CBBM International works alongside local and indigenous communities, government agencies, and researchers to protect endangered wildlife and restore landscapes — on their terms.
📍 Active in Somié, Takamanda–Mone & the Dja Reserve
🔬 Rigorous science, local leadership
📋 Registered in Cameroon, USA & Canada
🌍 Grant-funded conservation
CBBM partners with local farming communities, indigenous Baka peoples, government agencies, and researchers to protect Cameroon’s biodiversity. Every program is grounded in local priorities and moves forward only with free, prior, and informed consent. By centering the leadership of the people who know their lands best, we aim for conservation that is both effective and just.
Our approach in action: Most great ape conservation in Cameroon focuses on national parks and sanctuaries. CBBM works in the gaps, in the unprotected forest landscapes like Mawambi Hills. This is where Cross River gorillas and Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees live with no formal government protection. Community monitors deploy camera traps across these overlooked areas, building the baseline data needed to make the case for their protection, and restoring community forests in the meantime.
Fewer than 300 Cross River gorillas remain. We work in the Takamanda–Mone Landscape to monitor and protect them.
We help communities with legal forest rights manage their land sustainably — protecting biodiversity while securing local livelihoods.
Aligned with AFR100, we restore degraded land across Cameroon through community-led tree planting and land stewardship.
We place Baka ecological knowledge and field expertise at the center of conservation research and decision-making.
We connect mentors with Baka youth to pursue higher education and become the next generation of conservation leaders.
Field research and cultural exchange in Cameroon for students and faculty from universities around the world.
Conservation projects often talk about community inclusion. CBBM is built on it. Here’s how we ensure communities genuinely lead every step of the process.
June 2026 · 7 min read
May 2026 · 10 min read
February 2026 · 5 min read
See all stories →
Sign up for our monthly newsletter on gorillas, chimps, and the communities protecting them. No spam, ever.
Interested in partnering with CBBM? Get in touch →