Based on the work of Guillaume Akongo
Campo-Ma’an, Cameroon
This example illustrates efforts made to reconcile a biodiversity conservation objective with the objectives of rational and sustainable use of natural resources and economic development of the Campo-Ma’an zone. Efforts to achieve these three objectives involve all the stakeholders, especially the local people and commercial operators in the area (logging companies and agro-industries). Creation of a technical operational unit (TOU) has improved coordination in the allocation of land to these different goals: the Campo-Ma’an National Park, FMUs and a multiple-use zone.
DESCRIPTION OF THE CAMPO-MA’AN FOREST
The Campo-Ma’an TOU covers roughly 770 000 ha and belongs to the State. It is located in the extreme southwest of Cameroon, spreading over three departments: Océan, Vallée du Ntem and Mvila. The Campo-Ma’an region lies in one of the great centres of African biodiversity and possesses a unique biological wealth, with a dense and varied vegetation (more than 1 500 plant species). It is a transition zone between the southern and northern Atlantic forest zones and contains many species that reach either their northern or southern distribution limit here. There are also many endemic (45) and rare species, while the large amount of azobé indicates human presence in the past. The TOU includes several ecosystems composed of about 20 different types of vegetation, varying from the coast to the interior. Mammal wildlife in the TOU is typical of low-altitude Guineo-Congolian forests, and 80 species of medium and large mammals are found (elephants, buffalo, gorillas, chimpanzees, panthers, giant pangolins, etc.). The TOU contains 18 primate species and is an important refuge for the lowland gorilla. The Campo-Ma’an National Park and its peripheral zone is the only place in Cameroon where the mandrill and its habitat enjoy protected status. Apart from its ecological importance, this region has great economic, cultural and scientific potential.
THE CAMEROONIAN FOREST MANAGEMENT CONTEXT
The Cameroonian legal and institutional framework demonstrates the government’s commitment to biodiversity conservation, as do the signing and/or ratification of many bilateral and multilateral international agreements, ministerial orders and cooperation agreements. Cameroonian forest management is governed by Law 94/01 of 20 January 1994, which contains regulations for forests, wildlife and fishing, and its corresponding Application Decree 95/531/PM of 23 August 1995. Zoning of southern Cameroon is carried out according to the South Cameroon Zoning Plan (Decree 95/678/PM of 18 December 1995). The 1995 document “Organization of production forests in southern Cameroon: General report” of the Ministry of the Environment and Forests subdivides the production forests proposed in the zoning plan into FMUs. Decision 0108/D/MINEF of 9 February 1998 stipulates the application of norms governing intervention in the country’s forests, harvesting methods and environmental protection measures. Order 0222/A/MINEF of 23 May 2001 lays down procedures for the preparation and approval of management plans for production forests on permanent forest land, and monitoring and evaluation of their implementation.
National parks in Cameroon are governed by Decree 95/466/PM of 20 July 1995, which stipulates how wildlife regulations are to be applied. Decree 74/2 of 6 July 1974 specifies that public natural coastal land is part of the State-owned private estate. Green turtles, which are found in the coastal part of the TOU, are protected under Order 1954/A/MINTOUR/DFAP/SC of 16 December 1991.
The Campo-Ma’an TOU is at present subdivided into several sectors: the national park, production forests (FMUs) and a multiple-use or buffer zone, which is set aside for village activities, private property and agro-industrial plantations. The national park and the FMUs are part of the private State-owned permanent forest estate, while the multiple-use zone is part of the non-permanent estate. The term “permanent” here refers to land that is definitively allocated as forest or a wildlife habitat. Each permanent forest must have a management plan. Cameroon has set itself the goal of defining and demarcating 30 percent of the country’s total land area as permanent forest estate.
The Campo-Ma’an TOU is a decentralized management structure of the Ministry of the Environment and Forests, which provides technical assistance to the local population and is responsible for management of the forest. It has the task of supervising the creation of the Campo-Ma’an National Park and its management, developing a system for sustainable management of forest and wildlife resources in the buffer zone, developing a management and conservation system for the coastal zone of the TOU, promoting local community participation in management, coordinating the activities of forest and hunting police, and facilitating ecotourism activities.
