Planning for Change: Joining Forces with CSOs in Cameroon to Drive Climate Justice Action
As someone passionate about climate justice and community engagement, I was thrilled to represent Africans Rising at a critical planning meeting focused on advancing climate justice and ensuring that marginalized communities have a voice in the global climate conversation. The meeting brought together Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and networks that are part of the Cameroon Climate Justice Movement (CJM) to strategize and plan activities for the year ahead. Held in Yaoundé last month, this collaboration allowed participants to exchange ideas, align their efforts, and develop concrete plans to address Cameroon’s climate challenges. It was an invaluable opportunity to be part of a collective effort aimed at creating real, localized impact.
Helping to build movements is literally my role at Africans Rising and it was thus a privilege to co-facilitate the meeting with Dr. Juscar Ndjounguep, from AJESH (Ajemalebu Self Help)
I learnt a lot from guiding the discussions and helping harmonize diverse ideas into a clear actionable plan. One of the key things I emphasized during the meeting was the importance of aligning our climate actions with the specific challenges Cameroon faces. I stressed that it is essential for our proposed actions to directly address the country-specific climate issues, ensuring that they reflect the realities on the ground and can make a real, localized impact.
For me, this meeting was more than just a planning session. It was an invaluable space for CSOs and networks from across Cameroon to come together and align their efforts, ensuring that our work was not only strategic but also deeply connected to the communities that are already feeling the devastating effects of climate change. We spent time engaging in dynamic, forward-thinking discussions that focused on how to create meaningful change in these vulnerable communities.
Key Outcomes and Themes for 2025
The meeting resulted in a variety of great ideas from the different working groups, which we grouped into four key themes that will guide the Cameroon Climate Justice Movement’s activities for the upcoming year. After the meeting, a committee was formed to review these ideas and develop a unified action plan and roadmap. I’m excited to be a part of this committee and help shape the final plan as we move forward.
The four major themes that emerged are central to both the immediate and long-term goals of the movement:
- Advocacy: We’ll focus on raising awareness and influencing policy at both the national and international levels to ensure that climate justice remains a central issue on Cameroon’s political agenda.
- Climate Resilience:Â This theme is about strengthening local communities so they can better withstand the effects of climate change. Through education, capacity-building, and sustainable practices, we aim to protect livelihoods and ecosystems.
- Climate Finance: Advocating for and securing funding for climate initiatives is crucial. We will work to ensure that financial resources reach the communities most affected by climate change—particularly those that are marginalized and vulnerable.
- Alternative Support Activities for Indigenous People and Local Communities:Â This involves developing support initiatives that offer alternatives to communities suffering from the impacts of climate change, especially Indigenous and local groups. These initiatives will focus on preserving Indigenous knowledge, traditional practices, and the natural resources that are vital to their cultures and livelihoods, such as medicinal plants and sacred sites.
Africans Rising’s involvement in these conversations and the ongoing work of the Cameroon Climate Justice Movement is something I’m deeply proud of. We believe that climate change is not just an environmental issue—it’s a political, social, and economic issue that requires collective action at all levels. Moreover, it is fundamentally a feminist issue, as women and marginalized groups are often the most affected by climate impacts and should therefore be central to the conversation.
I’m excited about the plans we’ve laid out and look forward to continuing to work alongside the Cameroon Climate Justice Movement and our partners to bring these plans to life. Together, we can ensure that the voices of vulnerable communities are not only heard but acted upon in meaningful and impactful ways.
