CAMEROON is like many countries in west Africa: ecologically
rich, economically poor and at war with itself. Its tropical
forests and savannas, home to rare black rhinos, elephants,
gorillas and a wealth of plant life, are being destroyed as
people try to scratch a living from the land. As such, Cameroon
is an ideal candidate for environmental aid from the West. In
1995, developed nations agreed to invest $17 million over four
years in a project to manage and improve its biodiversity. The
scheme is run by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), a fund
set up in 1991 by the United Nations and the World Bank to
channel money from the West to help solve environmental problems
in the developing world. But three years on, according to a
damning internal assessment, the Cameroon project has
comprehensively failed. An unpublished review carried out last
year by the GEF concludes that it ... To continue reading this
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