CAMEROON WILDLIFE AID FUND (CWAF)

Like many African countries, Cameroon has seen a large influx of timber companies logging the rainforest in recent years, opening the heart of the forest to poachers and hunters. Among the many negative effects on local wildlife, the most serious is an explosion in the bushmeat trade. Many native species are endangered as they are unsustainably hunted to support the growing demand for bushmeat, and young apes are orphaned as their parents are captured and slaughtered.

The Cameroon Wildlife Aid Fund (CWAF) was founded in 1996 by British Zoologist Chris Mitchell. Its aim is to support the Cameroonian government in protecting its great natural diversity through the protection of endangered species, the education of local communities, and the development of conservation workers in Cameroon. CWAF’s programs include reviving a local zoo, establishing a sanctuary for bushmeat orphans, coordinating captive breeding programs for endangered species, and developing local education programs. The Oakland Zoo’s support of CWAF funds the salary for an educator, Angelica Agwara, who teaches primary and high school students about Cameroon’s incredible forest resources, remarkable native wildlife, and the dangers of the bushmeat trade. Angelica took part in teacher training workshops and seminars on Habitat Ecology and shares her knowledge with the schoolchildren through their environmental club LBA YAOUNDE. The children learn about conservation of endangered species and the ecosystem. Angelica will hold workshops for elementary, middle, and high school teachers and also train education workers for the zoo. For their outreach program, they educate the villagers living within the Mfou National Park on the effects of the bushmeat trade, helping to improve their local knowledge of environmental conservation as it will benefit them. They are informed of what kind of animals they can live on so as to spare the endangered species.

For more information:
www.cwaf.org