The Ministry of the Environment and Forests representative in Océan Department acts as the TOU Warden, supported by the ministry representative in Vallée du Ntem Department. The heads of forestry stations act as field-level executive agents. The management committee, comprising the State, logging companies and the local population, examines and approves annual work plans. It is in charge of planning, monitoring and evaluating activities in the TOU. The formation of a local site monitoring committee composed of representatives of all the stakeholders is also anticipated.
The project is financed mainly by the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) through the World Bank’s Global Environment Facility Biological Diversity Program. The Foundation for Environment and Development in Cameroon will provide funding for certain activities concerned with conservation in the national park. Funds are at present coming from oil companies, for the Campo-Ma’an National Park benefits from compensation from the Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline project.
MANAGEMENT OF THE CAMPO-MA’AN FOREST AND ITS VARIOUS SECTORS
The Campo-Ma’an Management and Biodiversity Conservation Project began in 1996 under the Ministry of the Environment and Forests and with the technical support of two Dutch executing agencies: the Tropenbos International Foundation and SNV. Field activities under the project began in 1997 and the Campo-Ma’an TOU was established in 1999 with the objectives of biodiversity conservation, rational and sustainable natural resource use and a contribution to economic development of the zone. These three objectives are to be achieved while endeavouring to involve all stakeholders in the TOU, particularly the local population and the commercial companies active in the zone (logging companies, agro-industries, etc.). The creation of the TOU allows a better overview of the whole zone so that the different sectors – national park, FMUs and multiple-use zone – can be better coordinated.
The Campo-Ma’an National Park
The national park management and conservation strategy focuses on a number of points, including preparation and implementation of a management plan, establishment of a legal management structure for the national park, strengthening of Ministry of the Environment and Forests structures to allow more effective control, involvement of logging companies and manufacturers in biodiversity management on their concessions bordering on the national park, promotion of ecotourism, establishment of community hunting zones outside the national park, sensitization and education of the inhabitants of the TOU, etc.
Forest management units
FMUs are initially allocated to a company on the basis of a provisional three-year agreement. During this period, the concession-holder must prepare a 30-year management plan. Following approval of the management plan by the forest administration, a renewable 15-year harvesting agreement is made between the concession-holder and the Ministry of the Environment and Forests. Two FMUs are situated wholly within the TOU, while the others are only partially so. An environmental impact study was undertaken in late 2000 and early 2001 as a precondition for harvesting on one of the FMUs. Apart from the production of wood and non-wood products, the FMUs have other types of potential: certification, job creation, tax collection by the State and the collection of fees then paid to the local population, carbon sequestration, etc.
The strategy adopted for management and harvesting of the FMUs is that of establishing a genuine partnership among logging companies, the ministry, the local population and NGOs active in the area. Concession-holders will be strongly encouraged to obtain certification of their FMUs. The ministry must, however, ensure effective supervision and monitoring of logging activities. Local people will be involved in preparing and implementing management plans and will receive forest fees. Other measures to be taken will include the closing of forest tracks when logging is finished, the promotion of animal husbandry, support to development microprojects and the creation of rural forestry committees in the villages around the FMUs.
The multiple-use zone
Sometimes called the agroforestry zone, this area is given over mainly to human activities, such as industrial plantations covering 61 339 ha. The HEVECAM concession (41 339 ha) has introduced protection measures in ecologically fragile zones. The factory is located in the middle of the concession and has a series of sedimentation basins to purify wastewater and collect solid waste. Most of the plantations are more than 20 years old and need to be renewed in order to ensure sufficient production. SOCAPALM (20 000 ha) has a factory producing about 26 000 tonnes of palm oil a year. Its plantations should shortly be renewed in order to maintain a cost-effective level of production. SOCAPALM is interested in supplying technical support to small local planters and buying their produce. The company also has a herd of trypanosome-resistant cattle that help to clean the plantations by grazing them and are also used to transport palm bunches. A number of cattle are slaughtered each year to sell as meat to the workers. The potential benefits of industrial plantations include job creation, animal husbandry under the plantations and the creation of a market near villages. The intervention strategy adopted on these plantations is therefore that of further involving the local people in rubber or palm oil production by promoting small-scale plantations with technical support from manufacturers. It is also necessary to ensure that industrial pollution is kept to a minimum.
