The FIOH Education and Development Fund
48 Churchward Avenue
Swindon
Wiltshire SN2 1NH
UK
Tel/Fax 01793 532353
Registered Charity Number 1047953

EUCALYPTUS REPLACEMENT PROJECT - NORTH WEST PROVINCE OF THE CAMEROON

UPDATE - OCTOBER 2005

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Eucalyptus trees are heavy feeding trees that are capable of draining water and nutrients from the soil in very large quantities to the detriment of any other crops or trees planted near them or in association with them.

Eucalyptus trees were introduced around the 1920s with the aim of solving the fuel (wood) shortages around the grassland region in the middle belt of Cameroon. Prior to this introduction many households had serious fuel wood shortages, the only source of cooking.

Coffee was the mainstay of the area, generating income mostly for men (farmers), as only men owned land. Unfortunately, around the 1970s, there was a drastic fall in the price of coffee in Cameroon and the world. This problem, coupled with the disease that attacked the coffee pod before maturity, led to great losses for local farmers. For men to get substitute sources of money, they unconsciously resorted to indiscriminate planting of eucalyptus trees on most of the available arable land, pushing women, who had no say, to move further and further away from home in search of farm lands. Even water sources like water catchment areas are harmed by this development of eucalyptus plantations. By the late 1980s this resulted in generalised water shortages and low crop yields within the project area. There are many villages and even towns with little or no water. Many water standpipes completely dried up. This problem continues today with an even greater impact of the National Electricity Corporation of Cameroon, AES - SONEL, as their dams are not adequately supplied to propel their machines.

From the mid 80s to the early 90s, Government Departments and Traditional Authorities sought solutions through Prefectorial Orders with some punitive sanctions against defaulters who continued planting eucalyptus trees. Traditional leaders also introduced serious injunctions against this continuing increase. All these efforts failed because of the complex and unrecognised nature of the sited problem.

Since 1997 Strategic Humanitarian Services together with Plant a Tree in Africa and later, Future in Our Hands Education and Development Fund in the UK, carried out a survey of the problem, identifying various stakeholders and holding a series of field visits and consultative meetings. PATIA sponsored a pilot project that tested the effectiveness of the approach in 1999.

In 2000 the FIOH Education and Development Fund funded a eucalyptus replacement project in which SHUMAS:

· Nursed more than one million seedlings of indigenous African tree species in two giant nurseries with added advantage (medicine, fruit, etc.) that could replace the eucalyptus trees .

· Felled down more than 700,000 eucalyptus trees around water sources and farm land and replaced them with indigenous African tree species (nitrogen fixing, fruits, medicine, etc.) all capable of promoting wildlife, increasing the badly lowered water table and water catchments.

· Provided more than 200,000 trees to some women for agro-forestry purposes.

· Trained more than 50-village water management groups on how to protect and manage water catchments through sustainable approaches.

· Carried out an extensive campaign on the effects of eucalyptus trees on the environment and promoted the use of more than 40 species of indigenous trees that can replace the eucalyptus trees.

More than 30 water catchments have been protected with more than 1,500 households (families) involved.

RESULTS OF THE EUCALYPTUS REPLACEMENT PROJECT

Though the output of the project was large enough, it was more of a pilot project. Nonetheless the results are really satisfactory.

· Many women have returned from farming in far-off areas to farm close to their homes.
· There is now a general awareness of the negative effects of the eucalyptus trees. Individuals, Councils, churches and organisations are now trying to replicate the project, though on a very limited scale.
· The productivity of most farmers in the area has increased as more farmland has been reclaimed and the soil fertility has improved through planting of nitrogenous fixing species and practice of the Taunga system. Farmers now practice more permanent farming systems in the process. Agro-forestry and organic farming systems are also practiced.
· Wood obtained from the felled eucalyptus plantations has been a good source of income for the owners, and many of them have used the money to improve their farms while others have used it for other income generating activities.
· Wildlife has also been enhanced. Many species of birds are now being seen visiting the tree plantations
· Many groups and individual farmers are now involved in bee farming in the newly established plantations or among trees planted as a result of the Taunga farming system.
· The Microclimate of the area has been improved upon.

Pygeum Africanus and Kola Nut trees raised as seedlings in the pilot nursery in 1999 are now fully grown. They were used, along with other nitrogen fixing trees, for agro forestry (The Taunga System).
They are now fully grown and whilst contributing to the ecological balance, will also serve as a seed bank and as a habitat for many birds and animals.
2004

Eucalyptus trees were removed from this area in 2001. The Pygeum Africanus trees planted in this area at that time have now completely restored soil fertility (in just 3 years).
2004

This water catchment area, once covered with eucalyptus trees, has been replanted with indigenous trees - Trema, Polysia and Karapa. This area now supports a variety of wildlife.
2004

Glyricidia planted for agro forestry, has the best nectar in the forest and attracts many birds and bees.
2004

In April 2002 a volunteer from the UK asked 12 beneficiaries a series of questions related to their experience of farming before and after the implementation of the project. They were asked about the change in distances to farming areas, health of themselves and their families, income generated by farm produce and the availability and quality of water. All but one of the farmers were female.
Four landowners, one of whom is also a farmer, the sole male interviewed, were asked for their opinions on conflicts with local government and farmers they experienced before the project and the income generated from the sale of eucalyptus timber.
The landowners also answered the same questions as the farmers on issues such as quality of water and disease.
Four representatives from local authorities were asked for their views on the success of the project and to pose suggestions for future development. Most of the questionnaires were filled in by the volunteer on behalf of the participants while interviewing them. The rest were completed during their own time.

