Property Rights and Forest Management in Cameroon

Transcription

1 Property Rights and Forest Management in Cameroon ERRG Research Day School of Law, University of Surrey, 29 April 2009 Walters Nsoh

2 Outline Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) Cameroon Forestry Law 1994 Property Rights and Resource Tenure Systems Community Forestry Forest Land Ownership Conclusion

3 Sustainable Forest Management ITTO has defined sustainable forest management as: The process of managing permanent forest land to achieve one or more clearly specified objectives of management with regard to the continuous flow of desired forest products and services without undue reduction in its inherent values and future productivity and without undue undesirable effects on the physical and social environment. The Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE), and has since been adopted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). It defines sustainable forest management as: the stewardship and use of forests and forest lands in a way, and at a rate, that maintains their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality and their potential to fulfill, now and in the future, relevant ecological, economic and social functions, at local, national, and global levels, and that does not cause damage to other ecosystems.

4 How to Achieve SFM? Several ways Criteria and Indicators Property Rights and Forest management in Cameroon

5 Cameroon Forestry Law 1994 Permanent forest (obligation of forest management) state and council forests Non-permanent forest (obligation of management, except community forests) communal, community, private forests

6 Property rights and resources tenure systems Brief history of Cameroon From the German Natural Resource Tenure System in Kamerun to the British and Resource Tenure System in the Cameroons and the French Resource Tenure System in Cameroun. Indigenous people were accorded the continued enjoyment of their user rights over wood and forest found the domaine but excluded from any form of industrial or commercial exploitation Legislative Harmonisation in the United Republic of Cameroon

7 Community User Rights/ droit d usage - Under the new law, the highest interest which the local population can have in forest resources is a customary right which means the right which is recognised as being that of the local population to harvest all forest, wildlife and fish products freely for their personal use except the protected species Question Was it necessary to nationalise forest resources which were actually in occupation by local communities before the coming into force of these regulations?

8 Community Forestry Sections 37 and 38 of the 1994 law make provisions for forestry dedication covenants to be signed by members of such communities to constitute what is known as Community Forests. This means that the state can allow huge forest reserves for the benefits of village communities who must manage it according to simple management plans previously drawn up at their behest and under the supervision of the forestry services. Procedure is very cumbersome, expensive Interestingly, community forest is not a wholesale transfer of property rights but simply transfer of management - Section 31 of the decree empowers local administrative authorities to plan and control thus making the de facto nationalisation very evident

9 Land ownership and customary law Situation has been worsened through the creation of forest concessions on customary lands, the creation of protected areas, sharing of revenues from commercial logging, establishment of agro-industries, and oil compensation

10 Concession data for 15 of the 30 most forested countries, 2008 In Cameroon, 1.14 Mha of forest land is designated for and owned by communities and indigenous groups compared to 6.40Mha of forest land under concessions 4.95 (allocated timber) 1.15 (unallocated timber) 0.30 (gold)187 number 9 of 15 most forested countries. Compare to Bolivia with 28.56Mha for communities and indigenous groups and only 9.27Mha of forest land under concessions. (Source: Rights and Resources Initiative)

11 Conclusion Despite the efforts to appropriate forestry resources as clearly stated in the law, in enforcing the law, it seems the overriding consideration of local administrative authorities is to give credibility to an interpretation that would vest more power and privilege with them. As a result local population view the state law as impersonal, accumulative, arbitrary, oppressive and alien to their customs. Indigenous people engaging in illegal activities that destroy forest A sense of real ownership by indigenous people is needed to improve the management of forest resources. i.e. Then the solution is clear, create the private property rights that would support the incentive structure for sustainable forestry. Private lands owned by communities or indigenous peoples (i.e. forest lands where rights cannot be unilaterally terminated by a government without some form of due process and compensation. The framework for such legal ownership will be explored furthered.

12 Thank You!