In 2020, Bakossi National Park (BNP) signed a Cluster Conservation and Development Agreement (CCDA) with all eight communities of the South East Cluster (Muaku, Elum II, Muetan-Aku, Nzimbeng, Kodmin, Edip, Mbwogmut I and Mbwogmut II). The agreement is aimed at protecting the wildlife of the park as well as improving on the living conditions of communities around the park through the provision of social and economic services.

The lack lack or inadequate access to clean portable drinking water was identified as a social and economic setback for the above communities with children spending very long hours to fetch water for household use and sometimes at the expense of their studies. Teenage girls were exposed to sexual harassment and water borne diseases such as typhoid and cholera further exerted pressure on limited household income.

Faced with this problem, in 2022, the traditional authorities of the South East Cluster sought assistance from Bakossi National Park for the rehabilitation and construction of community water systems in Elum II, Muetan-Aku, Nzimbeng, Kodmin, Mbwogmut I and Mbwogmut II. After a feasibility studies was conducted, BNP through the Program for the Sustainable Management of Natural Resources for South West Region (PSMNR-SWR) and with funds from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development financed the rehabilitation and construction of all the Six (06) community water systems and handed the projects to beneficiary communities.

The projects which have since 2023 been managed by elected members of the Water Management Committee faced a management challenge as the officials lacked administrative and technical knowledge to manage the projects. Responding to this challenge, BNP again in March 2026, sponsored a one-week training workshop aimed at equipping a total of Forty-Two (42) community water managers (07 from each community with Administrative and Technical skills. The training which took place at Muetan-Aku for LOT I communities (Elum II, Muetan-Aku and Nzimbeng) and Muaback for LOT II communities (Kodmin, Mbwogmut I and Mbwogmut II) was executed by Cameroon Association for Rural Development (CARD), a Consultancy Firm reputed for training community water managers. All Six beneficiary communities received maintenance tools from BNP to ensure the sustainability of the project