• MINFOF and FAO launch the Legal Hub in Yaoundé to centralize wildlife laws and promote sustainable resource governance under the SWM Programme.
• The platform strengthens legal literacy, combats poaching, and safeguards rural livelihoods amid growing pressures on food and biodiversity.
• Integrated with the 2024 Forestry Law, the Hub boosts transparency and aligns Cameroon’s conservation reforms with global sustainability goals.

The Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF) in Cameroon has launched the Legal Hub, a digital platform that consolidates wildlife law reforms and sustainable management protocols. The Ministry unveiled this new governance tool in Yaoundé, in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), as part of the EU-backed Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) Programme.

The Ministry has built the platform to serve as a central repository for legal analyses and policy frameworks addressing the economic and food security threats from unsustainable hunting. MINFOF has documented that rural and forest-dependent communities face mounting competition from poaching syndicates, logging workers, and migrant populations, directly impacting their food sources and incomes.

MINFOF Secretary General Joseph Nyongwen has emphasized that unsustainable wildlife use endangers food security, livelihoods, and vulnerable species. FAO Representative Dr. Antonio Luís Querido has confirmed the platform as a strategic tool for environmental justice, responding to sustainability challenges through collaborative and inclusive approaches.

The Ministry has integrated the Legal Hub with the 2024 Forestry and Wildlife Law, which MINFOF has reinforced to expand community rights, strengthen anti-poaching measures, and align Cameroon with international biodiversity standards.

The SWM Programme, active across 16 countries and funded by the EU, French Global Environment Facility, and French Development Agency, operates in Cameroon under MINFOF coordination with CIFOR-ICRAF. The Ministry has engaged legal consultants, government focal points, and local stakeholders in this implementation.

MINFOF anticipates the Legal Hub will enhance transparency, improve legal literacy, and reinforce the economic rationale for sustainable wildlife management. The Ministry projects this will guide national reforms and attract investment into conservation sectors such as ecotourism, biodiversity research, and forest-based livelihoods, positioning Cameroon’s environmental governance within a digital economy framework that connects legal innovation to sustainable growth and community resilience.

Mercy Fosoh