The 4th session of the Steering Committee (COPIL) of the ‘Impact Programme for the Integrated Management of Forest Landscapes in Cameroon in the Congo Basin’ (GEF 7 Project) was held on Wednesday 17 September 2025 at the Welcome Garden Hotel in Soa. It was chaired by HELE Pierre, Minister of Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development. He was accompanied for the occasion by Adama Saidou, GEF 7 National Director and ONONINO Alain, National Director of WWF Cameroon.

The items on the agenda mainly concerned:

Review of the implementation of the recommendations from the previous COPIL session

Presentation of the annual implementation report for year 3 and a summary of the observations and recommendations from the mid-term evaluation of the project – presentation of the Annual Budgeted Work Plan for the 4th year (‘“ABWP 4”’).

At the end of the various presentations, it was clear that the project had achieved satisfactory results in terms of the level of implementation of activities and the positive outcomes obtained, both socio-economically and environmentally. Notable examples include: the production of Local Land Use and Sustainable Development Plans (PLADDTs) for Ngoyla and Mintom, the training of 23 community relays and 80 eco-guards, the distribution of NTFP processing equipment to 11 associations of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities supported by the project in the TNS (djansang, wild mango), the distribution of small equipment in the TRIDOM, the propagation and development of functional nurseries.

The steering committee members unanimously approved the documents submitted to them for appreciation, thereby giving their consent for the implementation of activities for the 2026 fiscal year.

Leonce A.N. Matip