The Minister of Communications, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, has echoed government’s determination to thwart endeavours by poachers to extinct the country’s ecosystem, especially through the massacre of endangered animal species like the elephants. The mouthpiece of the government sounded the warning yesterday March 5, 2012 during a press briefing in Yaounde against the backdrop of a killing spree of elephants in the Bouba N’djida National Park in the North Region of Cameroon.
Measures Taken
The scale of killings referred to as massive and unprecedented has pushed government to take stringent measures, the Minister said. The park will undergo protection and redevelopment while the practicable tracks and roads within the area are expected to be rehabilitated. Still in line with administrative measures, Issa Tchiroma explained that for security reasons, delimitation barriers will be built to separate spaces occupied by wild animals from those inhabited by the population. The number of eco-guards to collaborate with security operatives will be increased and placed under the management of the park’s conservator. Leasing royalties to the concerned people, the Minister hinted, will be effectively allocated to counter their indifference to collaborate with authorities in times of organised crime. The fight against trans-border poaching, he insisted will be given pride of place by institutions concerned.
With regards to security mechanisms, the Minister of Communications revealed that surveillance and reconnaissance actions through land and air routes in order to deter attempts from poachers and discourage threats will be intensified. Also, the number of security operatives will reinforce the eco-guards in their surveillance mission.
Facts, Circumstances
Data at the Ministry of Communication which are still under assessment hold that 128 elephants were slaughtered within late January and early February 2012, in the Bouba N’djida National Park in the North Region. An inter-ministerial mission made up of the Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Defence and the Minister of Forestry and Wildlife visited the park on February 29 to March 1, 2012 for an on-the-spot assessment. The mission was also to seek and implement measures to combat threats of biodiversity, national security and the integrity of the borders of the country.
Methods
“The poaching acts perpetuated in the park are as a result of asymmetrical threats from foreign individuals, who notably were on horsebacks, armed with varied and unpredictable state-of-the-art military equipment, and with non-conventional weapons,” the Minister revealed. The Bouba N’djida National Park has a land surface of 220,000 hectares surrounded by an almost uninhabited zone of 770,000 hectares.
