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afrol News, 24 October - A sustainable development in the floodplain of Waza Logone, Northern Cameroon, has received an award of US$ 30,000 for its effort to restore the ecological balance of this Sahelian environ. The project was also rewarded for its success in combining conservation with poverty alleviation. The restoration of the Waza Logone Floodplain became necessary after the construction of Maga dam in 1979, which had resulted in reduced flooding over a large part of the floodplain. This in turn led to a decline in biodiversity, especially in Waza National Park and Biosphere Reserve. Other consequences were a drastic reduction in grass for herds and a collapse in fisheries and a shortage of surface water in the dry season. This finally led to a mass emigration of the impoverished resident farmers, herders and fishermen. Since 1989, the Group for Conservation and Sustainable Development (CACID) has worked on sustainable development in the floodplain of Waza Logone. The aims have been to "restore the ecological and hydrological functions of the floodplain to improve the well-being of local communities." The programme has focused on ecosystem evaluation and monitoring to identify and evaluate alternative management scenarios. On this basis, a water management plan was made, which releases water from the Logone river to revive the floodplain. Twenty percent of the floodplain was restored in programme pilots. The ecological restoration in place, protection of the Waza National Park was ensured by a management plan for the core area and the 'peripheral' zone with local people having access to resources and being involved in eco-tourism activities. Capacity building and empowerment for local communities have been of great importance and the project includes clean water access from 37 wells in 33 villages and training in health and sanitation. The latter had "resulted in a 70 percent decrease in diarrhoea," according to CACID. Based on these successes, the Equator Initiative awarded a US$ 30,000 prize to the CACID project in Waza. CACID had been one of the 27 finalists of the Equator Prize 2002, according to the global environmental organisation IUCN, to which CACID is an affiliate. The Equator Initiative had highlighted "successful projects for poverty alleviation through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity," IUCN reports today. The award for the Waza project had underlined "the significant contribution" of CACID "to the improvement of local livelihoods and the restoration of biodiversity." The awards ceremony was held at the Yaoundé offices of the UN development agency UNDP on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty - a day that reflects the commitment of the international community to support the poor worldwide - a goal that also is central to the work of the Equator Initiative.
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