Society

Nde Division: IPSD Cameroon empowers Mbororo pastoralists on rangelands restoration.

IPSD-Cameroon President posing with some members of Mbororo community in Batoum I village after planting exercise

The not-for-profit organisation, Indigenous Peoples and Sustainable Development Association,IPSD-Cameroon, has empowered the indigenous Mbororo community of Bantoum I village, Nde division of the West Region on the restoration of rangelands.
This was through a recent planting of improved pastures, Urochloa, commonly known as signal grass.

The rangeland restoration is in a bid to fight against land degradation, pasture scarcity and farmer-grazer conflicts.

The initiative is part of a project being implemented dubbed: “Indigenous knowledge preservation for a sustainable future,” with the support and collaboration of the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme, GEF-SGP.

The project aims to valourise indigenous knowledge and combat climate change effects. It also seeks to address issues related to land degradation through planting of medicinal plants, trees and improved pastures, improve energy access through clean cooking energy sources and renewable energy for electrification, as well as women economic empowerment through income-generation activities.

According the IPSD-Cameroon President, Buba Balkisou, indigenous Mbororo pastoralists have been living in harmony with nature until the advent of climate change.

“Today, they suffer from challenges such as erratic rainfall, water scarcity, increasing temperatures, leading to health problems for humans and livestock, reduced pastures and invasion of rangelands by unwanted species of grass, disappearance of plant species and land degradation, among others,” she explained.

She further noted that the indigenous Mbororo people are custodians of indigenous knowledge and ancestral wisdom when it comes to climate science, medicinal knowledge and ethno-veterinary medicines.

Mbororo pastoralists in Bantoum I village planting signal grass

“Their way of life, food systems and governance is embedded in indigenous knowledge,” she stated.

In this vein, the IPSD-Cameroon President said the project on the intergenerational knowledge transfer dialogue, launched last June, saw the creation of a garden of traditional medicinal plants for knowledge transfers, research and community use.

She explained that IPSD-Cameroon decided to embark on the initiative with the Bantoum I Mbororo community to ensure improved pastures in order to fight against pasture scarcity and help curb farmer-grazer conflicts.

“Milk production has reduced in recent years because cattle have little to feed on, thus creating food insecurity for pastoralist women. The team planted pasture species known as ‘Brachiaria’,” IPSD said.

“This will help the Mbororo people to have pastures for their livestock, increase milk productivity and restore degraded rangelands as well as eliminate alien species of grass that are environmentally unfriendly,” she added.

Since creation, IPSD has been working for the protection and promotion of indigenous peoples’ rights in Cameroon. It has also been engaged in working on areas of climate change, biodiversity conservation, preservation of indigenous knowledge, girls’ education and women economic empowerment, amongst others.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3871 of Friday August 07, 2026