BY SIMON NDIVE KALLA
In commemoration of the International day of endangered species, the Nzimbistic Cultural center and Pandrilus in collaboration with the ministry of forestry and wildlife, has launched the change of behavior campaign, to protect wildlife and the endangered species. The ceremony took place on Friday, May 17, 2019 in Limbe.
According to the president of the center, Ngwese Nzimbi Koge Bantu, the main reason behind the campaign “is because wildlife is being threatened especially in Cameroon, and we have seen that, if the wildlife is not protected today, there will be a catastrophe tomorrow”.
Nzimbi explained that “Presently in Cameroon, the wildlife is facing some difficulties as the Cheetahs have disappeared since 2010, the rhinos also disappeared in 2011, and the wild dogs also disappeared. Again, the elephant is threatened because of its tusks, the pangolin is threatened because of its scales, and the chimpanzees and the gorillas are also threatened”.
He added that the campaign is an educational programme, “a campaign of behavior change, because people eat bush meat and kill the animals without knowledge, so it is a campaign to teach them; to make them understand that, they have to protect the wildlife because it is their cultural inheritance. It is also a form of transferring knowledge to youths and children because they are the leaders of tomorrow; they will know how and what to tell the next generation, the reasons why they have to safe the wildlife”, Nzimbi said.
Nzimbi disclosed that the Nzimbistic Cultural center has been partnering for more than two years with the wildlife centre and Pandrilus to bridge the gap between nature and culture. “From the mountain to the sea, our nature and African identity are one, and together, we have been consistently working tirelessly to improve on our activities within the communities. We have been partnering with the wildlife center and Pandrilus Cameroon to do education projects like the student nature’s club for children every Saturday, where they come for educational lessons, and the center is there to teach them about the importance of culture, in the family nature’s club that comes up every fortnight on Saturday with the Batoke community”, he further explained.
Guillaume Flohic, the director of the Limbe Wildlife Center said that nature is life. “When we are cutting trees, when we are destroying forests, when we are destroying the grounds, and the air, we are killing life”.
“The change of behavior campaign will be made up of ten billboards with images and messages of the wildlife and our precious environment to show the beauty of our nature, love for our culture, protection of our environment, and while not educate our people about their cultural heritage. These Bill boards will be placed on the right hand side of our roads from mile three coming down to mile two”, Nzimbi revealed.