Cameroon adopts Nagoya Protocol to benefit from its rich biodiversity

Cameroon in central Africa is home to vast biological resources, which have long been exploited by foreign firms, without fair and equitable benefits to the communities that own them. The country has now adopted the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing, an international agreement that aims to ensure that the benefits of using genetic resources and traditional knowledge are shared in a fair and equitable way.

The Nagoya Protocol is an offshoot of the Convention on Biological Diversity that addresses fair and equitable benefit sharing in the context of biodiversity access. 

Cameroon is a biodiversity hotspot, with an estimated 11,000 plant, animal, and microorganism species. Many of them contain useful genetic information or genetic resources, such as genes for producing medicines or crops. The knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities related to these resources are called traditional knowledge.

Also read: Mexican indigenous groups yet to benefit under Nagoya Protocol; here is why

Both genetic resources and traditional knowledge are valuable for bioprospecting, which is the exploration of biological material for new sources of drugs, food or other products. Bioprospecting can also help to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity.

Prunus Africana, a plant endemic to Cameroon, is used to make drugs for prostate cancer. According to Dingom Aurelie Taylor Patience, the Cameroon focal person for the Nagoya Protocol, foreign companies buy a kilogramme of Prunus Africana in Cameroon for 1300 Central African CFA franc ($2.11), but sell the drugs made from it for 250,000 CFA ($405).

Dingom Aurelie Taylor Patience, the Cameroon focal person for the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing. Photo: Ngala Killian Chimtom

None of the companies’ profits benefit the communities where the plant was harvested, she told this reporter. The adoption of Nagoya Protocol is a step towards changing that. The Protocol also helps to protect the rights and interests of indigenous and local communities and promote biodiversity-based innovation and development.

The country has enacted a law and a decree to implement the Nagoya Protocol, but still faces some challenges, such as the lack of implementing instruments, institutional capacity and research and development on biodiversity value chain.

Also read: Legal, controlled trade of wild species can have many benefits: CITES report

To address these challenges, the Global Environment Facility,  multilateral environmental fund, has financed a project called ‘Support to Nagoya Protocol Implementation, Research and Development on Biodiversity Value chain for small holders in the South West and Far North Regions of Cameroon’. 

The project will support Cameroon researchers to conduct bioprospecting on selected species, such as Irvingia wombulu (bush mango), Monodora myristica, Balanites aegyptiaca and Acacia nilotica in the two regions.

The bush mango is one of the many biological resources that Cameroon is trying to protect and benefit from, in line with the Nagoya Protocol.

Cameroon’s bush mango is a wealth of medical properties. The fruit has greenish-yellow skin, a fibrous pulp and a large, hard seed or kernel. It has been used in traditional medicine for thousands of years by local tribes in Cameroon and Nigeria. 

The leaves, roots and bark are used to treat scabs and skin pain. The fruit is also used to make soups, sauces, juice, wine, jam, jelly and flavouring. But research has shown that bush mango kernels can reduce obesity, control appetite, and lower fat and cholesterol levels.

Thomas Arrey Ayuk, a bush mango dealer, is hopeful that the project will bring enormous benefits to farmers. “We sell most of our bush mango to Nigeria, but we don’t know how much they make from it. If we can get more value from our own resources, we will be better off,” he said.

For locals, bush mango is not just a source of food and medicine; it is also a source of income and opportunity. The fruit has attracted the interest of European pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies. Its demand is now rising in Europe, according to Ayuk, with some companies asking for more than 500 tonnes of the fruit every year.

Also read: Road to COP15 Montreal: Namibia’s unique scheme ensures implementation of Nagoya Protocol

“A foundation in the UK is helping local farmers with the certification process so that when we start exporting, our product will meet the required standards,” the farmer said. 

Ayuk hopes to sell his produce at a much higher rate than the current 50,000 CFA ($81) per 15 kg. He also expects to receive some benefits from the companies, such as building schools or hospitals for his community.

Based on the Nagoya Protocol, Cameroon has signed five agreements with French and Swiss cosmetic businesses — two of which are to carry out research and development on some indigenous species and the other three are already set to engage in commercial activities.

“It is critical that Cameroon master the real value of its biological resources in order to better negotiate with companies that use them,” said Patience. “Our governments must understand that exploiting Africa’s vast biological resources in line with the prescriptions of the Nagoya Protocol can unlock the continent’s economic potential.”