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While forests’ contribution to rural livelihoods has been unearthed scientifically, the patterns, determinants and forest conservation policy implications of livelihood diversification still beg for more scientific and policy edification. This paper makes a contribution in this regard, using household data (N = 200) from eight villages around the Kilum-Ijim Forest Landscape of Cameroon. The ordinary least square and the logit model are used to explore the determinants of livelihood diversification and the likelihood of forest dependence, respectively. The diversification patterns were analysed using a simple t-test, and the multinomial logit for conservation choices. We find that forest-related activities are a source of livelihood diversification for 63% of households, with non-timber forest products (NTFP) domestication (31%) and medicinal plant extraction (30%) being the most preferred. For non-forest activities, migration is the most preferred diversification strategy. Generally, households with favourable socio-economic status prefer non-forest to forest activities for livelihood diversification. The regression estimates indicate that older respondents are more likely to depend on the forest than the young, whereas males and individuals with at least some secondary education are less likely than their respective counterparts to rely on the forest. The results also suggest those who participated in training, educated household heads and older individuals are significantly more likely to choose high-valued diversification strategies. Concerning conservation activities, households with favourable socio-economic status are on average less likely to adopt NTFP domestication and more likely to adopt bee-keeping as a conservation choice. The results suggest the need for policy considerations to: (i) effectively integrate women in forest management processes, (ii) intensify trainings for conservation-friendly diversification approaches, (iii) regulate unclean energy use and (iv) encourage value chain improvement for conservation-friendly products.

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Tropical countries are often blamed for not managing their natural resources sustainably. But what if overexploitation is inherent in political structures and policies—rooted in foreign colonial order—and is consistently detrimental in the contemporary use of forestlands? This article argues that post-colonial land development policies and related political interests seriously impede the sustainability of forest ecosystems in Côte d’Ivoire. Methodologically, the study builds on a historic contextualisation of forestland use policies in Sub-Saharan Africa, with Côte d’Ivoire serving as a case study. The results indicate that the increasing development of so-called rent crops clearly follows the historical dynamics of ‘land grabbing’ and a post-colonial agrarian model. This situation benefits agribusiness entrepreneurs and, more recently, sustainability standards. The study discusses the findings based on recent literature and empirical evidence. In conclusion, the post-colonial heritage and the manipulation of the related patterns by elites and policy-makers largely explains the present-day unsustainable forestland conversions in Côte d’Ivoire.

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The consequence of state controlled forestry in Cameroon has been the overexploitation of forest resources often in conflict with local forest dependent communities and state conservation objectives. The failure of state controlled forestry to achieve sustainable forest management has led to the emergence of new network like arrangements amongst which is independent forest monitoring (IFM) by civil society. The aim of this paper is to scrutinize the factors which affect the effectiveness of IFM governance network in Cameroon. Our research focused on a case study of Cameroon, employing a governance network perspective. The main findings are that national civil society in Cameroon is playing a significant role in improving transparency in the forest sector and holding decision makers to account. The paper finds a shift from technical areas of forest monitoring to the monitoring of social obligations and the respect of community rights by private companies. An analysis of actors highlights a strong network of national NGOs with self-defined goals and strategies engaged in very fluid relationships with law enforcement agencies beyond traditional ministries of forests and wildlife characterised by a spectrum ranging from complementarity, substitution and rivalry. The lack of sustainable funding and weak capabilities of national NGOs to navigate these fluid relationships emerges as core constraints for network effectiveness. Accordingly, recommendations for effectiveness entail strategies for sustainable funding, capacity strengthening and network coordination to address current weaknesses but also to build trust and credibility of the governance network.

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