Ebogo Wetland – Ecotouristic site

Work Areas

Main CEPA work area

IPDECCS implements CESP activities aimed at promoting biodiversity conservation and the sustainable management of natural resources through environmental education in schools, community awareness campaigns, participatory conservation planning, youth engagement, citizen science and capacity-building for local communities. The site also fosters dialogue among stakeholders, provides training in nature-based livelihoods and raises public awareness through guided ecotourism, cultural interpretation and awareness-raising events that strengthen community participation in the conservation of wetlands and forests.

Top three successes

The most successful activities were the environmental education sessions and tree-planting initiatives with pupils from the local primary school, which generated strong community engagement. Discussions with experienced local ecotourism guides also provided valuable insights into the challenges of managing the site and helped to identify concrete opportunities for collaborative support.

Top three challenges

• Limited access to long-term strategic partnerships and sustainable funding. IPDECCS faces difficulties in establishing long-term institutional partnerships and securing predictable funding. Whilst short-term grants enable the launch of significant wetland conservation initiatives, the lack of sustainable financial support often limits the continuity of actions, long-term monitoring, the scaling up of successful interventions and the overall sustainability of conservation impacts.

• Weak enforcement of wetland conservation policies and limited institutional support. Although legal and policy frameworks for environmental protection exist, their implementation and enforcement remain inadequate. This reduces institutional support for community-led conservation initiatives, limits collaboration with local authorities and affects communities’ adherence to sustainable wetland management practices.

• Limited opportunities for ongoing institutional capacity-building and participation in national and international platforms. As a rapidly growing organisation, IPDECCS has limited resources to invest in the ongoing training of its staff and in participation in national, regional and international forums on wetland conservation. This hinders the exchange of knowledge, the identification of emerging best practices, networking opportunities and the development of strategic partnerships that are essential for strengthening the organisation’s long-term conservation capacity.