At Mbalmayo workshop: CSOs, local communities drilled on strengthening involvement in climate policies.

The workshop was aimed at assessing the level of involvement of the civil society in the development and implementation of climate policies. 

It is part of a project dubbed: "Strengthening the involvement of CSOs and Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples, PACLs for greater accountability and transparency in climate policies and programmes in Cameroon". 

A consortium of three Cameroonian CSOs, not-to-profit organisations; SAILD, Field Legality Advisory Group, FLAG and Green Development Advocate, GDA, is implementing the project. It is funded by the World Resources Institute, WRI. 

According to the Project Manager, Clarisse Fombana, the aim of the workshop was to improve the involvement of CSOs and local communities in all climate processes and policies in Cameroon. 

During the workshop, we gathered, organisers were able to analyse the level of involvement of CSOs in climate policies and processes, set up a platform to analyse the level of implementation of climate projects in Cameroon and put in place an advocacy plan for CSOs to strengthen their involvement in the development and implementation of climate policies.

According to Fombana, CSOs are important actors in the implementation of climate action because they work directly with the community. 

Fombana disclosed that communities are the most impacted by climate change. She went further to add that this explains why it is important to involve those actors who work directly and help communities to strengthen their resilience. 

"CSOs can also be an important support. They can best bring the needs of the local population to the fore. It is important to involve all parties, not only CSOs but also local communities, in order to take account of real needs and not to draw up strategic policies that do not meet local needs," Fombana said in an interview. 

Enter WRI National Coordinator

Speaking earlier, the National Coordinator of the WRI, Mbouna Duclaire, who made an elaborate presentation of the Green Accountability Platform, explained that the platform at the level of Cameroon was aimed at supporting CSOs to get involved and contribute to the implementation of climate policies. 

This, Mbouna said, can be carried out at the national, sub-regional or decentralised local authority level. 

Mbouna mentioned that in the development of these climate policies, the role of civil society organisations is often recognised, but in some cases, they are not strongly involved in their implementation. 

He added that with the funding received, they would be able to mobilise CSOs to be more involved in the process and also to work well with the administrations to make sure that their place is really at the centre of reflection on climate policies.

Turning challenges into opportunities

In his presentation at the workshop, the Sub-director at the Sub-directorate of Ecological Monitoring and Climate Follow-up at the Ministry of Environment, Protection of Nature, and Sustainable Development, Kagonbe Timothee, said climate change does not only have challenges but also opportunities. 

Kagonbe stressed that humanity needs to adapt to climate change if not citizens will continue to bear the brunt. He said it was time to put in place strategies to combat climate change but insisted that they have to depend on the vulnerability of each region which varies.  Kagonbe said it was high time for countries to take the bull by the horns.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3359 of Tuesday February 04, 2025