The NGO Young Volunteers for the Environment (JVE) Cameroon has equipped journalists and civil society organizations with the knowledge and skills to promote the use of the Independent Redress Mechanism (IRM) of the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
The two-hour capacity-building workshop took place on July 21, 2026, at the JVE Cameroon Head Office in Omnisport, Yaoundé. It brought together local and community journalists, as well as civil society activists, to strengthen their capacity to educate communities on how to seek redress when projects financed by the Green Climate Fund violate environmental, social, or human rights standards.
Opening the training, JVE Assistant Project Coordinator, Michelle Nlend, explained the mandate of the Independent Redress Mechanism, describing it as the Green Climate Fund’s independent accountability body. She noted that the IRM provides individuals, communities, and organizations who believe they have been adversely affected by GCF-funded projects, or by decisions of the Fund and its accredited entities, with an avenue to file complaints and request compliance reviews or dispute resolution.
With modules presented by JVE Project Assistant abd Junior Expert Mamout Oumaro and Communications Assistant, Jessica Legbane, participants were guided through the procedures for filing complaints and seeking redress. They learned that admissible complaints on Climate projects include those related to environmental and social impacts of GCF-funded projects, projects related to non-compliance with environmental and social safeguard policies and appeals against Green Climate Fund Board decisions concerning project funding or accreditation. Once a complaint is received, the IRM conducts compliance assessments and, where appropriate, facilitates mediation and dispute resolution between the parties involved.
The seminar also highlighted the origins of the Independent Redress Mechanism, which was established under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2010 as part of a framework designed to identify, assess, avoid, minimize, and mitigate potential environmental and social risks associated with climate finance initiatives. Participants were informed that the Green Climate Fund began supporting civil society organizations in Cameroon in September 2023 to raise awareness and help communities understand how to submit official grievances.
At the end of the workshop, JVE Cameroon urged journalists to intensify public sensitization on citizens’ rights under the IRM and encouraged civil society organizations to monitor communities negatively affected by GCF-funded projects. CSOs were tasked with conducting community outreach, supporting affected persons in preparing and submitting complaints, undertaking institutional advocacy, and reporting identified shortcomings to the relevant project oversight and funding institutions.
The media was encouraged to carry out investigative reporting, document impacts that may have been overlooked in project reports, and disseminate information through community radio, local newspapers, and social media platforms. Journalists were also urged to maintain sustained coverage of reported cases to ensure public attention does not diminish before grievances are addressed.
The workshop further emphasized that successful community engagement must be guided by ethical principles. Participants were advised to obtain informed consent before recording testimonies, practice active listening without influencing responses, and verify information through multiple sources before publication. They were also reminded never to reveal the identities of vulnerable sources without their consent and to avoid overwhelming community members with technical terminology during the initial collection of testimonies.
Through the initiative, JVE Cameroon aims to strengthen local awareness, educational outreach, and community networks while promoting accountability in climate finance projects. Ultimately, the programme seeks to protect human rights, enhance environmental justice, and ensure that communities affected by Green Climate Fund-supported projects have access to effective grievance and redress mechanisms
