Baka people in Salapoumbe, southeast of Cameroon, are on their way to a cocoa farm they are cultivating. Photo by Leocadia Bongben used with permission. Yvette Moungonji, a Baka (Indigenous people of Cameroon) woman from Salapoumbe, southeast Cameroon, beckons passers-by to a table where she has displayed her herbs for sale. “Save your marriage. Save your marriage. And this is how,” she said. These herbs — these tree barks — are to treat sexual weakness for men who cannot satisfy their wives in bed. Boil and drink a glass in the morning and evening. After passing out much urine, they will feel the effect. Moungonji continued to spell out the use of her herbs harvested from Lobeke National Park. “These other leaves are against poison in the system,” she said, pointing to a bottle with a brown liquid: “This is for women to clean up blocked trumps [fallopian tubes]; it will help them conceive, and it also works for painful menstruation.” Moungonji and members of 88 Baka communities of forest-dwellers now have a larger and fresher stock of herbs besides fruits like wild mangoes and other non-timber forest products for survival and, equally, to sell and use the money to send their children to school. Yvette Moungonji is selling her herbs. Photo by Leocadia Bongben used with permission. This is because, while some communities already enjoyed the right of access to national parks, it is only after 19 years, with the renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), that Baka people living around the 156,000 ha (385,484.40 ac) Ngoyla Reserve in southeast Cameroon have free access to the reserve. Previously, they could only access areas outside the reserve. Joseph Johnson, president of the Association Sanguia Baka Buma'a Kpodé-ASBABUK, representing 88 Baka communities, and Jules Doret Ndongo, Cameroon's minister of forestry and wildlife, signed the MoU on September 19. The first MoU which was signed in 2019, expired in 2022 and excluded some communities. The Baka in Salapoumbe and other areas were included in the first MoU, but they could not access protected areas passing through forest concessions. Minister of Forestry and Wildlife, Jules Doret Ndongo signs an MOU with, the President of the Baka Association, Joseph Johnson. Photo by Leocadia Bongben, used with permission. The recent MoU gives Baka people free access to protected areas and further takes into account areas around the park, including sport hunters, logging businesses, park rangers, and park officials. Provision is now made for the signing of separate agreements between the Baka and private sector operators who manage important spaces outside the parks for free access through their vital zones; for example, forest concessions and sport hunting zones were initially prohibited in the parks. Following meetings and consultations, the Baka agreed that, in addition to wise resource management, they would also contribute to the management of the forest by helping deter poachers. They alert the park managers of the presence of poachers and also abstain from aiding wildlife traffickers. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) served as the Ministry of Forests and Wildlife's advisor and “worked with other NGOs at the community level to educate the Baka of what their rights are and a common understanding of the steps in the management of natural resources in the parks,” said Clotilde Ngomba, WWF Cameroon country director. The WWF, the international organization responsible for protecting wildlife and biodiversity, will assist the various parties in enhancing their participation in the implementation of the MoU and strengthening Baka communities’ capabilities. Francoise Bendje, a member of ASBABUK, described what this means to the Baka: Before the signing of the MoU, we managed the little resources we got from the community, but now we have access to a fresh stock of natural resources given that the parks have not been exploited. Baka people have lived in the forests of southeast Cameroon since time immemorial and are known to be the first custodians of the forest. The lifestyle and livelihood of these semi-nomadic people depend essentially on the forest. Baka people in Southeast Cameroon on their way to the farm. Photo by Leocadia Bongben, used with permission. However, the creation of protected areas in the 1994 Forest and Wildlife Law restricted the movement and exploitation of natural resources, thereby limiting the freedom of the Baka, who hitherto had not known any such restrictions. The 21785-ha (538,328.96-ac) Lobeke National Park was created in 2001; the 238000-ha (588,110.81-ac) Boumba Bek and the 309362-ha (764,450.15-ac) Nki National Parks were both created in 2005, and the former Baka habitats became protected areas.