LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION
Supporting improved protected area management in North Region, Cameroon
Benoué National Park, Cameroon
Benoué National Park sits in the middle of the three National Parks in the North Region: Faro lies to the west and Bouba N'djida to the east. The area was once home to herds of elephant, lion and giraffe, and was the last known habitat of west African rhino. Remnant populations remain in small patches of the national parks, but even these are being threatened with extirpation. The west African rhino was declared extinct in 2011.
people and wildlife of Benoué
The Benoué river rises at the southern end of Benoué National Park. Historically, the landscape was difficult for human habitation due to the risk of river blindness, which made the area a 'no-go' for nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoralists. The introduction of highly pernicious and effective pesticides (notably 'Ivermectin') greatly reduced the number of parasite vectors and enabled the area to be used as grazing lands for cattle.
Landscape Conservation is supporting the park's managing authorities - the Ministry of Wildlife and Forestry, and the Ministry of Tourism - to produce and implement new ways of intgrating human and wildlife needs, based around the implemetation of a Theory of Change process.
