Environmental Governance Institute (EGI)

The Environmental Governance Institute (EGI) is legally registered as a non-denominational and politically unaffiliated organisation with headquarters in Buea, in the south-west Region of Cameroon. We use a rights-based approach to carry out activities which empower people to change power relations around natural resources use, foster social justice, seek alternative livelihood strategies, and advocate for policies that increase access to and benefits from natural resources.

“Our strategic vision for 2017-2021 : The integrity of HCVs (PAs and peripheral zones, logging concessions and mangrove forests) areas in the south west region is maintained for equitable benefit of local communities“. 

Biodiversity involves conservation of wildlife species, sustainable management of both forest and marine ecosystems (mangroves). EGI prioritizes the empowerment of local communities to enable them to meaningfully participate in comanagement activities in and around priority areas. We build community capacity on wildlife management and our communication initiatives are geared towards providing information campaigns to change knowledge, attitudes and practices of village communities about species, conservation laws, hunting and bush meat trade. 

To reduce deforestation, our goal by 2021 is to ensure that the forest cover in the south west region is 90% intact, in conformity with the 2010 forest status. Concerning Wildlife conservation, our goal by 2020 is to contribute to the stabilization of the population of the great Apes and pangolins in the south west region from 2016 levels and elephant populations from the 2010 levels.