The residents of Mfaminyen follow a parade of masqueraders to the community's main gathering area. The singing and dancing that is to follow will be a celebration of the rainforest and its resources that surround and sustain the small village of 1,200 located in Cross River state, Nigeria less than five kilometers from the border with Cameroon.

But beyond singing and celebration, the community as a whole - from Chiefs down to youth leaders - is organizing to create and execute a conservation plan to protect and benefit from the rich environment that surrounds them, which makes up the remaining five percent of Nigeria's rainforest. So rich and bio-diverse is the environment, in fact, that Conservation International has designated the region around the Nigerian-Cameroonian border one of the world's 34 "Hot Spots."

Initially, several university students from Mfaminyen first encountered the concept of "conservation" in school. After contacting a local winner of an international environmental prize who was willing to provide some guidance for their efforts, the youths returned to Mfaminyen to discuss the ways in which conservation could both aid the forest and the community.

Today, the Mfaminyen Conservation Society continues to seek technical assistance so they can learn more about new conservation methods and practices. To find out more about the organization's work, send an email to Mfaminyen Conservation Society's Executive Officer Mr. Linus Ita: mfaminyen@yahoo.com.