The village zone is located along the roads and covers 216 701 ha. A 5-km strip on either side of the main road holds first home gardens behind the houses, then cash crops and lastly a strip of land planted with trees. The slash-and-burn system of cultivation is the most commonly practised. There is little small animal husbandry, while hunting, fishing and the gathering of NWFPs are practised in the forest and in this agroforestry strip. The potential benefits of the village zone include the existence of markets capable of absorbing local agricultural produce and the possibility of harvesting community forests. The development strategy adopted for this zone will be that of fostering a better organization of the local population, developing resource management tools, facilitating the creation of a community forest, improving marketing networks for agricultural produce, promoting the establishment of markets, supporting the setting aside of community hunting zones, reducing illegal hunting and fishing, etc.
Small-scale fishing is carried on by the local population and industrial and semi-industrial fishing by outsiders in the public coastal zone. Tourism is also found in this zone, primarily exploitation of beaches by the villagers and ecotourism focusing on green turtles. Apart from the beaches and green turtles, the main potential of this zone lies in its fishery resources, which are the main source of food and income for the local population. In order to ensure the sustainable development of this zone, a protected coastal strip must be established and all building of infrastructures and housing banned. The strategy adopted will thus be that of preparing and implementing a management plan, creating a coastal reserve for wildlife reproduction and ecotourism development, encouraging local communities to participate in the promotion of ecotourism, etc.
The TOU as a whole
There are a number of potential benefits linked to the proximity of large towns (Douala and Yaounde) with an international airport and to ease of access, both factors favourable to tourist development. The Campo-Ma’an National Park offers opportunities for tourist development and scientific research thanks to its exceptional biological diversity and spectacular tourist spots. The extensive river system could be used for fresh-water fishing and tourism. Fees from logging, paid directly to local communities, could contribute to socio-economic development of the zone. The large agro-industrial companies not only provide employment opportunities, but are also an important market for agricultural food produce and absorb the production of small-scale rubber and oil palm planters. One of the TOU-level intervention strategies is that of strengthening organizations and developing institutions, while the establishment of local support organizations will be encouraged. Institutional support to local partners must be a primary feature of intervention strategies. The experience of other projects should be drawn on and collaboration encouraged among the main stakeholders. With regard to tourism, development of the zone can stimulate rural development and natural resource conservation. The villages and the Kribi municipal tourist office should therefore receive organizational and institutional support, guides should be trained, the creation of tourism committees should be encouraged, etc.
Hunting is both a subsistence and commercial activity for the local population, so that it exerts heavy pressure. Village zones for controlled hunting should therefore be established outside the national park, while wildlife throughout the TOU should be monitored. It is important that the local people be provided with the necessary tools to participate actively in management of the TOU. Furthermore, it is vital that the people’s living conditions be improved. They must draw tangible benefits from participating directly in management of the park and in the various activities taking place in the TOU.
Management of the various zones of the TOU and the effectiveness of the measures adopted will be studied, with the results of such study being used by the management structure, which will be responsible for formulating a research programme. Structural collaboration with the country’s Institute of Agricultural Research for Development station at Kribi is anticipated. A satellite research station will be established near the park in order to carry out relevant ecological and forest studies.
ASSESSMENT AND CONCLUSIONS
In terms of the whole TOU, the present situation contains certain constraints. There is a lack of coordination between departmental offices. The lack of sufficient human resources and equipment to manage the TOU is also a problem at the provincial level. The budgets allocated to the TOU are insufficient, while the cumbersome nature of administrative procedures hampers efficient working. Other negative factors are the poor state of the roads and the near total absence of vehicles. The lack of proper organization of the local population also hampers development of the zone. Furthermore, a good many of the people have been accustomed for several generations to taking whatever they need for their survival, especially game, from the natural environment, without giving any thought to resource renewal.
