The Woteva Cedrela Tree Planting Project started in 2015. Earlier initiatives undertaken by Chief Bernard Lieti and Woteva villagers involved the planting of 3,000 seedlings of endangered tree species, Zingana, (Microberlinia bisulcata), Mahogany (Entandrophragma angolensis), Pygeum (Prunus africana) and Contri Onion (Afrostyrax species) in the Woteva Community Forest in 2014 (Asa’a Lemawah, 2014). The initiative was the result of a partnership between Woteva village and the Environment and Rural Development Foundation (ERuDeF), a local NGO encouraging the repopulation of threatened and endangered tree species in collaboration with the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF) (Azore Opio, 2015).
In 2015, a 0.9 hectare demonstration farm involving the cultivation of Cedrela mexicana species was created by Treff-End, in collaboration with Mr. Ndumbe Ekema Stephen of Wewuley Consultancy, Chief Bernard Lieti of Woteva village and other villagers.
Pic 1: Cedrela mexicana trees planted in 2015 – Demonstration Farm – Woteva village
This farm was to serve as an experiment to evaluate whether the foothills of Mount Cameroon provide favorable conditions for the cultivation of this species. Roughly 1800 Cedrela trees were planted but only about 700 survived the heavy rains, weeds and lack of maintenance in the farms. Results of these research activities published on August 10, 2017 (https://treff-end.com/woteva-villagers-foot-mount-cameroon-grow-cedrela-trees/) indicate that Cedrela mexicana species will grow well in Woteva and neighboring villagers and provide significant economic competitiveness.
Pics 2: 700 nursed Cedrela mexicana seedlings, May 2017
Motivated by results from the demonstration farms, interested Woteva villagers developed a minimum viable product of 12500 Cedrela trees to be planted in the next 3 to 7 years. In preparation for the implementation process, an additional 700 seedlings were nursed by Treff-End in May 2017 in Woteva village as shown in pics 2 above. 600 of those nursed seedlings have already been planted by Mathias Ewoubua (Project Manager for the Woteva Cedrela Tree Planting Project) and other villagers in August 2017. These activities are being conducted under the supervision of Wewuley Consultancy.
Treff-End and Woteva villagers are currently planning the 2018 Cedrela mexicana planting season. Villagers expect to plant 700 to 1000 extra Cedrela trees in the village by the end of 2018. Two main planting methods including agroforestry and monoculture have been adopted. Agroforestry will be practiced on village farm lands while monoculture will be practiced on areas devoid from local tree species and that are not favorable for local farming such as borders of mountain gullies and rocky places.
References
- Over 20,000 Trees To Be Transplanted In Secured Sites of Mt. Cameroon Area, By Azore Opio, Wednesday, 05 August 2015 14:25Green Vision Newspaper, https://www.greenvision.news/over-20000-trees-to-be-transplanted-in-secured-sites-of-mt-cameroon-area/