Project team identifying a captured bird.

This project for the community-based management and conservation of the endangered birds is located on the Lebialem Highlands/ Western Mt Bamboutos in SW Cameroon. This project is a logical follow up of the outputs resulting from the first RSG and African Bird Club Conservation Fund to ERuDeF in 2004 and 2005 to study the montane birds of the Lebialem highlands. This first project resulted in the production of birds checklist, identification of the endangered birds of the highlands, mapping their distribution and key sites of occurrence, assessing threats, identifying conservation strategies, up-scaling the project to include great apes and red data plants.

Northern double collared sunbird (female).

The overall aim of this current project is to permanently conserve the endangered birds and their ecosystems on this highlands region, through community-based management, protected area development, bio-monitoring, training and education.

The major activities of the project will include the establishment of a geo-referenced data base for birds, a forest protection fund, resurvey of endangered and rare birds, conservation education, initiate the creation of an ecological reserve, and support of ecologically sustainable income generating initiatives.

The outputs of this work will lead to creation of a geo-referenced data base of endangered and rare birds of Lebialem Highlands/Western Mt Bamboutos, contribute to the launching of an ornithology program for the region, constitute the base for the creation of an Important Bird Area (IBA) in the area to link with both the proposed Mt Bamboutos Integral Ecological Reserve and the proposed Bechati Wildlife Sanctuary for the conservation of gorillas, lead to the creation of the Forest Protection Fund to support community conservation and alternative poverty alleviation projects. This Fund will provide micro-credit to the local people to use to engage in alternative and viable income generating projects and lead to the restoration of the degraded and fragmented habitats through tree planting using fast growing and multipurpose agro-forestry species. The project will assist local people to set up agro-forestry nurseries that will be used in rehabilitating degraded habitats and improving on their agro-productivity and rural food security and incomes.

The project will affect the lives of over 5 000 people and improve on the ecological productivity of the Lebialem Highlands/Western Mt Bamboutos.