The main constraints for the Campo-Ma’an National Park are the lack of sufficient human and financial resources, industrial activities on the borders of the park, illegal activities, the lack of direct financial returns for the local people and the low level of acceptance of the park by the people. There are also problems at FMU level, the main ones being the low level of ministry staffing so that it is ill equipped to monitor and supervise these areas. The main constraints on industrial plantations are the risk of their extension into an already limited agroforestry zone, the risk of pollution of watercourses and poaching by the workers. There are also constraints in the village zone connected with low soil fertility, the aging of cocoa plantations, relatively unproductive plant material, the low level of organization of the local population, etc. The constraints hampering tourist development of the zone are the lack of coordination among the various parties, the lack of village organizations and the lack of technical skills when such organizations do exist. The communities do not draw any substantial income from this activity. Bureaucratic complications tend to discourage tourists. Reception infrastructures are poorly developed and sites of tourist interest are hard of access and poorly equipped. There is considerable industrial pressure on the coast, especially from petroleum extraction and transport. Green turtles are being caught and their eggs collected in the public coastal zone. Trawlers in the coastal region are reducing fishery resources. Other negative factors are the urbanization of the coastal strip and the risk of pollution from industrial development.
Based on the work of Christian Asanga
Kilum-Ijim project, Cameroon
Management of the Kilum-Ijim forest is an example of the establishment and maintenance of successful partnerships for the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. The success of community forestry as a biodiversity conservation strategy lies in the convergence of the interests of the local population and the international community in conservation. On such a basis, a partnership can be developed to establish a forest management system in which the goals of all the stakeholders are to a large extent achieved.
DESCRIPTION OF THE KILUM-IJIM FOREST
The Kilum-Ijim forest is a natural closed moist montane forest belonging to the State. It covers about 20 000 ha and is located in the Bui administrative division of Cameroon’s Nord-Ouest Province (the Bamenda highlands). Forests in Central Africa have suffered an unprecedented amount of degradation over recent decades and the Kilum-Ijim forest is one of the largest remaining Central African montane forests. Mount Kilum, with an altitude of 3 011 m, and the Ilim ridge are an important centre of endemism and a biodiversity conservation hotspot. There are 11 main types of vegetation in the forest, including Podocarpus latifolius, Prunus africana and Rapanea melanophloeos at the highest altitudes, Adenocarpus mannii, Hypericum revolutum and Gnidia glauca forests, montane forests, secondary forests and grasslands regularly burned by herders. The forest contains many endemic wildlife species (especially birds and amphibians) and plant species. Elephants, buffalo, antelopes, etc. can also be seen. The forest plays an important role in controlling water flows and is also of significant cultural and spiritual value to the local people.
THE CAMEROONIAN CONTEXT AND THE VARIOUS STAKEHOLDERS
After Independence, the Cameroonian Government adopted conventional natural resource protection measures by setting up a network of forest reserves and other kinds of protected area. However, the results were not as successful as anticipated. In the past ten years interest has therefore grown in community participation in natural resource management. With the new forest law of 1994, there is now a policy allowing the devolution of management power to local communities. A community forest is a forest covered by a management agreement between the village community and the forest administration, with forest products then belonging to the village community. Many bilateral organizations and international and local NGOs are working at various levels with the government and the local people to promote partnerships for the participatory management of natural resources.
Management of the Kilum-Ijim forest involves three main parties: the traditional authorities (represented by the fons, kwifons and village chiefs), local communities (represented by user groups) and the government (through the Ministry of the Environment and Forests). The traditional authorities have the tasks of coordinating the activities of user groups and settling conflicts. The local population has been using the forest for a long time to produce a wide range of products (fuelwood, medicine, bushmeat, building materials). A fon is the traditional leader of an ethnic group (or fondom) and a kwifon is the fon’s council of elders. The Kilum-Ijim forest comprises three fondoms (Nso, Oku and Kom) and is managed by 18 village committees, each in charge of a specific part of the forest. The village committees have close links to the traditional chieftaincies, which hold the customary power. The government also plays similar roles, as well as creating an adequate legislative and technical environment for community forestry. A technical operational unit (TOU) representing the forest administration provides technical
assistance to the people and is responsible for managing the central conservation zone, supervising implementation of simple management plans by the communities and periodically reviewing all management agreements. The Cameroon Mountains Conservation Foundation has been established to support conservation activities.
