Cameroon’s largest city fights coastal crisis with massive mangrove restoration as fish disappear and sea levels rise

In the bustling port city of Douala, Cameroon, fisherman Henry Belle Ekam returns from hours on the Wouri Estuary with nothing but a single tiny catfish and mounting frustration. The 37-year-old represents a growing crisis facing coastal communities across West Africa, where disappearing mangrove forests have decimated fish populations and left families struggling to survive. “A few years back, you didn’t need to go far to have a good harvest,” Ekam explains. “Everything has changed.”

The dramatic transformation of Douala’s coastal landscape has prompted one of the region’s most ambitious environmental restoration efforts. The Cameroon Mangrove Ecosystem Restoration and Resilience (CAMERR) project, launched in November 2022, represents a groundbreaking partnership between international NGOs, the Cameroonian government, and local organizations. Over the next 30 years, the initiative aims to restore nearly 2,500 acres of critical mangrove habitat along the Wouri River estuary.

Early results offer hope for communities like Bojongo, where Ekam fishes. The Watershed Task Group, a local nonprofit spearheading restoration efforts, has already restored more than 250 acres of mangroves across the Cameroon and Ntem river estuaries. These coastal forests serve as vital nurseries for fish, natural barriers against rising seas, and carbon storage systems that help combat climate change. For fishing families facing empty nets and uncertain futures, the project represents more than environmental restoration—it’s a lifeline to economic survival in an increasingly unpredictable world.