About Us
Bridging Wildlife Conservation and Community Livelihoods for a Safer Future
Who We Are
Officially recognized as an Association with the registration number 96B/ARDA/F.34/SAAJP under the law number 90/053 of 19/12/1990, in the Republic of Cameroon, ABOYERD stands as a beacon of hope in Cameroon’s conservation landscape. This grassroots nonprofit is dedicated to bridging the gap between environmental sustainability and community livelihoods, emphasizing the vital role of indigenous populations in preserving the nation’s rich biodiversity. By fostering conservation awareness, designing and implementing nature-based solutions to devastating conservation problems such as human-wildlife conflicts and habitat destruction, and providing sustainable livelihood alternatives, ABOYERD empowers local communities to actively participate in protecting their natural resources while improving their socio-economic conditions.
With a mission rooted in scientific research, awareness and behavioural change, community livelihood development and habitat conservation, ABOYERD aims to create a harmonious coexistence between wildlife and human communities. Their innovative approach not only addresses immediate environmental challenges but also promotes long-term sustainable development strategies that benefit both people and ecosystems. Through collaborative efforts, ABOYERD is committed to ensuring that the voices of local communities are heard and that their needs are met in the fight against biodiversity loss.
Our Mission
ABOYERD’s mission is to protect biodiversity and improve human well-being through scientific research, environmental education, livelihood improvement, and climate action for a sustainable human-wildlife coexistence.
Our Vision
ABOYERD’s vision is to have a sustainable world where humans and wildlife enjoy a mutually beneficial coexistence.
Objectives
Recognizing the urgent challenges facing biodiversity, ABOYERD pursues four key objectives through an integrated approach aimed at fostering harmony between people and nature:
- Promote environmentally responsible behavior and empower youth to address pressing environmental and social issues.
- Enhance the livelihoods, culture, and socio-economic well-being of forest-dependent indigenous communities.
- Conduct impactful biodiversity research to guide policy, support knowledge sharing, and strengthen capacity-building efforts.
- Protect, restore, and sustain Cameroon’s high-value conservation areas through strategic partnerships and sustainable development efforts
Our Values
To achieve its objectives, ABOYERD upholds several core values, including:
Passion
At ABOYERD, our staff is fueled by a deep passion for conservation. They actively engage in initiatives that protect nature and enhance the livelihoods of local communities in biodiversity-rich areas, turning their commitment into meaningful action
Dynamism
ABOYERD boasts a dynamic and youthful team, brimming with energy and innovative ideas. Each staff member is not only eager to tackle new challenges but also committed to achieving our organizational goals with enthusiasm and creativity.
Professionalism
ABOYERD prides itself on a highly skilled team dedicated to delivering quality and efficient results. Each member embodies responsibility, integrity, accountability, and excellence, consistently prioritizing the organization's mission above all else.
Commitment
At ABOYERD, our staff is deeply dedicated to protecting nature and biodiversity. We wholeheartedly commit to every initiative that fosters a healthy environment, ensuring harmony between humans and wildlife. Our intrinsic duty is to safeguard biodiversity for future generations.
Diversity
ABOYERD embraces a rich tapestry of diversity within its team, drawing from a multitude of social, religious, ethnic, educational, gender, and linguistic backgrounds. This vibrant mix not only enhances our mission but also enriches our perspectives on nature conservation and informs our innovative approaches to environmental challenges.
Collaboration
ABOYERD fosters a spirit of collaborative teamwork, enabling staff to achieve impactful synergies. This approach enhances our capacity to forge strong partnerships with other nature conservation organizations and stakeholders, ensuring the success of our mission.
Modus Operandi
As an innovative biodiversity conservation organization, ABOYERD intervenes through four principal axes: research, environmental education and conservation awareness, community outreach, and climate action.
i. Research
Research stands at the forefront of ABOYERD’s activities. It is fundamental to all other activities, as it provides a scientifically-sound baseline of information that allows for informed decision making. Through research, ABOYERD gains valuable insights into conservation needs within target sites (Campo Ma’an and Mbam Djerem National Parks) enabling well-informed and tailored conservation actions.
Furthermore, research is critical in determining most effective strategies for achieving the desired outcomes at ABOYERD. It provides the baseline of information that allows ABOYERD to work towards its mission of protecting and conserving biodiversity and helps identify new opportunities to collaborate with stakeholders in efforts to advance the cause of biodiversity conservation. To say the least, all actions at ABOYERD are informed by information gotten from research. Consequently, ABOYERD’s blueprint for every intervention begins with detailed scientific research which forms the bases of all other conservation intervention activities.
ii. Environmental Education
Environmental education is critical in promoting awareness and understanding of the environment and fostering people’s knowledge of, and attitudes towards biodiversity conservation. In order to promote the conservation of pangolins and other threatened species, ABOYERD is dedicated to bringing conservation education and environmental awareness to local communities around the Park through radio programs, school programs, community workshops, and more. As an innovation, ABOYERD has begun the creation of environmental education centers at project sites that will be open to the general public.
iii. Community Livelihoods
Many communities around protected areas depend highly on protected areas for livelihoods, and this has led to the loss of biodiversity through habitat loss and fragmentation.
To reduce dependence and hence pressure exerted by local communities on natural resources in protected areas, ABOYERD engages local communities in the development of alternative income-generating activities like apiculture, sustainable collection of Non-Timber Forest Products, aquaculture, pisciculture, and agroforestry. This is to ensure that communities become invested in conservation efforts while reaping economic benefits.
iv. Agroforestry, Reforestation and Climate Action
Agroforestry is important for reducing species loss in agricultural landscapes and for the conservation of endangered species. Recognizing the crucial roles agroforestry, reforestation, and climate action play in preserving the environment and sustaining local communities, ABOYERD is currently engaging communities around protected areas in the planting of socio-economic and ecological tree species in degraded wildlife habitats. The objective of this activity is to restore ecosystems and contribute to the fight against climate change while improving the livelihoods of local communities.
