Climate change, poverty, and inequality are complex and often overwhelming issues. But for Sevidzem Ernestine Leikeki, these multifaceted problems are not just obstacles but opportunities.
Hailing from a region in West Africa grappling with numerous environmental and social problems, Leikeki has emerged as a leader in seeking, devising, and implementing thoughtful solutions, One Earth reports — particularly when it comes to conserving Cameroon's massive Kilum-Ijim Forest, a threatened natural resource.
Leikeki has creatively tackled these concerns in her role as a founding member and social and environmental officer of Cameroon Gender and Environment Watch. As One Earth explains, CAMGEW "seeks to intertwine gender equality with environmental stewardship." In other words, the organization's mission is to empower women in the community through environmental action, with a particular focus on beekeeping.
A passionate climate and gender equality champion, Leikeki co-founded CAMGEW in 2007. Her motivation came in part from the fact that she was born and raised in the region she was fighting to preserve for the future.
"My community of 300,000 people depends on nature for livelihood," Leikeki explained in a 2020 TED Talk. "But our natural resources face a lot of challenges. … These are made worse by gender inequality, cultural barriers, and little to no knowledge about the goodness of nature."
With CAMGEW, Leikeki and her colleagues have worked hard to fix issues from deforestation to bushfires to poor soil health. They do so, One Earth notes, by "reconceptualiz[ing] the role of women … [who] have long been the custodians of healing practices and the cultivation of honey, mushrooms, medicinal plants, and spices."
Instead of relegating this invaluable work to the category of household chores, CAMGEW ensures that West African women can earn, per One Earth, "sustainable livelihoods, enabling women to contribute to reforestation and forest care."
Leikeki has realized success over more than 15 years in the organization's leadership. One major project supports local women to produce honey products and then sell them in an online shop. According to One Earth, the CAMGEW HoneyShop's motto is: "Honey equals income, equals jobs, equals gender equality, equals conservation." It's one of many efforts that exemplify how personal, professional, economic, cultural, and environmental achievements are not mutually exclusive.
That integration, however, can also move in a negative direction. Destroying forests means losing critical biodiversity, harming numerous industries and economies, placing food and water supplies in danger, and even threatening our own health and survival. It follows that Leikeki's successes don't just impact women in a single region — they bring positive effects on the worldwide stage, too.
Other CAMGEW accomplishments, per One Earth, have included planting more than "87,300 bee-attractant trees … establishment of three tree nurseries … and the training of 580 women in business and forest management." This combination of growth, preservation, and investment in education has been crucial to revitalizing the Kilum-Ijim Forest and creating "community resilience," One Earth adds.
According to One Earth, "Her work is more than just a local initiative; it's a powerful testament to how empowering marginalized communities can lead to effective and lasting climate solutions." Leikeki has received numerous accolades, including becoming one of the BBC's 100 Women of the Year in 2021.
Leikeki hopes to continue to invigorate progress in her region as CAMGEW inspires similar missions in other locations. To do so effectively, education and relationship-building will be crucial — not just interpersonal connections but those to the natural world.
"To make sure that this forest continues to exist," Leikeki said in her TED Talk, "we work to educate our children that if they protect the forest, it will, in turn, support them. We educate our children what it means to love nature and treat it with care. I call that 'raising a forest generation.'"
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