provide wells to supply water for the nurseries, and
carry out the reforestation of areas around Lake Chad. The project
will complement the efforts of the Cameroonian Ministry of Forests
and Wildlife to promote the planting of 90,000 trees in the North
and Far North Regions. Ambassador joined Cameroonian Minister of
Forests and Wildlife Elvis Ngolle Ngolle, the visiting Chadian
Minister of Environment, and local political and traditional leaders
for a colorful (although very rainy) planting ceremony near the
Cameroonian-Chadian border.


3. (U) The two ministers and the Ambassador planted trees on both
sides of the Cameroonian-Chadian border as a symbol of their
commitment to Lake Chad. They also planted trees in a community
close to Lake Chad and made plans for many other trees to be planted
by traditional leaders and community members at a later date.
National media coverage, both television, radio and print, was
extensive, in spite of the great distance from Yaounde and difficult
travel logistics.

Chad-Cameroon Environmental Cooperation
--------------


4. (U) During the Ambassador's meeting with the two ministers, they
spoke of the need for continued trans-border cooperation on
environmental issues and of the threats facing the Lake Chad region.
The ministers also commented that although there is a lot of
international aid coming into the Congo Basin Region, little is
going toward the Lake Chad Region. The surface area covered by the
waters of Lake Chad has dropped from 25,000 square kilometers in
1964 to less than 2,000 square kilometers in 2008, they noted.
African countries are already developing an African perspective in
advance of the Copenhagen Conference, and Africans hope that
developed countries will increasingly assist developing countries on
environmental issues, the ministers said. They agreed to coordinate
more on issues important within the region.
Preparing for Copenhagen: Give us Aid
--------------

5. (U) Soon after the tree planting event, the Ministry of
Environment and Protection of Nature, which has the lead on
Copenhagen preparations, called a meeting to discuss the GRC's
position on Copenhagen. Cameroonian experts hope industrialized
countries will finance projects that will reduce the effects of
climate change in the fields of transportation, energy, and
sustainable land conservation. They feel that these new projects
should in no way substitute for already existing bilateral and
multilateral assistance. Appropriate technological transfers from
industrialized nations are also expected, as well as the
implementation of carbon forest markets and the procedure for
financing Clean Development Mechanism projects.

6. (U) COMMENT: The ministers hailed the tree planting for its
unprecedented level of Cameroonian-Chadian coordination on a high
profile environmental event. Both ministers placed great emphasis
on the need for continued cooperation in the region. The Minister
of Forestry is passionate about planting trees, which to date has
been Cameroon's main contribution to combating climate change. The
GRC's position on Copenhagen not surprisingly leans on calls for
outside assistance; unfortunately it does not offer new ideas or
initiatives that Cameroon can pursue on its own. END COMMENT.

GARVEY