Bakagarde / Ecobaka guardian of the forest and its biodiversity

The Dja Reserve is home to one of Africa's most prominent indigenous peoples, the Baka people. In recent years, their traditional livelihoods have been threatened by increased logging and poaching. To meet their needs and fight against poaching and wildlife trafficking, the Dadé Kaolé Association intends to rely on the 14 camps in the Messok district, i.e. more than 1,700 Baka, to organize the protection of the said reserve and its biodiversity.

We remain convinced that no other community and system of nature protection can better protect the Dja Reserve than the Baka who have lived there for centuries. Which NGO or Institution has the resource personnel capable of covering the entire reserve? Do they have the necessary human resources? Do the latter have better knowledge of the said reserve than the people of the forest, guardian of their living space? Can we honestly believe those living off the reservation could protect it better than the indigenous people who have lived there for decades?

We think it is time to put the Baka at the heart of the protection system of the DJA Reserve because they live there, draw their nutritional resources and take care of the multiple trees and plants found there. 

We have the firm conviction that the Baka, if they are better organized, trained, equipped and supported, would be excellent eco-guards on which the State, NGOs and Nature Preservation Institutions could rely to achieve their objectives. preservation of nature and wildlife.

The Bakagarde/Ecobaka Project aims to:

Establish a collection and monitoring unit made up solely of Baka

Specifically it is about:

•   Recruit and train 140 Baka in information collection and forest monitoring;
•   Establish an information system on forests and wildlife;
•   Create an information office and a database of information on the Dja reserve.

 Intervention zone: ADI reserve

Budget : 300 000 Euro