Ccile Ndjebet has been awarded the 2022 Wangari Maathai Forest Champions Award from the Collaborative Partnership on Forests.CPF), which is chaired by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Ccile Ndjebet is the 2022 Wangari Maathai Forest Champions Award Winner!#WFCKorea #CPForests @REFACOF pic.twitter.com/DRxdfmEo6T
FAO Forestry (@FAOForestry). May 5, 2022
Ms. Ndjebet was presented the award at a ceremony held in Seoul, Republic of Korea, during XV World Forestry Congress.
A voice for equality
This award recognizes Ccile’s energy and dedication for three decades in promoting women’s rights to land, and forests. She has shown that women’s participation and preservation in forest governance are essential for sustainable forest management. Maria Helena Semedo (FAO Deputy General Director-General, chair of the CPF which includes 15 international organisations)
Ms. Ndjebet was a co-founder of African Womens Network for Community Management of Forests. It was established in 2009 and now has 20 members countries across Africa.
She has been a leading voice both in her home country and internationally on the importance to be aware of the importance of Forest management: Gender equality.
Promoting women’s participation
Cameroon’s women account for 70% of all rural dwellers. They rely on the harvesting of wild forest products for their livelihoods.
However, some communities prohibit women from owning forest land, heirloom it if their husbands die, or even planting trees on the degraded land.
Ms. Ndjebet tirelessly promoted the idea Women should be involved in forest management, and have equal rights to forest land resources and forests.. They do this because forests are better preserved and whole communities benefit.
She stated that men are generally aware of the importance of women in improving their families’ living standards. However, it is important that they also agree that women need to have secure access to land and forest in order to continue playing that role and improve upon it.
FAO stated that the activist had been a driving force behind the implementation of forestry law in Cameroon and good governance in Cameroon. She also established a new approach to community forestry and the restoration degraded lands and forests through Cameroon Ecology (Cam-Eco), two decades ago.
The organization was established to help women understand sustainability issues and get involved in forest restoration and conservation.
Honouring forest champions
The Forest Champions Award is named after Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan environmentalist and Nobel Peace Prize Winner. UN Messenger of Peace.
In her memory, CPF established this award in 2012 to recognize individuals who have contributed to the preservation, restoration, and sustainable management of forests.
Ms. Ndjebet was introduced to Ms. Maathai by her mother in 2009. She encouraged her to continue her support for women planting trees.
Previous Wangari Maathai Forest Champion Award Winners include Narayan Kaji Shrestha (Nepalean community forestry movement leader), Martha Isabel Pati Ruiz Corzo (Mexico environmental campaigner), and Lonidas Nazigiyimpa (Burundi forestry activist).
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