Africa

Wildlife Wood Project

Wildlife Wood Project banner - Clearing in forest

The Wildlife Wood Project (WWP) operates in Cameroon and works to help logging companies adopt low-impact logging practices and apply innovative, practical and cost-effective measures for managing wildlife in their concessions, helping to provide a sustainable future for both wildlife and people. From 2005-2010, the WWP also operated in Ghana, and has now completed the work there.

Why we are there

Almost 40% of the vast Congo Basin forest in central Africa has been allocated for timber concessions. By contrast, protected areas represent less than 12% of the remaining forests in the region and are therefore often too small or fragmented to support wide ranging species like the forest elephant and western lowland gorilla.  Exploiting valuable timber is an important source of income for development in this region, so logging cannot be prevented altogether. Better wildlife management in these timber concessions is vital to conserve threatened forest wildlife.

Key Achievements & Goals

Since 2007, ZSL’s Wildlife Wood Project (WWP) has been helping logging companies in Cameroon adopt low-impact logging practices and better manage wildlife in their concessions to help provide a sustainable future for wildlife and people. In particular, ZSL works with timber producers Pallisco and SFID (Rougier) who together manage over 6,200 km2 of forest. Improving wildlife management planning, building conservation capacity in these areas, policing illegal hunting and involving local communities in conservation work are just some of the measures that help alleviate the environmental impact of these logging concessions. ZSL’s upcoming involvement in the Dja Conservation Complex will be closely linked to the WWP.

 

Wildlife Wood Project - Logging

Wildlife Wood Project

Logging in Cameroon, Africa
Forest Stewardship Council

Key Species

  • Forest Elephant, Endangered
  • Western Lowland Gorilla, Critically Endangered
  • Chimpanzee

People involved

  • Christian Azenui Asanga manages the Wildlife Wood Project in Cameroon

Partners & Sponsors

  • The Wildlife Wood Project works in close collaboration with timber companies, government, local communities, industry bodies, NGOs and universities in Cameroon:
  • Pallisco is a Cameroonian logging company which works in partnership with WWP-Cameroon.
  • WWP-Cameroon works with Rougier's subsidiary Rougier International which also works in Gabon and Congo.
  • European Association of Zoos and Aquaria.
  • The WWP is grateful for the support of the UK Government’s Darwin Initiative, the Arcus Foundation, the EAZA great ape TAG and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Learn more about the objectives and activities of the the Wildlife Wood Project.

Wildlife Wood Project - Cameroon Bulletins

2013 Bulletins

Wildlife Wood Project Info Sheet

 

Forestry Toolkit - Protecting wildlife in Production Forests

Wildlife Conservation and Tropical Timber Certification Report

This report provides an overview of timber certification, summarises published evidence of wildlife management in certified tropical timber production forests and analyses constraints for achieving sustainable wildlife management.

Wildlife Conservation and Tropical Timber Certification ReportTimber certification is a market-based instrument for promoting sustainable forest management, including wildlife management. Millions of hectares of tropical timber production forests have been certified yet little is known about improvements in wildlife management in these forests and the degree to which certification can ensure sustainable wildlife management. ZSL’s Wildlife Wood Project aims to develop indicators for the objective assessment of wildlife management activities that can be integrated into existing certification standards.

PDF icon Wildlife Conservation and Tropical Timber Certification Report (1.94 MB)