The Dja Biosphere Reserve (DBR), covers an area of 5,260 km². It is located in a transition zone between the forests of southern Nigeria and south-west Cameroon and the forests of the Congo Basin. DBR is 243km south-east of Yaoundé, and 5km west of Lomie. The Dja River almost completely encircles the reserve, forming its natural boundary, except to the south-west. There is a population of about 6,000 people living in the buffer zone and in the transition area of the biosphere reserve.

DBR was created in 1950, was designated as a biosphere reserve in 1981 and became listed as a World Heritage Site in 1987. The Reserve contains important populations of chimpanzees, gorillas, elephants and buffalos.

Research carried out by FCTV in partnership with Living Earth Foundation and Bristol Zoo Gardens in 2003 indicated that communities around Dja Biosphere Reserve are inclined to disengage from wildlife protection efforts because a) they see no benefits to them from the process, and b) there is no mechanism for their participation in the development of policy.  As a result, these key stakeholders remain passive observers (and indeed perceive themselves to be ‘victims’) of efforts to stop unsustainable take of bushmeat.  Unless communities engage fully in conservation efforts, particularly those to protect high-value and endangered apes, their chances of ultimate success are significantly reduced.  Giving local people a voice in wildlife protection policy will have additional benefits in giving them confidence to participate in the wider democratic process.

The Dja Periphery Community Engagement Project (DPCEP), implemented in partnership with Living Earth Foundation and Bristol Conservation and Science Foundation was designed to respond to these challenges.  Specifically, the aim of this project, which ran from 2006 to 2008 was to assist local communities living around the Dja Biosphere Reserve (DBR) to engage more effectively with the government of Cameroon and biodiversity protection agencies, in order to foster enhanced understanding of each stakeholder’s concerns and thus to render more effective conservation activities, particularly the protection of great apes.

More information about the DPCEP project can be found here.

Currently FCTV has three ongoing projects in the Dja Biosphere Reserve:

• Improving Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) in the Congo Forest Basin

• Community - Game Guard shared management of anti-poaching measures in the Western periphery of the Dja Reserve

• Forest Voices – Promoting the respect of indigenous forest people’s rights in the TRIDOM (south east Cameroon)