The GWP CAf took part in the workshop on awareness raising and capacity building on the access process to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) in the high plateaux of Cameroon, held in Bafoussam, Cameroon, from 19 to 20 April 2018. The workshop aimed to inform and sensitize stakeholders on the existence of the Green Climate Fund and to present the opportunity that this fund offers for financing development actions and the fight against climate change. Chaired by a representative of the Governor of the West-Region, the workshop was attended by over 50 participants from the West, North-West and Central regions, composed mainly of regional delegates from MINEPDED, MINFOF, MINEE ministries and representatives of civil society organizations from the West and North-West.
After the opening ceremony, the Green Climate Fund Focal Point presented the Green Fund and its institutional aspects, whose objective is to transfer funds from the most advanced countries to the most vulnerable countries to set up projects to fight the effects of climate change. Then, the representative of IUCN, GCF accredited organization in Cameroon, presented the accreditation procedures, the project submission steps and the conditions of access to Green Fund financing. It emerged from their presentations that the Green Climate Fund is an accessible source of funding for all organizations on as long as the projects submitted are in connection with national action priorities in the fight against climate change.
Several presentations followed and allowed participants to be informed about the impacts of climate change in the high plateaux and to see the project opportunities that could be implemented in the region. The fact is that the rivers in both regions have dried up and temperatures are getting warmer. During the presentation on the opportunity to face the climate change represented by Mount Bambotos, participants learned that Mount Bambotos contributes more than 60% of the water needs of the city of Mbouda. The main water-related problems faced by the populations are the observation of water scarcity in the area over the last few years with the drying up of rivers and the sanding of the Bamendjing water retention dam due to rain erosion caused in the summits.
The awareness raising and capacity building workshop on the access process to the Green Climate Fund in the high plateaux of Cameroon was an opportunity to take note of the consequences of climate change in the western and north-western regions of Cameroon.