Environmentalists Decry Deforestation, Pollution

By Nformi Sonde and Jator Njechu

The irrational use of waste and the indiscriminate felling of trees for fuel became the concern of environmentalists during this year's World Environment Day celebrations in Yaounde.

Officials in the Ministry of the Environment and the Protection of Nature, MINEP, and the Coordinator of the United Nations System in Cameroon, called for the rational use of energy at the end of activities marking the Environment Day on June 5.

The United Nations System Coordinator expressed concern on how pollution and the poor management of waste affect the health of local inhabitants.The coordinator also said the world is gripped by a carbon habit, which, according to her, should be discouraged in order to protect the environment.

Against this backdrop, the US Ambassador to Cameroon, Janet Garvey, said the US Embassy supports a community-based waste management project put in place by Centre International pour la Recuperation, CIPRE.

The aim, according to the Garvey, is to bring together many stakeholders in the sorting, collection and management of urban household waste.She said one of the most important aspects of reducing waste is awareness.

The diplomats pointed out that poor farming habits such as the felling and burning of trees deplete the soil and releases a lot of carbonic gases, which also deplete the ozone layer, causing climate change. 

This year's Environment Day, which was celebrated under the theme; "Kick the Habit" saw the planting of 30,000 trees in Yaounde under the supervision of MINEP.Also, the Secretary General at MINEP, Patrick Akwa Kum Bong, advised citizens to stop using carbon-emitting substances and resort to the use of low fuel consuming equipment.

To him, changing habits is just one of many things that we should do in order to effectively fight global warming.In a series of sketches, members of the Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment, GLOBE, demonstrated the need to protect the environment.