The U.S. Ambassador to Cameroon, Janet Garvey signed an agreement on August 27 in Kousseri that will provide $98,000 (450,800,000 Fcfa) for reforestation efforts to protect Lake Chad and prevent further desertification in the region. Cameroonian Minister of Forests and Wildlife, the Chadian Minister of Environment, and local political and traditional leaders attended the multinational signing ceremony, held near the Cameroonian-Chadian border.