Agency Report
Nigerian refugees in the Minawoa camp in the Far North Region of Cameroon have been doing a great job of fighting deforestation and desertification in the areas around their camp.
So far, the refugees, along with their host communities, have planted 360,000 trees around the Minawao camp, according to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
According to HumAngle, three years that some Nigerians have been in the Minawao refugee camp, they have turned the desert area around the centre into beautiful greenery
The UNHCR congratulated them during the World Environment Day celebrations on Sunday, June 5.
The UN refugee agency and the Cameroon government have put in place a strategy of moulding ecological bricks made from charcoal obtained from vegetation waste.
The measure is to enable the refugees and local communities to contribute towards stopping the abusive use of firewood and reduce the pressure on the environment.
The Zamai forestry reserve, which hosts the Minawoa camp, is situated in a semi-arid zone of the Far North Region of Cameroon. The forestry reserve comprises several species of vegetation and animals, and the authorities strictly prohibit the cutting down of trees.
The Minawao refugee camp houses 70,000 refugees who fled from their homes due to the activities of the Boko Haram terrorist group in northeastern Nigeria, according to the UNHCR. The government of Cameroon opened the camp in 2014.
Source - HumAngle