Cécile Bibiane Ndjebet

Mrs Cécile NDJEBET is an Agronomist and Social Forester by profession; she holds an M.Sc. degree in Social forestry, a Gender specialist and Women Leadership trainer and adviser. After a professional Career with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Forestry and Environment, Cécile joined the Civil society Organizations since 1997. Cécile is the Executive Director and founder of Cameroon Ecology, a national NGO involved in sustainable management of forests, forest governance and community rights advocacy. To promote women’s direct and effective participation in natural resources management in Africa, Cécile founded in 2009 a women’s network called the “African Women’s Network for Community Management of Forests (REFACOF)” a regional network with the secretariat based in Edéa, Cameroon. In 2011, to improve the contribution of CSO in REDD+&CC process in Cameroon, a civil society Platform on REDD&CC was created and Cécile was elected National coordinator. This position gives the opportunity to Cécile to become a Member of the National Steering Committee on REDD+&CC of Cameroon Government. For more influence of the CSO in the Congo Basin countries, Cécile has succeeded to create with the help of Central African Commission on Forests (COMIFAC), the first Civil Society Platform for REDD+&CC for Central Africa and was elected Regional Coordinator in March 4, 2016. At international level, Cécile is an active member and well-known woman advocate of global women networks such as Global Gender and Climate Alliance (GGCA), Women Organizing for Change in Natural Resources Management (WOCAN) and Global Women Tenure Network (GWTN). Cecile is a Steering Committee member of The Forests Dialogue (TFD), Focal Point of the Women Major Group of the United Nations Forest Forum (UNFF), and woman Observer in the World Bank Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), where she represents Women of the Global South. For the past 18 years, Cécile has been devoted to women’s rights and Gender issues. For the coming years, Cécile main advocacy work will focus on community tenure rights, especially securing women’s property rights to land and forests and promoting Gender equality in all the processes related to natural resources management. Cécile will also continue to advocate for the creation of a dedicated fund for rural women to help them better play their role in sustainable forest management, and climate change adaptation and mitigation.