cameroon: safeguarding the bagyieli territories
The Bagyieli people are indigenous forest-based communities in Cameroon. However, due to the construction of the Chad-Cameroon pipeline, the Bagyieli have been forced to leave their territories.
According to research carried out by Centre for Environment and Development / Friends of the Earth Cameroon, the Bagyieli’s rights were not taken into account during pipeline construction as there was no official affirmation that these territories belonged to them.
In order to fight the increasing marginalization of the Bagyieli, FoE Cameroon set up the “Promo Bagyieli” project in 2002. It assists with capacity-building, improving communication between Bagyieli and Bantou communities, and participatory mapping of their territory.
These efforts led to an official agreement regarding Bagyieli territories, with maps designating their areas for hunting, collecting and other uses. In another positive development, the Cameroon government finally showed interest in the region’s problems. It has announced plans to reduce poverty and social instability by granting the Bagyieli access to land, drinking water and agricultural plots.
