By Pegue Manga
An ongoing World Wide Fund for Nature, WWF studies have recommended that Baka pygmies be given more access to forest resources and space within national parks.
Baka Pygmies in their natural habitat
Baka pygmies make up some 40 percent of the population living around the three national parks; Boumba Bek, Nki and Lobeke, in Southeast Cameroon. They are essentially hunters, gatherers and semi-nomadic in their lifestyle.
The studies entitled "Space and Resource Use of Indigenous Baka pygmies" residing around Boumba Bek and Nki National Parks are led by WWF Jengi Southeast Forest Programme. Their results will provide a basis for the negotiation of access rights for Bakas within protected areas, which is a priority biodiversity conservation approach by WWF Jengi.
Baka Pygmies reliance on the forest for their livelihoods prompted this recommendation. They harvest honey, mangoes, wild yams, medicinal plants and many other non-timber forest products from there. They hunt, live and have their sacred sites inside the forest. This dependence on the forest has made them so important to conservation efforts.
After participatory mapping of the resource use areas, conducting group and individual interviews and direct observations, a WWF research team concluded that Baka pygmies do not recognize any limit in their quest for forest resources and performance of their traditional rituals. They carry out activities both in and around the parks.
They see both as continuity and disregard the boundaries erected by the minds of men. "It is important to give them unfettered access to harvest non-timber forest products, especially medicinal plants and visit to sacred sites," recommends the study.
The study gives inkling into Baka pygmies' strongly held beliefs, traditional approach to conservation, symbolic attachment to some non-timber forest products and their semi-nomadic way of life. Honey, an important non-timber forest product, is used during two important traditional dances called Mboma and Mbomo. "The Mboma dance is performed during funerals, while Mbomo is performed to chase evil spirit."
Bakas in the north and east of Boumba Bek have permanent external and internal camps alongside huts that serve as resting places during penetration into the forest. According to the study, "the internal huts sometimes provide refuge for people accused of witchcraft or adultery." This brings out the degree of penetration of the forest.
According to Dr. Louis Defo, WWF Jengi Collaborative Management Advisor, the studies will provide necessary information for the integration of these indigenous forest people in natural resource management. "Given WWF's philosophy in participatory management, it is fundamental to address the needs of local communities in order to win their support for conservation work," he said.
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