Community-Based Biosynergy Management - CBBM

🌍 Acting locally for global impact. 🌍

Today, on World Biodiversity Day, we are celebrating a powerful truth: halting global biodiversity loss by 2030 starts right at the roots.
The 2026 theme shines a spotlight on how regional and grassroots efforts directly support the 23 ambitious targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF).

At Community-Based Biosynergy Management (CBBM), this isn't just a theme, it’s our daily mission.
True conservation rejects top-down approaches. It happens when we center the leadership and self-determination of the people who know the land best.

Here is how CBBM is taking local action in Cameroon to drive global results:
Community Conservation

🌳 Target 3 & 22 (Inclusivity & Protected Areas): Through our Baka Monitoring Network (BMN), we are elevating Indigenous ecological knowledge, putting stewardship back into the hands of the Baka hunter-gatherers to protect the Congo Basin.
🐒 Target 4 (Species Recovery): In Somié and Mawambi Hills, our teams are working alongside local communities to secure critical habitat protection for endangered chimpanzees and pangolins while proactively mitigating human-wildlife conflict.
🌱 Target 2 (Ecosystem Restoration): Driven by our Landscape Resilience Program, we are restoring degraded forests and planting native trees—proudly supporting Cameroon's pledge to heal 12 million hectares by 2030 under the AFR100 Initiative.

Global targets are just words on paper without grassroots ex*****on. When local and Indigenous communities win, the entire planet wins.

Thank you to our local partners, monitors, and community leaders who stand on the front lines of biocultural conservation every day. 💚

Endangered Species Day is a reminder that the future of wildlife is deeply connected to the future of people.

Across several continents, Community Conservation works alongside local communities to help protect some of the world’s most endangered and vulnerable species:

🐅 Nepal: Bengal tigers, Asian elephants, pangolins, common leopards, sloth bears, rhinos, and red pandas
🦧 Borneo: Bornean orangutans, hornbills, and the elusive Bornean bay cat
🦍 Cameroon: Chimpanzees and gorillas
🦢 Myanmar: Sarus cranes, white-bellied herons, star tortoises, eld’s deer, clouded leopards, Asian golden cats, and more
🐒 Peru: Yellow-tailed wooly monkeys, San Martín t**i monkeys, and Peruvian night monkeys

But conservation is never just about protecting wildlife. It’s about supporting the communities who share these landscapes and helping create a future where both people and ecosystems can thrive.

Every forest protected, every wetland restored, and every corridor preserved helps safeguard the incredible biodiversity of our planet.

🌍 This Endangered Species Day, help support community-led conservation that protects wildlife and people together.

Camera trap photo of the week 📸

Conservation starts with communities🌿

At CBBM, we work hand in hand with local communities to protect wildlife, strengthen community forests, and promote sustainable livelihoods. From field monitoring to community and youth engagement, every action is rooted in the belief that people and nature must thrive together.

Our commitment goes beyond projects; it’s about building long-term solutions that protect biodiversity while empowering those who depend on it.

Join us in creating a future where conservation works for everyone.

Reflecting on Earth Day 2026: Our Power, Our Planet. ✊🌱
The real power to change our environment lies in the hands of our communities. Whether it’s through sustainable forest management or youth sensitization, every action counts. We are inspired by the dedication of our rangers and community members who treat every day like Earth Day.
At CBBM, we’re carrying the energy from this week into everything we do—from monitoring wildlife in our forests to partnering with local communities. Protecting our biodiversity is a 365-day-a-year job, and we’re proud to be on the front lines.
Join the movement. Let’s protect our home together."

Our conservation efforts aren't restricted to Earth Day. All around the world we're working with communities to protect biodiversity.
Here are a few highlights:

Nepal
In partnership with the Nature Conservation and Study Center - NCSC, we are supporting local Community Forest User Groups (CFUGs) in southeastern Nepal to monitor and manage wildlife in their community forests. This initiative is essential for preserving habitat connectivity across the broader landscape of southeastern Nepal, ensuring that endangered and vulnerable species, like tiger, elephants, and pangolin, can safely survive in and navigate through contiguous forests.

Malaysia
In partnership with the Smithsonian Institution and Sarawak Forestry Corporation, we are supporting three longhouses in Borneo to restore critical habitat bordering the Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary and monitor wildlife in the forests. Longhouse community members are clearing invasive trees and planting diverse native fruit trees—grown in community-managed nurseries—to expand habitat for species like orangutans, sun bears, and the elusive Bay Cat.

Cameroon
In partnership with Community-Based Biosynergy Management - CBBM, we are working at two sites in addition to supporting a return to activities to conserve the Cross River gorilla, as well as broader national initiatives. At one site, we support the Baka Indigenous community in the Nomedjoh Community Forest, a vital buffer to the Dja Faunal Reserve UNESCO World Heritage site, to protect habitat for gorillas and elephants by building local capacity to monitor and sustainably manage wildlife. At the other site we are supporting the community of Somié in the Mayo-Banyo landscape to create a community forest that will protect vital habitat for a rare and fragmented population of chimpanzees.

Peru
In partnership with Neotropical Primate Conservation, we are supporting an ever-growing network of local communities in the northern and central Amazonian regions to protect critical habitat for primates, which serve as "flagship species" for community-led conservation. These efforts have successfully secured legal management for over 300,000 acres of montane and dry forest habitat through the creation of private and community-run reserves known as Conservation Concessions.

Myanmar
In partnership with Friends Of Wildlife-FOW, we are supporting indigenous Naga communities in northwestern Myanmar to protect the ecologically vital Naung Sai and Naung Yan Lakes by strengthening local governance and wetland management. Despite significant challenges like pesticide runoff and poor infrastructure, these efforts are fostering a strong sense of community ownership to secure the future of these critical water resources within the Chindwin River watershed.

If you want to be part of these global efforts, please visit https://communityconservation.org/support/ to learn more.

📸: Peruvian night monkey, photo credit Neotropical Primate Conservation

Camera trap photo of the week 📸

𝐀 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐖𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚’𝐬 𝐑𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐳𝐞𝐞!🏆🌿

We have some incredible news to share! Funding has been secured to protect 5,000 hectares of forest in northern Cameroon, home to the endangered Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee.

The real change makers? T𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐢é. Despite pressure from logging and poaching, they stood firm to establish a legally recognized Community Forest. We were just proud to help provide the bridge.

"𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦'𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘪é 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵" — Denis Ndeloh from our partner Community-Based Biosynergy Management - CBBM.

Huge gratitude to our partners:
✨ Nancy-Carroll Draper Charitable Foundation ($33k matching grant!)
✨ Bruce G. Geary Foundation for closing the final gap.
✨ Leiter Foundation & our amazing individual donors

With the $66,000 lease now in place, the Somié people—supported by GIS and conservation volunteers—will begin the process of becoming officially recognized as the long-term stewards of their land.👏

Help us celebrate this win by sharing this post! 🌍👇