Biodiversity conservation in the Kaï-Kaï Basin
The ecosystems of the Logone Valley host an extraordinary diversity of endemic species whose presence is favored by the great variety of environments.
It includes species of large fauna including elephants, giraffes, lions, hyenas, wild dogs, warthogs, hippos, crowned cranes...
In terms of flora, the Logone Valley contains a plant formation characterized by thorny steppe to the genus Acacia seyal littered with Balanites aegyptiaca in a grassy plain rich in annual and perennial grasses.
What we envisage :
-
Make classify the forest of the Kaï-Kaï Basin in communal forest by the various concerned Mayor : from an extension of the Kalfou Reserve and being a known migration corridor, we want to see this forest protected.
-
Plead around the project to create a regulatory framework (awareness of administrative authorities, elites and local populations for the upcoming ranking, work in commissions).
-
Collect and exploit the data on the forest in the Kaï-Kaï Basin (cartography, topography, hydrography, vegetation, wildlife populations, human activities ...).
-
Implement a layout plan and natural resource management of the Kaï-Kaï Basin.
-
Clean out the main forest ponds and installation of boreholes to supply these water points. Indeed, ponds, not cleaned out, do not retain water accumulated during the rainy season during the dry season (October to May). We opt for a cleaning out using the village workforce. Two reasons: first, the fact of getting a backhoe in the reserve would destroy a large part of the vegetation in the path, and second, the villagers are very happy to earn money while investing in the project. They feel pointless to appeal to a company for work they are able to achieve. It also allows us to gain the trust of the villagers and their full support!
-
Make an inventory of the fauna and flora: to better understand the forest, it is essential to conduct inventories (flora and fauna) for estimation of both the number of species than the number of individuals of each of of them. In this way, we can better assess the strengths and limitations of the area, predicting the movement of animals through the food resources available, the areas to be reforested and with what plant species, the ratio prey / predator... These indications we will make viable the sustainability of the reserve.
-
Protect crops face the elephants and livestock face carnivores : to ensure the future of the communal forest in the long term, we need the acceptance of it and its animals by villagers. And this can only be possible if we take into account their needs and the challenges they face.
-
Create a monitoring and anti-poaching forest committee : in every village surrounding the forest, a 10-person committee must be established and eco-guards trained by the Chief of post of MINFOF to monitor activities in the forest and notify the authorities in case of problems. A network has been installed to generate a continuous monitoring of the reserve.
-
Protect the forest of bushfires : Even if we can not prevent people from smoking and throwing their butts on the floor in this arid bush, or avoid the production of charcoal kilns or campfires, we can clear brush corridors that will limit the spread of fire in the reserve.
-
Mark animals with GPS chips : to better assess the factors of displacement, we plan to mark a two per group with a GPS chip to track their movements and study favored place as well as the travel factors. We would like to make it the subject of a doctoral thesis in itself.
-
Replant the forest : areas of the forest severely degraded by overgrazing, bushfires or logging require defense development and intensive reforestation to hope to see the return animals ...
-
Care of the wounded or orphaned animals : insofar as possible, we hope to help endangered species by curing them and create a breeding site to strengthen the population.