PAFC Cameroon President passes away

8 August 2016 News

“Christine was the driving force behind PAFC Cameroon,” said Ben Gunneberg, CEO of PEFC International.

“Without her hard work and dedication, the development of PAFC in Cameroon would never have got off the starting line. We remember Christine as a champion for sustainable forest management and her passing is a great loss to all of us in the PEFC family.”

Against many odds she lobbied for and got personally involved in the promotion of sustainable forest management certification, not only in Cameroon, but in the whole Congo Basin.

Christine was instrumental in PAFC Cameroon joining the PEFC Alliance back in 2007, and since then she worked tirelessly to develop a Cameroonian national forest certification system that could be submitted to PEFC for endorsement.

“While Christine will never see the PEFC endorsement of her country’s national system, a goal that she worked so hard for ten years to achieve, we know that when this time does come, it will be thanks to the great determination she showed during her life,” Ben continued.

While Christine was the President of PAFC Cameroon, which she ran with Vice President Patrice Pa'ha, she only did this on a voluntary basis. Alongside her work for PEFC, Christine also taught and consulted on forestry, social and environmental matters at a local university.

“Christine was always a cheerful, positive and friendly person who was strongly determined to see sustainable forestry in Cameroon play its part in the promotion of a world in which people manage forests sustainably.”

“I would like to speak for the whole PEFC family as we extend our deepest sympathies to Christine’s family, including her children and grandchildren,” Ben concluded. “We will miss her dearly.”