Community forestry and REDD+ in Cameroon: what future?

Abstract

The Cameroonian Readiness Preparation Proposal recognizes community forests (CFs) as one strategy for implementing REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries). However, there has been little analysis of the extent to which CFs can help achieve REDD+ objectives in Cameroon. We explore options for REDD+ within CFs, as well as challenges and possible ways forward. Cocoa agroforestry in deforested or highly degraded CFs is currently the most competitive option for implementing REDD+ while delivering ecological, economic, and social cobenefits. Reduced-impact logging and conservation or natural regeneration are technically sound options for emissions reductions within CFs, but are unlikely to compete with other more profitable activities at the current low carbon market prices of approximately USD $5/tonne of carbon. However, these options could potentially compete under a social cost of carbon estimated at $43/tonne of carbon. The current CF architecture presents a set of factors that could favor REDD+ implementation, including: good legal and institutional frameworks and practices compatible with REDD+ safeguards, experience and knowledge in related payments for ecosystem services and performance-based finance pilots, and social capital in a community of practice. The CF architecture also features potentially inhibiting factors such as poor governance (notably, elite capture and corruption), unclear carbon rights, and financing challenges. We identify a set of enabling actions for delivery of REDD+ within CFs in Cameroon, which include: clarifying carbon rights; establishing a benefit-sharing mechanism from the national to the local level with clear rules for rewarding emission reductions in CFs; and building monitoring, reporting, and verification infrastructure for REDD+ within CFs. More importantly, adopting an integrated approach in which CFs serve multiple objectives, including ecosystembased adaptation, REDD+, and the original community forestry objectives could enable drawing from both adaptation and mitigation finance, technical support, and provide long-term sustainable development benefits.

Biodiversity of the Cocoa Agroforests of the Bengamisa-Yangambi Forest Landscape in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

“…The continent supplies more than two-thirds of the world's cocoa, the majority being produced by Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana [20]. Full-sun systems are found mostly in the Lower Guinean forest systems of Liberia, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria; the more complex systems are in the Congo Basin countries, mainly in Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) [21]. As cocoa production increases in DRC, the sector can learn a lot from its West African neighbours about mistakes to avoid and priorities to emphasize, including the importance of sustainable and climate-smart practices and good governance [22].…”

Land Use Change and Livelihoods in the Plantation Nouvelle de Ngambe Tikar (Pnnt) Community Forest, Center Region of Cameroon

“…Community forest refers to forests in which local communities use and have some degree of formal responsibility and authority for forest management. In Cameroon, community forest also aims at providing rural communities with income generating mechanisms for equitable socio-economic development of their communities, therefore alleviating poverty [11][12][13][14]. Non-timber forests products (NTFPs) play a key role in the daily life of millions of people living in the rural areas of Cameroon [8].…”

“…This activity creates at least 283,000 direct and indirect jobs at various levels of the NTFPs value chain [16,8]. Since the late 1980s, community forests (CFs) have emerged in a growing number of developing countries, largely because of failing centralized forest policy [13]. Currently, approximately 18% of global forest is under community ownership or administration [17,13].…”

“…Since the late 1980s, community forests (CFs) have emerged in a growing number of developing countries, largely because of failing centralized forest policy [13]. Currently, approximately 18% of global forest is under community ownership or administration [17,13]. Most people living in community forests are dependent on the forest to sustain their livelihood.…”

“…Most people living in community forests are dependent on the forest to sustain their livelihood. Therefore, several activities are undertaken by local populations to satisfy their daily needs, as well as to generate revenues through industrial logging, NTFPs collection, subsistence agriculture, agroforestry, hunting, fishing and charcoal production [18,19,13].…”