The Southwest Region of Cameroon is blessed with a variety of natural resources such as; forests, water bodies (waterfalls, rivers, lakes, and ocean), mountains and abundant wildlife species. These natural resources stand as touristic sites in Cameroon especially the Mount Cameroon that welcomes more than 4000 tourists annually for the Mount Cameroon race of hope. Moreover, climate in this region favors human habitation with temperature ranging from 16oC-26 oC and an annual rainfall of 1432.2 mm thus promoting agricultural practices. The presence of endemic wildlife (Cross river gorillas, chimpanzee, drills, pangolins and birds) has led to the creation of numerous protected areas for the conservation of these globally threatened wildlife species that also serve as touristic sites (MINFOF & WWF, 2006).
Over the past 2 decades, this region has been exposed to climate change as a result of Greenhouse Gaz (GHG) emission. Consequently, the population are facing abnormal recurrence of extreme weather phenomena such as violent winds, high temperatures, irregular rainfall, floods and landslides which endanger communities’ ecosystems and the services they provide. These environmental hazards are as a result of uncontrolled human activities which are not in conformity to environmental principles and disciplines, hence causing global warming. These activities include but not limited to deforestation, poor agricultural techniques, poor waste disposal, plastic pollution and the absence of infrastructural town planning.
There is much scientific evidence that climate change is responsible for; increase in epidemics, food and water scarcity, changes in temperature and precipitation, leading to droughts and floods, poor agricultural yields and malnutrition (P. Nde-Fon and J.C.N.Assob, 2013).
As climate change appears to be progressing too quickly for decisions to be delayed, we need to develop national and local climate change institutional frameworks to strengthen the coordination, networking and information flows at different levels of governments and local civil society to have better response to climate change eradication.
In response to this environmental crisis, ERuDeF seeks to reduce GHG emission in Southwest Cameroon through multi-partner cooperation and awareness raising. Specifically, we would;
Create a synergy of stake holders who have a common mission to fight against GHG emission,Raise the awareness of all GHG emitting sectors campaigns involving Civil Society Organizations (CSO),Increase stake holder’s commitment in the reduction of GHG through publication and production of documentaries.
The paper draws attention to the need to address the constraints of lack of awareness and poor flow of information on the potential quality environmental management strategies for climate change adaptation.
