Themed: Our Power, Our Planet
By Ngah Noela Bih | Natural Resources Officer, CEDAR-COM | April 22, 2026
Every year on April 22nd, more than a billion people in over 193 countries pause to acknowledge a simple, urgent truth: our planet is in trouble — and we are the ones who must save it. World Earth Day, first celebrated in 1970, has grown from a single day of protest into the largest civic movement on Earth. In 2026, the theme is clear and empowering:
Our Power, Our Planet. And here in Cameroon, that power has never been more necessary — or more alive.
“The Earth does not belong to us. We belong to the Earth.”
A World in Crisis — and Why Cameroon Must Care
The scientific evidence is no longer debatable. Global average temperatures have risen by more than 1.1°C above pre-industrial levels. One million species face extinction. Oceans are choking with eight million tonnes of plastic waste every year. And the forests that once blanketed so much of our world are disappearing at an alarming rate.
Cameroon sits at the heart of the Congo Basin rainforest — the second-largest tropical forest on Earth, often called the “lungs of Africa.” This forest is not just a national treasure; it is a global climate regulator. Yet deforestation from logging, charcoal production, and encroachment continues to shrink it year after year. Meanwhile, communities across the North West and South West Regions face compounded crises: worsening water scarcity, displacement, and the loss of agricultural productivity that comes with a destabilising climate.
Earth Day is not just a global event. It is a mirror held up to what is happening in our own backyards — in our rivers, our forests, our schools, and our communities.
What We Are Doing: Seeds of Change in Fako Division
At CEDAR-COM, we believe that environmental protection and community empowerment are inseparable. Last year we carried out a series of activities to commemorate various environmental days in addition to our various works around the environment. We carried out community clean-ups, beach cleanups, radio and tv sensitization programs, tree planting, sustainable farming workshops and much more. This year, on International Day of Forests (March 21, 2026), we took another concrete step with the launch of the One Child, One Tree (OCOT) Initiative — a school-based tree planting programme now active across 20 schools in Five regions of Cameroon, in partnership with the Presbyterian Educational Authority (PEA).
The message of OCOT is simple and profound: every child plants a tree, tends it, and learns from it. When a child watches a seedling grow, they understand — in a way no textbook can teach — that life is interconnected, that choices have consequences, and that their hands have the power to heal the earth.
But OCOT is only one branch of a larger tree. Through our Resilience Support Programme (RSP), CEDAR-COM works with internally displaced persons and host communities in the North West and South West Regions — people who are already living on the frontlines of environmental and humanitarian crisis. We provide livelihoods support, agroforestry training, water access, and psychosocial care — because true resilience means restoring not just land, but dignity.
Our Power: What You Can Do Today
Earth Day is not just a day to observe. It is a day to act. Here are five things you can do right now, wherever you are in Cameroon:
1. Plant something. A tree, a vegetable, a pot of herbs. Every root you put in the earth is a vote for the future.
2. Refuse single-use plastic. Carry a reusable bag. Refuse plastic straws. Small habits, multiplied by millions, move mountains.
3. Protect your water source. Do not dump waste near rivers or streams. Water is life — treat it as sacred.
4. Educate a child. Talk to a young person about climate change, forests, and the beauty of the natural world. The next generation of stewards needs us.
5. Use your voice. Share this message. Speak up in your community, your church, your school, your workplace. Change begins with a conversation.
Our Pledge
This Earth Day, CEDAR-COM renews its commitment to the people and the land of Cameroon’s Anglophone regions. We pledge to keep planting — trees, ideas, and hope. We pledge to keep listening to communities, protecting resources, and building the resilience that our people deserve.
We invite you to join us. Whether you are a parent, a student, a farmer, a community leader, or a viewer of A Better Humanity — your power is real. Your planet needs it.
“We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors. We borrow it from our children.”
Watch A Better Humanity (https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18ZFovJBTM/ ) — bringing environmental stories to life on television.
#WorldEarth Day #EnvironmentalProtection #Community Action #OneChildOneTree