Cameroon: a kingdom writes its own future

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What Cameroon did

Cameroon holds part of the Congo Basin rainforest and faces severe environmental pressures, including the loss of more than 1.5 million hectares of forest between 2001 and 2020, rising temperatures, water scarcity and extreme weather that falls hardest on vulnerable communities. In 2024, His Majesty Foyn Gilbert Njong III, King of Mbessa, established the Mbessa Commission for Future Generations and Sustainability, the first indigenous African initiative explicitly dedicated to long-term governance and to carrying forward the outcomes of the UN Summit of the Future.

Photo by Edouard TAMBA on Unsplash 

How it Delivered

Chaired by Dr Nsah Mala, a son of Mbessa and a foresight practitioner, the Commission's mandate spans anticipatory governance using foresight and futures thinking, health, food security and water scarcity, peacebuilding and sustainable development, climate action, and the protection of biodiversity and cultural diversity. It also works to preserve and adapt indigenous governance mechanisms, and to safeguard the wellbeing of present and future generations, human and non-human alike. Its design drew explicitly on the UN Declaration on Future Generations, the Wales Protocol and SOIF's implementation handbook. It has already inspired similar commissions in the kingdoms of Nkar and Ajung, with interest from other kingdoms and municipalities, and sits alongside wider efforts such as the #CongoBasinFutures participatory foresight and storytelling project.

What Made it Work?

Traditional governance systems in Cameroon already carry frameworks for cultural preservation, intergenerational fairness and careful stewardship. The Commission built on that inheritance rather than importing a model, which gave it legitimacy at home and made it easy for neighbouring kingdoms to follow.

Future Generations Takeaway

Long-term governance does not have to begin in a capital city or a UN chamber. Mbessa shows that indigenous institutions can lead the way, grounding care for the future in traditions that have carried communities for centuries. Keeping the future open can start with honouring the past.

This case study is based on one kindly shared with us by the us by School of International Futures (SOIF) and can be found in their digital implementation handbook: 'One Year in Practice: Stories of Global Action for Future Generations'.  We have updated and expanded some case studies with more recent developments and additional sources where relevant.