Water
Improving access to clean, running water during the dry season was one of the keystones of the project. By felling eucalyptus trees in water catchment areas it was hoped that standpipes and streams that had dried up would begin to flow again.
During the dry seasons 79% dried up whereas this has dropped to 25% at the time of this survey. Even during the rainy season 11 of the 14 farmers said that the problems of obtaining water had significantly reduced.
There has been a considerable reduction in walking distances to obtain water during the dry season since the completion of the project. The participants indicated that 4 out of 5 streams in their local areas stopped flowing during the dry season. A third of the farmers said that their nearest source provided water nearly all of the time. The biggest change is that before the project two people stated that their nearest source was always unusable. Since the eucalyptus have been felled, none of the participants stated this this is the case now. However, a third of the people commented that water is not frequent. One participant commented that 'Because not all eucalyptus trees have been felled in water catchment areas I still have to get up at 5 o'clock to carry water to the farm'.
All 7 of the farmers and landowners who had standpipes stated that those taps which had previously been out of use before the project, now provide water.

Distance to water
Farmers and landowners were asked to judge the distance they travel to their nearest standpipe or stream.
The distance between homes and and the nearest supply of water during the dry season has decreased since the eucalyptus were removed. Before the project the majority of the participants were walking between 1 km and 1.5 km to fetch water. Now they walk less than 100m. However, about a quarter still walk about 3 km to their nearest source of water. This has reduced from being the experience of a third of participants before the project.
Before the project participants reported that, of the streams in their local area, almost 4 out 5 had ceased to flow.

Distance between homes and farming areas
One of the other main problems EUREP was designed to solve was the very long distances women undertook to reach their farming areas. Forced to travel long distances because of the infertile nature of local land, women had either to walk to and from their farms each day, or if they were very distant (15 km or more), stay for several weeks at a time.
The times taken to walk to farms has reduced significantly. Most farmers report that this now takes them less than 1 hour. For farmers who used to walk for as long as 26 hours and then spend several weeks at a farm, the time they spend walking is now no more than half an hour. The impact of this change on family life, the farmers health and economic productivity, has been great. As women are able to work close to their homes, they no longer fear for children left behind, do not suffer the same pains that long trekking caused and are able to bring crops to the house easily.

Health
Before the project the health and well-being of farmers was severely compromised by the long distance walked over rough terrain. Problems were often exacerbated during harvesting when women had to carry crops home. The occurrences of bodily pain have reduced dramatically.
Disease also seems to have reduced now that farmers and their families have access to better drinking water and no longer get as many mosquito bites because they are able to leave their farms and get home before sunset. Nearly two thirds of respondents reported receiving 'very many' bites at their old farms or on the way home. This has significantly reduced. Over two thirds claimed that the water that had been available before the project was either 'murky' or 'very murky'. Ten out of thirteen farmers and landowners interviewed say their water is now 'fresh and clean'.
Although the numbers of cases of malaria and typhoid vary considerably between families, the general picture is that cases of malaria and typhoid have reduced significantly since the project was completed.

Farming
Ten out of thirteen farmers interviewed reported that their yields have improved since the completion of the project. On average, women earned 85,000 CFA (£85) a year at their old farms. This has now increased to an average of 131,000 CFA (£131), an increase of approximately 50%.

Impact on eucalyptus owners
Four landowners, from Mah, Kitiwum, Ntongi and Shishong, were interviewed to assess the impact of the project on their own incomes and their relationship with the community and the authorities. Between them they have seen 50,500 of their eucalyptus trees felled in late January and early February of 2001.
Because of the differences in size of forest, their profit from the project has been varied. Before the project, one farmer was earning 300,000 CFA from his trees and the rest between 10,000 and 12,000 CFA per year. Since the trees were felled one landowner has earned ten times what he would have done before the project. As income from eucalyptus will not be available in the future, the ability of the landowners to increase their income will depend on their ability to develop alternative sources (farming and other income generating activities).

Local Authorities
Four civil servants were asked for their views on the impact that the project has had. All agreed that EUREP has been of benefit to many sections of society in the region. Francis Ngah from Community Development lists 'individuals, groups, farmers, the Councils, Kumbo Water Authority and the entire communities of Bui and Donga Mantung Division'. The comments of all four were extremely positive. They emphasised the the various achievements of the project. They all believe that the aims of the project have been broadly achieved. EUREP has 'brought our women back' (Henry Sakah, Ministry of Agriculture) and 'benefited our water catchments' (Rudolph Ngeh, Local Water Authority).
Because the project has been so successful, they are all very keen for it to be developed and sustained - 'It would be nice if it continues, as many eucalyptus owners have understood the project and are willing to fell down their plantations' (Samuel Tantoh, Ministry of Environment).