In Cameroon, sustainable cocoa farming helps protect both livelihoods and wildlife

In the heart of Cameroon’s cacao country, Indigenous Baka communities are proving that sustainable farming can protect both livelihoods and wildlife.  

Local Indigenous farmers depend on the rainforest for income from cocoa cultivation, but also for food and medicine. 

“We live with the forest and the forest lives with us. And now we live off the forest. When we take care of the forest it also provides for us and helps our cocoa farms thrive", said 26-year-old cocoa farmer René Etoua Meto’o.

Between 2023 and 2024, the price of cocoa rose from around $3 to almost $8 per kilogram. While this rise seems positive for Cameroon, where cocoa accounts for about 12% of annual exports, high prices also bring pressure for deforestation in the country’s rainforests, where much of its cocoa is farmed.

This is putting the biodiversity of these forests, and the Indigenous communities who depend on them, at risk.

"Indigenous people are very important in protecting ecosystems. They are the guardians of these forests, especially in the Congo Basin", said Tessa Claude Ndala Mayouya, a communications officer at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

But thanks to the Congo Basin Landscapes Initiative, local Indigenous farmers are able to produce premium cocoa without cutting down a single tree. 

Supported by UNEP and the Global Environment Facility, the initiative provides local farmers with training and equipment to increase yields while halting deforestation, and ultimately preserving the rainforest.

"We're helping [countries from the Congo Basin] understand the principle that people need nature to thrive. To understand also that frontiers don't really apply to forests", Ndala Mayouya said.

At the other end of the production chain, the result is a Rainforest Alliance certified chocolate that can now be found all over the world. 

“When you buy a bar of chocolates with the green frog, you are not just buying chocolates. You are ensuring that they will continue to produce while conserving biodiversity, while protecting the forest", said Nadège Nzoyem, the senior Director for West and Central Africa at NGO Rainforest Alliance.

With this global cocoa gold rush, Cameroon hopes to grow its industry while protecting its biodiversity and Indigenous communities.