Three new threatened tree species have been identified in the Mount Cameroon area. The species Cola suboppositifolia, Oxanthus montanus and Draceana bueana all species classified threatened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature(IUCN) were found in the Buassa and Sanje forests in Mount Cameroon in March by a team of Foresters from the Environment and Rural Development Foundation (ERuDeF).
These 3 new species add to the 17 previously identified threatened tree species which ERuDeF has been propagating in order to replace the threatened species which have suffered massive exploitation by humans over the last decades causing their population to reduce drastically. With the identification of these threatened species within Mount Cameroon, ERuDeF in partnership with the Ministry of Forestry will put in place measures to propagate these species as well as ensure their conservation just like they did for the 17 previously identified threatened trees.
The survey on the identification of the threatened trees within the wild forest was strenuous given that these trees were once located and geo- referenced some years in the protected areas. However given that most of the protected areas within the park such as the Bomboko Forest Reserve have been depleted spotting these trees has become very difficult.
