Meg Wah Background:
Meg Wah (My Earth), founded in August 2016 by Ako Peter, is a registered non-profit and non-governmental environmental conservation organization (NGO) with registration number: 012/G37D14/VOLI/SAAJP, accredited by United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and with a special consultation status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The organization seeks to create an environmentally conscious & passionate communities in Cameroon.
According to the United Nations FAO, 42.1% or about 19,916,000 hectares of Cameroon is forested. Of these forest cover, 18.1% or around 4,400,000 hectares is lost annually. The main cause of the loss is population increase and over dependency on natural resources for survival. There has been unsustainable exploitation of these resources which is causing significant environmental degradation, and we are taking action to help . . .
Local community members who live close to these resources are found to suffer the most when degradation occurs because they depend solely on these resources for their lives and livelihoods. Meg Wah wants to see a Cameroon where humans live in harmony with nature by empowering youth to become Environmental Ambassadors and enabling communities to solve such problems, through a variety of engagement, policy changes and restoration activities.
What We Do
Eco-School:
Our Eco-School’s program introduces young people to the environment in a way which develops understanding, appreciation, wonder and respect for nature. Through the Eco-School, we empower children and youth to protect the environment by creating and providing opportunities where they can learn, interact and work to care for the environment.
Youth Leadership Training:
We provide tailored trainings to youth leaders, students and young people, equipping them with and developing their skills to be effective social and environmental change leaders. The students then work with us in their local communities to protect the environment, in various ways that bring benefit to those specific environmental issues. Each of the young people we train have a passion and drive to act as an Environmental Ambassador in their respective communities, and through sharing knowledge and learning from others, we help to turn this passion into practical steps to protect our environment.
Community Intervention:
Our community intervention program is divided into: curative and preventive interventions. The curative components involves addressing water scarcity, deforestation, landscaping, and watershed management by working with affected communities to get into the root cause of the problem, identify the solution(s) and mobilize resources to bring about a solution. The curative component focuses on the intervention by the use of indigenous seeds, organic farming and permaculture. These agricultural methods are natural, retaining the plant nutrients, making the soil hard, preventing erosion and encouraging the growth of plants. It at the same time contributes to the cycling of water and thus greatly benefits and regenerates the ecosystem there. Through both efforts, the environment as well as ecosystem are healthy and full of life… preventing any environmental degradation and protecting our home.
Policy Advocacy:
We partner with both local and international environmental organizations to ensure that developmental projects we are implementing undergo Environmental Impact Assessments, have links to policy and alteration of such, and also involve the community being considered from the planning stage right through to implementation of such projects, as it is crucial to us that indigenous voices are prioritized and fully considered.