Raphael Tsanga

Review of the legal ownership status of national lands in Cameroon: A more nuanced view

This paper revisits the legal status of land tenure in Cameroon in response to many publications which claim that 97% of land belongs to the State. In fact, the current Cameroonian land-tenure system is based on the distinction between public/State lands; private lands and national lands. Therefore, the review of the legislation in force and the theory of constitutional law show that a more nuanced interpretation of the legal status of land and forests in Cameroon leads to the conclusion that the State does not have sole and absolute ownership over land and forests, as many studies claim. From this viewpoint, distinction should be made between State ownership of public land and State administration of national lands which really belong to the Cameroonian Nation or People. However, the current legal (vague) status granting sole and absolute powers to the State as custodian of national lands no longer meets local communities’ and indigenous peoples claims on land inherent in the global REDD+ impetus and land grabbing. Hence, there is need to initiate policy and legal reforms so as to provide for land belonging to local communities and indigenous communities, distinct from the national lands domain.

Timber certification as a catalyst for change in forest governance in Cameroon, Indonesia, and Peru

ABSTRACT Policy instruments targeting environmental, social, and economic sustainability cover both local and global geographies and stem from both the public and private sectors. These policy instruments do not work in silos but interact throughout the regulatory process. In this paper we discuss interactions between public regulations and private certification that affect how forests are managed in three tropical countries: Indonesia, Cameroon, and Peru. We show how the governance regime in each of the countries has evolved in response to environmental and social issues. We focus on the Forest Stewardship Council’s forest stewardship certification as it is the main global certification scheme in the tropical region and look at its role in attaining sustainability in timber production. Case study results from Indonesia, Cameroon, and Peru indicate that certification influences all stages of the policy process: agenda setting and negotiation; implementation, and monitoring and enforcement. Results also suggest that certification introduces positive changes in management practices and improves social and environmental performance. However, its influence in attaining broader-scale sustainability is limited by a low level of uptake, notably in tropical countries where the costs of getting certified and maintaining certification are high and the certification criteria are rather complex, as well as by some of its inherent characteristics, as it can only solve problems at the forest management unit level. EDITED BY Meine van Noordwijk

Contributions of community and individual small-scale logging to sustainable timber management in Cameroon

SUMMARY In Cameroon, sustainable timber management relies on the model of large logging concession. However, over the past fifteen years, small-scale logging has become a common activity, with two different forms. First, the creation of community forests in the late 1990s allowed village associations to legally harvest, process and trade timber, almost always with the support of external actors such as NGOs or private operators. Second, individual chainsaw milling, almost always informal, has grown considerably. The article compares the economic, social and environmental impacts of these two options of small-scale logging. Although much focus has been put on community forestry over the latest two decades, it remains a marginal activity with a turnover of less than € 2 million per year and a small impact on rural economies. Conversely, informal chainsaw milling represents an annual turnover of € 93 million, with a flow of revenues around € 30 million for the benefit of rural population. From an environmental perspective, none of the two options seems to substantially conserve or degrade forest resources, but more research is needed on the issue. The chainsaw milling sector remains largely ignored by — national and international — public policies in the attempts to achieve sustainable timber management in Cameroon. Some perspectives are proposed to legalise the small-scale logging sector without reducing its current socio-economic impact on rural and urban livelihoods.