Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
women, to meet extension demands and the arbitrary relocation of extension
agents (Essama-Nssah et al. 2002; Essam-Nssah and Gockowski 2000).
16.10.3 Partnership with International NGOs
To mitigate unsustainable forest practices in the country, the government entered
into cooperation with international NGOs. NGOs like Birdlife International,
World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) and Living Earth etc, have been working
with local forest dwellers, transferring technology and knowledge in the domains
of agriculture, bee farming as well as other livelihood alternatives (Ngwa and Fon-
jong 2002). These activities were aimed at enhancing forest sustainability. How-
ever, attempts by the National Forest Development Authority (NFDA) to protect
or rehabilitate the forest are at times contradicted by development measures of the
ministries of agriculture, and animal husbandry (increasing expansion and market
orientation of market gardening, food commodity production and livestock).
These measures degrade the forest by promoting encroachment (Ndenecho 2005).
16.10.4 Environmental Education
Some strides are being made in the domain of environmental education aimed at
sensitizing pupils, students and the general public. The training of primary and
secondary school teachers in seminars and workshops on environmental issues and
the introduction of environmental education and clubs at all levels is evident. It is
also in recognition of, and an attempt to respond to the serious environmental
problems and challenges that the government created the pioneer environmental
science department in the University of Buea in 1996. The department is involved
in public sensitization and various research programmes which help to create
awareness as well as provide solutions to some of the environmental hazards.
Meanwhile to enhance public environmental education, both the government
and other stakeholders, such as NGOs, are employing the traditional mass media
and other forms of communication to disseminate environmental messages. As a
matter of fact, virtually all of Cameroon's state own media have slots dedicated to
environment. However, a major constraint to this conventional media use remains
the fact that the national and regional stations do not transmit their broadcasts na-
tionwide, especially to the remote areas. This imbalance and major disadvantage
to the rural people necessitated the establishment of government rural radio sta-
tions in Kembong (Mamfe), Oku and other communities. Muluh (2002), posits
that the main reasons behind the establishment of the rural radio stations were to
reach out to the rural audiences and promote basic educational and technical skills,
as well as to assist rural audiences in undertaking basic decision making at the
community level.
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