Cameroon activist and board member of the African Forest Forum, Cecil Ndjebet is the 2022 winner of Wangari Mathaai forest champion award.According to the May 5, 2022 FAO press release the award is in recognition of her outstanding contribution to preserving forests and improving the lives of people who depend on them.

Presented by the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), which is chaired by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the award was conferred at a ceremony during the XV World Forestry Congress in Seoul, Republic of Korea.

“This award celebrates Cécile Ndjebet’s energy and dedication over three decades in promoting women’s rights to land and forests. She has actively shown that women’s participation in forest governance and preservation is fundamental to achieving sustainable forest management,” said FAO Deputy Director-General and CPF Chair Maria Helena Semedo.

Championing gender equality

Roughly 70percent of women in Cameroon live in rural areas and are dependent at least in part on harvesting wild forest products for their livelihoods, yet in some communities women are denied the right to own forest land, inherit it if their husband dies or even to plant trees on degraded land.

Elias Ngalame