The Darwin Initiative

The Mists of Muanenguba

This is a 50 minute film about some of Kew's work in plant conservation. It follows a 2007 expedition to the mountain forests of the Bakossi area of Cameroon in West Africa. The film makers also track illegally felled trees from the region to their eventual destination in Europe.

The Kew team, with the National Herbarium of Cameroon, supported by the Darwin Initiative, have documented the plant diversity of the Bakossi region over several years. In terms of numbers of different plants found, endemics and Red data species, this area is THE hotspot for plant diversity in tropical Africa.

Seen on the film is a libation ceremony - where village elders seek advice from their ancestors before allowing the plant study to proceed.

The team were lucky to have a hot air balloon to explore the forest canopy with and there are dramatic shots of this.

In 2004 the combined Kew and Cameroon team published: The plants of Kupe, Mwanenguba and the Bakossi Mountains: A conservation Checklist.

Since this publication, at every opportunity we have had meetings with Cameroonian government officials to discuss the conservation status of the region. Within the last few days, we have heard that this area has been officially created the Kupe-Muanenguba National Park.

Search Darwin

Latest tweets

	Wed Jan 18 13:03 | Fossils collected by #Darwin discovered in cabinet at HQ of the British Geological Survey http://t.co/GAe0n921
	Thu Jan 12 12:00 | Remember - there is a subtle difference in the eligibility requirements this year. Read the guidance materials closely. http://t.co/ltEQ77oI
	Thu Jan 12 11:57 | Working in biodiversity and development? 18 days til the deadline for applications to the Scoping, Fellowship and Challenge Fund.
	Thu Jan 12 09:20 | The Darwin Initiative @Darwin_Defra assists poor countries that are rich in #biodiversity. Research by @UniofExeter http://t.co/SC0OQuwJ
	Fri Jan 06 09:06 | Birdlife new documentary highlights importance of Important Bird Areas (IBAs) for people in Nepal http://t.co/35avTjgN
	Wed Jan 04 13:33 | We're looking for articles for the next #Darwin newsletter from all Darwin project past and present. Deadline January 23rd!
	Thu Dec 22 15:58 | Merry Christmas from all at the Darwin Initiative. We hope to announce the results of the recent funding call in the New Year.

Follow us on Twitter: Darwin_Defra