Coastal Rainforest in Cameroon

Photo | 19 March, 2014

A rainbow is seen above the coastal rainforest of Cameroon. This forest, at the fringe of the Congo Basin, is a biodiversity hotspot, home to endangered species including chimpanzees and forest elephants. It also provides hunting and fishing grounds, building materials, fuel wood and medicine for local communities. The forest, and the people and animals who depend on it, are being threatened by a proposed palm oil plantation that would flatten an area eight times the size of Manhattan. The corporation behind the proposed project, US-based Herakles Farms, is pressing ahead with forest clearance, despite widespread local opposition.