Alternatives to mangrove degradation and improvement of women well-being

Full Solution

by Jonas Kemajou Syapze, Organisation pour l’Environnement et le Développement Durable (OPED)

Women filling in bags for the mangrove nursery

OPED

Focused on women-led restoration of the degraded mangroves of the Equatorial African Rainforest, OPED is transforming the local fishing industry by providing energy-efficient alternatives to cutting down trees to smoke fish, a primary driver of mangrove forest loss in the region. New processing techniques are ensuring the regeneration and conservation of local mangrove forests while reducing the amount of time spent foraging for wood, as well as the frequency of respiratory illness.

Last update: 30 Sep 2020

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Solution history

Photo and video gallery

Context

Challenges addressed

Land and Forest degradation

Ecosystem loss

Unsustainable harvesting incl. Overfishing

Lack of alternative income opportunities

Physical resource extraction

Changes in socio-cultural context

Lack of public and decision maker’s awareness

Lack of food security

Unemployment / poverty

Reduce human pressure on mangroves and increase women resilience. Cameroon loses more than 3,000 ha of mangroves per year out of a total surface of approximately 200,000 ha (ca. 1.1%), according to UNEP's report on the state of mangroves in Western Africa (2007, for 1980-2006). Statistics attribute 80% of mangrove losses to fish smoking practices, which are the main subsistence activity of women in the Cameroonian coastal zone.

Beneficiaries

Women living in mangrove areas

Scale of implementation

National

Ecosystems

Mangrove

Theme

Adaptation

Ecosystem services

Local actors

Outreach & communications

Culture

Fisheries and aquaculture

Location

Kribi, Cameroon, Central Africa

West and Central Africa

Impacts

Only available in French. To read this section in French, please download the document "Blue Solution Template in French: ‘Alternative à la dégradation des mangroves et mieux-être des femmes’” from the bottom of this page, under 'Resources'.

Story

Only available in French. To read this section in French, please download the document "Blue Solution Template in French: ‘Alternative à la dégradation des mangroves et mieux-être des femmes’” from the bottom of this page, under 'Resources'.