By Vera Fon
The organization, African Alliance for Development Action (AADA) is striving to educate and enlighten magistrates and forest administrative staff on how to combat illegal timber exploitation and associated trade in Cameroon.
The workshop took place in Yaounde, between May 23- 25, 2023.
According to the Chief Executive Officer, CEO of AADA, Ayuk Raphael, the main aim is to build capacity for magistrates and forest administrative personnel in order to contribute to nation-building.
“He who sees a crime and doesn’t act is also a criminal. We seek to interact and look at situations of deforestation in Cameroon. Deliberate on issues and bring about recommendations through conversation,” he bemoaned.
“We have seen a lot of issues and problems going on in terms of deforestation and transboundary. When we talk about transboundary, it is no longer a national issue. We take the example of Cameroon and Nigeria, a lot of our resources are being taken away, Nigeria has lost about 25% of their forest and now they all depend on us” he continued.
The Minister Delegate to the Minister of Justice, Jean de Dieu Momo, while declaring open the workshop, encouraged the participants to share their experiences and collaborate.
According to a Senior Special Agent of the United States Department of Agriculture, Brandon A. Robinson, “Our presence here shows our commitment to helping Cameroon combat illegal timber trafficking here in the country. We hope this is a beginning of a long partnership with Cameroon and that we can share our experiences, and teach investigative techniques to help Cameroon overcome this horrible plague”.
The workshop saw the participation of officials of the US Department of Justice, the US Ambassador’s representative, magistrates from different parts of the country as well as officials of the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife.
