The 315 sacred forests of Cameroon

By Fai Cassian Ndi, co-founder, Youth Development Organization; coordinator, GLFx Nkambe  

The Nkambe Plateau is a rangeland that tells the story of life on a high-altitude grassland with small patches of forest and savannah valleys. 

Walking through this landscape, you find a remarkable diversity of species adapted to the climate.  

Birds are among the most striking. Bannerman’s turaco (Tauraco bannermani), with its vivid green and crimson plumage, is found nowhere else in the world but these highlands. Yet it’s now on the IUCN Red List due to the quest for its highly valued feathers by traditionalists.

Alongside it, species like the banded wattle-eye (Platysteira laticincta) and other Afro-montane birds thrive. Smaller creatures like pangolins and Preuss’s guenon (Allochrocebus preussi) also move quietly through this savannah ecosystem, each threatened by hunting and habitat loss. 

Amphibians like the Lake Oku clawed frog (Xenopus longipes) tell an equally fragile tale. These frogs are only found in Lake Oku, and they’re critically endangered.

In the surrounding valleys of the Nkambe Plateau, the forests are home to primates such as the Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli), another critically endangered species. There are fewer than 300 alive today.

The Nkambe Plateau also harbors at least 2,982 plant species, including the African cherry (Prunus africana), which is valued for its medicinal bark but endangered due to overharvesting. 

Other montane species like the real yellowwood (Podocarpus latifolius), peacock flower (Albizia gummifera) and Schefflera abyssinica tree form the green backbone of the plateau and provide shade, food and wildlife habitats.

Many of these plants and animals find refuge in the pockets of forests across Cameroon that are deemed sacred for their lifegiving water, foods and natural medicines that have served Cameroonians for many generations.

Yet this social and ecological richness is at risk.

The Nkambe Plateau 

The story of my landscape on the Nkambe Plateau of Cameroon is one of both wonder and urgency. It’s a place where endemic species are endangered and their survival depends on community protection and resilience amidst wildly changing seasons.

In the rainy season, the entire landscape glows with green vegetation, while the dry season turns the land arid, covered in smoke and scarred by bushfires. 

These fires are often ignited by careless smokers, pastoralists setting bushes ablaze for fresh grass for their animals, or farmers doing slash-and-burn agriculture – a technique we call ankara. 

Others simply chop trees for fuelwood. 

Safeguarding our forests involves many actors. I work with the Youth Development Organization (YODO), which hosts GLFx Nkambe, to safeguard our forests.

Within each village, we also have an overseeing Fon (chieftain), along with sub-chiefs who are guardians of traditional values and work to protect our sacred forests. They settle disputes and reinforce community cohesion and coexistence. They remind people that their wellbeing is inseparable from nature.

Cameroon’s sacred forests 

Sacred forests are small patches of forests found in the Northwest Region of Cameroon that often are home to traditional medicinal plants and food sources. Communities have formed around these green spaces, but sadly, these forests are now declining.  

On the Nkambe Plateau, most sacred forests have shrunk drastically in recent years. In other villages, only a few sacred trees remain of what was once a whole forest.

One study of 24 sacred forests in western Cameroon found that forest cover declined by an average of 10.9 percent between 1990 and 2023, with some forests losing up to 49 percent of their surface area.

Human activities like hunting, farming and grazing are driving this loss.

His Royal Highness (HRH) Fon Chifu Stanley of Njap says the proliferation of churches has pushed some overzealous community members to encroach on some of these natural sites.

Gerald Nganyu, of the Bongkop Community Forest in Mbibih-Talla, says rampant bushfires have contributed enormously to the destruction of some of these sites. Fetching fuelwood in such areas is strictly forbidden.

Some villagers blame population growth and the climate crisis.  

Now, younger generations might not have the pleasure of guarding planted maize seeds from birds, or spending a whole day on a farm to chase monkeys away from destroyed young maize plants. The birds and monkeys are becoming scarce.

But we hold onto hope.

Bringing life back to our forests

More communities are restoring their natural heritage and preserving their native sources of food and medicine.

In Cameroon, there are over 315 documented sacred forests with diverse cultural values. The Northwest Region alone is still home to 80 sacred forests, but more than 100 others have lost their trees.  

His Royal Majesty (HRM) King Kwefi II of Binka says 70 percent of plants, animals and birds in his Fondom (a traditional kingdom ruled by a monarch called a Fon) are found in sacred forests.  

“These sites that our forefathers used as shrines and other traditional rituals need protection because they define the link between our village and nature,” he says.  

Kwefi II supervised the planting of 15,000 trees in two sacred forests. He also issued an injunction prohibiting animals in these forests to prevent stray goats from destroying young trees.

Why it’s vital to restore sacred forests

We must restore sacred forests for several reasons.

They provide safe habitats for rare species of plants, animals, birds and amphibians. Healthy forests also generate ecological, cultural and economic benefits by creating green jobs and upholding traditional customs.

Ta Shey Paul is a beekeeper in Binka who has been managing about 50 traditional beehives, some of which are in the Dfu-dfu sacred forest.

“I earn XAF 100,000–125,000 (USD 177–221) from sales of honey every month, so if I could keep up with all the requests for supply, I could earn double this amount,” he says.

But for him to meet local demand for honey, his bees need a healthy forest habitat.

Tangong Oliver Tankfu also sells honey and other by-products at the Nkambe market.  Over the past two years, he has received numerous orders to supply honey but hasn’t been able to fulfil them all.  

The North West Regional Assembly recently approved the restoration of three sacred forests on the Nkambe Plateau. These projects were designed by YODO in an effort to have public authorities protect these biodiversity natural heritage sites, which also helps create green jobs. 

Cameroon currently has no national-level policies to protect sacred forests, so this decision is a sign that the government wants to help boost incomes across villages.  

By valorizing the economic potential of these patches of forests, we help protect them and the animals who call these forests home.  

Nfor Blessing Mbunto, YODO project manager and heritage fellow, says the sacred forests are a crucial source of livelihoods for everyone, given that they belong to the entire community.

“They are the economic hope for natural honey production with a diversified range of nectar-rich plants that provide bees with year-round forage and carbon sinks at community levels,” Mbunto says.   

The Nkambe plateau has 32 sacred forests, 60 percent of which are located just meters away from a village palace. But the smallest forest, in Nkambe town, has nearly disappeared: only a single tree and grove of raffia palms remain.  

HRH Fon Amido Nji of Nkambe, current president of the North West House of Chiefs, says he will leave no stone unturned to restore the Nkambe sacred forests.

“This forest is a sacred ground for some of our traditional practices; it symbolizes unity and continuity of traditions,” he says. “That is why at the level of the North West House of Chiefs, we are very concerned about the situation of these natural sites.” 

Livelihoods for low-income families 

Sacred forests provide a vital source of income for lower-income families. They provide food and medicine for those who know how to find it. The collection of fruits and nuts is free for everyone in the community.  

Wealth is collectively stored in trees, water and biodiversity and shared without discrimination. These forests offer economic security in a way GDP cannot capture. 

These forests are economic safety nets that support people’s basic survival needs, which is especially important for families that can’t afford to buy store-bought medicine or fresh fruit.  

YODO and GLFx Nkambe are leading the Smart Sacred Forest and the Pollinator Project to expand bee forage and increase natural honey production in sacred forests.

Our goal is to safeguard these forests while creating green jobs for women and youth, as well as increasing the diversity of medicinal plants.  

But above all, protecting these forests is about reinforcing our cultural identity and preserving our natural heritage.