(Business in Cameroon) - Cameroon has integrated gender issues into its forest investment plan. This was announced following a workshop co-organized by the African Development Fund (AfDB), the Climate Investment Fund (financed by the AfDB and the World Bank), and the Cameroonian Ministry of the Environment in Ebolowa, in the south of the country.

“The validation of this activity represents the beginning of the mobilization of partners. We hope that Cameroon will obtain funding to implement specific actions on gender,” says Charlotte Eyong, AfDB Senior Climate Change and Green Growth Officer for the Central Africa Region.

Charlotte Eyong also invited Cameroonian authorities to ensure that programs at the national level integrate concrete, specific and budgeted actions to reduce inequalities between women and men. According to the AfDB, the forest investment plan aims to support Cameroon's efforts to implement the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) program. This plan finances public and private investments under the REDD+ program, particularly to support mitigation and adaptation to the effects of climate change on forests and to contribute to various environmental improvement activities, such as biodiversity conservation. It also aims to protect the rights of indigenous people and local populations, reduce poverty and improve rural living conditions.

Let’s note that the Cameroonian forest investment plan is backed by the African Development Bank and the World Bank up to CFA150.3 million.

S.A.