Manyange Na Elombo Marine Protected Area in Cameroon ^{CEFR B2}

The Manyange Na Elombo Marine Protected Area, designated in 2021, covers 110,300 hectares along Cameroon's southern coast near the border with Equatorial Guinea. The MPA includes ten villages, among them Ebodje, a coastal community of about 3,000 people where roughly 80 percent of the Iyassa population work as fishers. Local beliefs link the community to water beings called "Mengu" and to sea turtles; the sacred sites Manyange-Turtle and Elombo-Wolf-Rocks inspired the MPA name.

Official conservation aims in the decree are to safeguard coastal and marine biodiversity, limit industrial fishing, protect spawning grounds and certain fish species, improve local incomes and promote ecotourism and sustainable artisanal fishing. The decree states that activities that could interfere with these aims may be allowed only after environmental impact studies. Still, experts and some residents say the designation process lacked scientific study and a public management plan at creation.

The MPA faces several development pressures. The Kribi deep seaport, about 22.9 kilometers from the MPA border and built by China Harbor Engineering Company (a division of China Communications Construction Company Ltd.), has altered currents and contributed to erosion; locals report the coast at Ebodje has retreated by around fifteen meters in some places. Other nearby projects—such as the Sinosteel Cam SA iron project, which could generate dust with heavy metals and draw water from the Lobe River 24.4 kilometers away, a Perenco liquified gas plant 68.5 kilometers away, and Camvert palm oil plantations 33.2 kilometers away—raise pollution and runoff concerns.

Authorities say they plan greater cooperation with the Kribi port and that an MoU is being drawn up to limit negative impacts on biodiversity. Conservationists and community groups call for scientific studies, an operational management plan and stronger enforcement to secure the MPA and help Cameroon meet international targets such as the 30 percent goal by 2030.

• Ship traffic and port operations produce light and noise pollution.
• Industrial projects may create dust and runoff risks.
• Community monitoring exists, but many questions remain.