In Search of Common Ground The Project Sali Usmanu Mallam Monitoring and Evaluation Officer (Mboscuda)

Summary Introduction Causes and effects The Project and its objectives Outputs Challenges Conclusion

Recap - Causes of Conflict It’s complicated Competition over land Demographic pressure due to population increase Land tenure Increased herd sizes of livestock Made worse by climate change and environmental shocks – prolonged dry seasons, heavy and destructive rains & deforestatiom

Effects Loss of human lives, assets and money Social insecurity among farmers and grazers Fall in crops and livestock production and productivity leading to food crises Socio-psychological effects on the households such as family disintegration

The Project Project developed by: MBOSCUDA– NWR and VillageAid (UK) to alleviate poverty in the North West Region of Cameroon by reducing conflict between farmers and cattle herders. Duration: 5 years from August 2013 to July 2018 Funding: The Big Lottery Fund UK Area of intervention: 23 conflict-prone areas in all 7 divisions of the NW Region

Beneficiaries 20,000 direct beneficiaries ⇒ Mbororo cattle herders ⇒ Subsistence crop farmers In the 14 new project communities and 9 pilot communities.

Objectives Conflict resolution: Reduced incidence and severity of conflict through dialogue and collaboration Sustainable resources: Improved skills in sustainable farming methods Clean and safe water: Equitable access to clean water Strong organisations: Mbororo people having greater capacity to exercise their rights

Strategy it uses conflict mediation forums known as Dialogue Platforms it introduces a range of agricultural practices: Alliance Farming, Improved Pasture and improved water management. it helps build the capacity of MBOSCUDA so that it can become a ‘centre of excellence’ for promoting Mbororo rights Partnerships Co-operation Reducing Tensions Alternative conflict mediation Shared resources Building capacity

How this fits in with Cameroon Development Vision 2035 Consolidation of national integration and Peace in a Country of diversity in collaboration with Civil Society to achieve : Increase agricultural production Reduce hunger and poverty Create employment Reduce inequalities

How we measure success Robust monitoring and evaluation You will hear more about the evaluation in the next presentation

Outcome 1 – Conflict Resolution Outputs realized : 56 Dialogue Platforms in 20 municipalities in 20 Sub Divisions in 7 Divisions of the NWR 13 Dialogue Platforms initiated by community members out of project communities. Sharing of best practices in amicably resolving conflicts Observations through monitoring 920 people have used Dialogue Platforms effectively 92% reported that their cases have been resolved satisfactorily.

Outcome 2 – Sustainable Resources Outputs: 14 biogas plants constructed 14 demonstration plots established 149 alliance farming pairs established are functional Planted 3,987 trees at 17 catchments and introduced bee-keeping in 10 catchment areas. Observation through Monitoring:

Outcome 3 – Clean & Safe Water Outputs: 6 water catchments improved providing 45,928 people with clean water 128 WMCs trained Observation through Monitoring: Level of knowledge about safe water has increased

Outcome 4 – Strong Organisations Outputs: Staff (seven staff and 10 Community Resource Volunteers) Training programmes on risk assessment, conflict mediation, IT training and the use of social media Community education campaigns (53) Awareness campaigns (5,000 leaflets and 24 radio programmes). Observation through Monitoring

Challenges Divisions at grassroots level fueled by corrupt elites and politicians. Dependency on grants funding for running and project costs. High demand for project interventions to reach more communities but limited by funding available.

Next Steps for MBOSCUDA Learning from mid term evaluation Working with stakeholders in the room to develop pathways for tackling the issues in the NWR

Thanks for your attention !