By Francis Ekongang Nzante
The Cameroon Gender and Environment Watch CAMGEW has intensified its efforts towards the promotion of the Socio Economic and Environmental Rights of Women. This took place during a debate programme organised on Wednesday the 9th of March in Bamenda under the topic: “Promotion of Socio Economic and Environmental Rights of Women: How important?”
The programme highlighted on the
necessity for women to be included in forest regeneration efforts and
opportunities to develop, grow and benefit from forest resources. It also
touched on the reasons why women have been traditionally left out of forest
regeneration efforts.
The necessity to insert women in
policies affecting management of the environment was emphasized upon by the
panelists.
Firstly, women and youths represent a bigger segment of the world's population. In addition, women were presented as better financial and home managers.
Furthermore, women are natural
caregivers, nature protectors and environmental problems affect them more since
they are more vulnerable.
Women are also prime users of farmlands
and ensure food security and are responsible for 60% of Agricultural output
especially in the rural areas where most forests are found.
Thirdly, women now receive quality
education just as the men and should be allowed to participate in policies
affecting Environmental Management..
Reference was made to the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights as well as to the Sustainable Development Goals
which lay emphasis on Gender Equality.
Attention was drawn to the fact that
Cameroon has made International Commitments to empower the woman.
CAMGEW carries out its activities
mostly in the Kilum-Ijim Forest area in
the North West Region of Cameroon, an area globally recognized as a rare and
valuable center of endemic biodiversity.
CAMGEW's inclusive Forest Regeneration
efforts planted 104446 trees to regenerate the forest in 2021. Over 2000 women
have been trained to benefit from non-timber forest products especially in the honey
value chain and medicinal plant value chain. This created jobs, increased
income and motivated women to take part in Forest Conservation.
Women now take part in seed collection,
tree nursery development, tree planting, forest monitoring, bushfire prevention
and incubating local entreprises from non-timber forest products.
CAMGEW has trained over 800 Farmers,
60% of them women in agroforestry techniques to conserve the soil and improve
crop yields. Through these initiatives women now have a strong motivation to
conserve biodiversity and the environment.
Sevidzem Ernestine Leikeki, the Women Empowerment
Officer of CAMGEW and a climate activist as well as one of the Founding members
of CAMGEW said “we are celebrating the International Women’s Day 2022 and we in
CAMGEW working over the years realised that women have a lot of potentials and
these need to be developed and supported morally, technically and with the policies
in place to support and give them certainty.”
Sevidzem Ernestine further said the greatest segment of the world’s population
was made up of women and children and that there could be no talk of Socio
Economic and Environmental action without involving them.
She stressed on the need to introduce Environmental
Management into the School Curriculum.
The injustices that women suffer she
said start with societal ideas. “Society holds that the woman is weak and
cannot do anything. We say no because that’s not taking us towards development.
Moving towards development should involve promoting Gender Equality not for
power struggle but for development and Economic Empowerment to ensure
sustainability and to build that solidarity that we need in our society. In the
rural areas where forests are found, the woman is limited to Subsistence
Farming and caring for the home but we are saying that she deserves that
opportunity to grow. It is the Policy Makers, the government, Civil Society Organisations
and Youth Leaders who should stand up and say that opportunities should be
brought closer to the rural woman to
help her walk out of her fears and become that woman that we want her to be.” The
programme ended with the signing of a petition.
The debate programme was attended by the
Inspector of Social Welfare Mr. Mukere Oliver Ndokie, Emmaculate Guteh from MINFOF
and the media amongst others. The panelists were made up of University students
from the Faculty of Arts, Department of Communication and Development Studies among
others.
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