Satellite images show deforestation on fringes of UNESCO World Heritage Site in Cameroon

In its push to become a middle-income country in the next two decades, Cameroon has courted investments in its vast natural resource wealth in the form of mining, logging and large-scale agriculture. Satellite images obtained show deforestation of more than 3,100 hectares between 2011 and 2014 on the periphery of the Dja Faunal Reserve. CIFOR’s investigation of the Sud Hevea Cameroun plantation uncovered worries on the part of UNESCO inspectors, who called the development “a new, serious and specific hazard” to the Dja Faunal Reserve. The UNESCO inspection team reported that they tried to visit the site, but they were refused access for security reasons.