Green Climate Fund backs $46 million initiative to protect Cameroon's permanent forests

Cameroon will receive a $29.7 million grant from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to protect and restore its permanent forest estates, reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and help forest-dependent communities adapt to climate change, according to a press release issued by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on October 27, 2026, from Gland, Switzerland. IUCN is the GCF-accredited entity for the project, which will be implemented by Cameroon’s Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF) in cooperation with the IUCN country office. With co-financing from the Cameroonian government and IUCN, the total investment reaches $46 million. The GCF Board approved the project at its 46th meeting in Songdo, Republic of Korea. The initiative is titled “Safeguarding Permanent Forests to Combat Climate Change and Strengthen Sustainable National and Local Economies in Cameroon” (SPEFOCE).

Over a seven-year period, the project will transform land use and forest management across three permanent forest estates in Cameroon. These forests cover 12.6 million hectares, representing more than a quarter of the national territory. Between 2001 and 2024, Cameroon lost 2.2 million hectares of forest cover, 47% of which was primary forest. Temperatures have risen by about 1.5°C since 1960, drought risk is increasing in the north, and intense rainfall affects the south. More than 2.3 million people live in and around the country’s permanent forest areas and depend on them for food, fuelwood, and income.

The project covers three landscapes representing Cameroon’s main agroecological zones: Waza in the Sudano-Sahelian north, Dja-Lobéké in the southern tropical rainforest, and Bakossi-Bamboutos in the Western Highlands. It aims to place 50,000 hectares of forest under sustainable management and restore an additional 10,008 hectares through agroforestry, reforestation, and natural regeneration. Over a 20-year horizon, these actions are expected to avoid or sequester approximately 2.47 million tons of CO₂ equivalent. Activities include updating management plans for protected areas, including Waza National Park and the Dja Biosphere Reserve, whose plans have expired. The project will also support participatory land-use planning and reinforce Cameroon’s national REDD+ systems.

“Cameroon’s permanent forests are a national and global asset. This project treats them as such: it combines strengthened forest governance with real income for people living near these forests, because protection is only sustainable when communities benefit from it. IUCN is proud to work with the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife to achieve this across three very different landscapes,” said Balla Moussa Sidibé, IUCN Regional Director for West and Central Africa. The project will develop value chains for non-timber forest products such as bush mango, bitter kola, and cashew. In Dja-Lobéké, bush mango and bitter kola could provide households with additional income of up to $2,700 per year. Women, youth, and Indigenous Baka peoples are central to the project design.

The initiative is expected to reach 197,979 direct beneficiaries and 1,346,605 indirect beneficiaries. The Cameroonian government is contributing $15.1 million and IUCN $1.2 million in co-financing. The project supports Cameroon’s climate and forest policy priorities, including its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and national REDD+ strategy. By strengthening REDD+ systems, it lays the groundwork for results-based payments that could sustain financial flows to these forests beyond the project’s lifespan. SPEFOCE is one of two new GCF investments earmarked for Cameroon.