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PRO-POOR FORESTRY IN CAMEROON

Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit (CPSU) London Workshop on ‘Pro-Poor Forestry and Carbon Finance in the Commonwealth’ 01 – 02 September 2008. PRO-POOR FORESTRY IN CAMEROON. PRISCILLIA LINGONDO REGIONAL CENTER FOR DEVELOPMENT & CONSERVATION (RCDC) LIMBE, SOUTH WEST PROVINCE, CAMEROON. AND

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PRO-POOR FORESTRY IN CAMEROON

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  1. Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit (CPSU) London Workshop on ‘Pro-Poor Forestry and Carbon Finance in the Commonwealth’ 01 – 02 September 2008 PRO-POOR FORESTRY IN CAMEROON PRISCILLIA LINGONDO REGIONAL CENTER FOR DEVELOPMENT & CONSERVATION (RCDC) LIMBE, SOUTH WEST PROVINCE, CAMEROON AND EMMANUEL O. NUESIRI OXFORD UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT (OUCE) & COMMONWEALTH POLICY STUDIES UNIT (CPSU) LONDON

  2. CAMEROON • Population (2008 estimate): 18 million • Surface area: 475,000 km² • Area covered by forests: 50% • Main economic activity: Agriculture • Economic situation: Highly Indebted • Political situation: Stable fledgling democracy

  3. CLIMATE Debundschalying on the western flanks of Mt Cameroon with about 10,000mm of rain per year is the 2nd rainiest place on the planet after Chirapunji in India.

  4. FORESTS According to FAO (2003) statistics: Type: Tropical moists (with montane forest in Cameroon highlands) Extent: 23.8 million Ha or 51.3% of land area in Cameroon Plantations: 80,000 Ha (marginal role in forestry sector) Annual rate of change in forest cover 1990 – 2000: –0.9% Annual net loss: 222,000 Ha during the decade Volume of wood in forest: 135 m3/Ha Commercial species: Ayous(Triplochiton scleroxylon), Sapelli (Etandrophragma cylindricum) and Azobe(Lophira alata), Frake (Terminalia superba) and Iroko (Milicia/Chlorophora excelsa) – representing about 75% of Cameroon’s timber production.

  5. PRO-POOR FORESTRY • FOREST FRUITS AND VEGETABLES • Trade worth up to £1,000,000/yr • HONEY AND BEE PRODUCTS • Trade worth more than £1000,000/yr • ROYALTIES FROM WILDLIFE AND TIMBER EXTRACTION • Shared in a 5:4:1 ratio between government, local municipalities and concerned villages • COMMUNITY FORESTS • About 100 covering 400,000 hectares • Revenue - (per year and per adult): (i) predominantly timber US$32 (ii) partly timber US$6 (iii) predominantly NTFP US$5.6. • ECO-TOURISM • No national data but of growing interest for job creation

  6. BIMBIA-BONADIKOMBO COMMUNITY FOREST Location: South East flanks of Mt. Cameroon Type 2 community forest:partly timber, expected to yield aboutUS$6/person/yr

  7. BIMBIA-BONADIKOMBO COMMUNITY FOREST Farming – Oil palm Signpost on forest edge Timber for local market Charcoal for local market Eco-tourism Hunting – seized guns

  8. PRO-POOR FORESTRY - CHALLENGES • Policy • Disharmony between the Forestry Law and the Land Tenure Code • Multiplicity of texts and lack of administrative co-ordination and information • Governance • Poor accountability, transparency and equity amongst the different actors/ stakeholders at different scales including gender insensitivity • Knowledge base • Ignorance of policy requirement amongst local people and forestry department staff • Acute shortage of skillful managers at different scales • Market • Informal, poorly understood, poorly regulated, poorly financed • Low levels of inventiveness (poor adaptability) vis-à-vis product processing and marketing • Lack of local ownership • High application and management transaction cost vis-à-vis capacity of local groups • Embedding of NGOs as mid-wives and proxy representatives of local interests • Heightened sense of insecurity due to changing weather patterns • There is deep concern at local level about changes in rainfall pattern • Elite interest and capture of pro-poor initiatives

  9. SOLUTIONS • Political will • Research • Regional and export market research • Education, education, education • Regular capacity building courses, workshops, seminars at all scales • Programme to enhance inventiveness of local groups • Management training tailored for local groups • Need to move beyond lip-service to gender concerns • Need for tailored climate change and adaptability education • Finance • Simpler, more accessible financial support for local groups

  10. THE ROLE OF CARBON FINANCE • Lobby government to work towards policy coherence • Provide funds for tree ‘planting and management’ programmes with local groups • Support initiatives that promote local innovation in exchange for local commitment to forest protection • There is still a lot of room for better soil management in Cameroon’s forest zones which could lead to appreciable reduced deforestation

  11. THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND ATTENTION!

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