MANAGEMENT OF THE KILUM-IJIM FOREST
Conservation activities in the forest began in 1931 with demarcation of the Mount Oku Forest Reserve. An agreement was concluded between the warden and the local population concerning certain rights of use in the reserve. A study of the mountain chain in western Cameroon by BirdLife International (at that time known as the International Council for Bird Preservation) in the early 1980s led to establishment of the Kilum Mountain Forest Project in 1987, while the Ijim Mountain Forest Project was launched in 1992. The two projects then began to work together and in 1995 were amalgamated into the Kilum-Ijim Forest Project.
Work was carried out with the inhabitants of areas adjacent to the forest to agree on the lines beyond which no felling is permitted. Discussions were thus held between representatives of the traditional authorities and the administration, and the boundaries were fixed in 1994. With the help of the Ministry of the Environment and Forests, the project established community forests throughout almost the entire Kilum-Ijim forest, with a central conservation zone (or plant sanctuary). Between 1995 and 2000 the project concentrated its efforts on the forest management institutions established by local communities, giving support in all the stages of the legal allocation of community forests. Negotiations on the agreed limits of use are an important element and take into account the ministry’s conservation objectives and the local population’s use objectives. All the simple management plans of the individual community forests incorporate regulations agreed at meetings of the ministry, the traditional authorities and community representatives. The project is now in its final stage, which will last until 2004. It should achieve the creation of community forests throughout the Kilum-Ijim zone and support forest management institutions during their early years. A permanent structure (a TOU) must be established to manage the central conservation area, and also a permanent fund to finance and run the ongoing ecological monitoring programme and other activities. At present, eight forest management institutions out of the total of 18 are in the process of acquiring their community forests through the conclusion of management agreements with the State. This legal process of allocation should be completed in 2003 for all the communities.
There are two important elements in the process of community forest management: establishment of forest management institutions, and support and capacity-building for these institutions so that they can manage the forest for the joint objectives of conservation and sustainable use of forest resources. Four phases have been
identified in the process of implementing community forest management and the project has developed working frameworks for each of these phases. The process of community forest allocation is long and complex and the implementation of temporary management measures was necessary in order to ensure that conservation rules and defined boundaries are observed before the people take formal control of the forest. The four phases are as follows:
• The investigation phase involved 40 villages adjacent to the forest. Participatory rural appraisal techniques were used to gather information on already existing uses and rules of access, and also on the needs and problems of the groups involved.
• The negotiation phase produced a clear definition of conservation and sustainable use objectives in the forest management plan, taking into account the traditional management system and hence the divergences of interest among the various stakeholders. The key steps in the negotiation phase were the creation of legal forest management bodies, agreement on the boundaries of the community forests and on common management rules, consultation meetings, submission of applications to the Ministry of the Environment and Forests, forest inventories and simple management plans. Common initiative groups were formed, composed of one or more communities. Common forest management rules were adopted in 1998 by representatives of the three fondoms. Areas for Fulani herders living within the forest were demarcated. Seventeen of the 18 forest management institutions have already presented their applications. Qualitative forest inventories were undertaken through a community forest survey. Simple management plans are prepared on two levels, the first comprehensive, the second at forest level. The community forest plan comprises two phases: the preparatory phase and the planning phase, with the participation of the communities. The community forest is then divided into sections according to objective, after which a five-year action plan is discussed and formulated, as well as annual operating plans containing details of activities. Those in charge of activities in each section are appointed.
• The simple management plan implementation phase receives support from the project staff, with activities consisting of enrichment through the planting of certain degraded areas, protection and harvesting. The forest management institutions create their own nurseries. Protection includes planting and maintaining trees and forest boundaries, patrolling and preventing illegal activities, penalizing infringements, conducting educational campaigns and removing exotic trees. Harvesting is mostly of fuelwood, NWFPs and building materials.
• The monitoring and evaluation phase entails revision of the management plan at least every five years. No forest management institution has yet reached this stage. Two monitoring procedures have been developed and are at present being introduced. These are an ecological monitoring programme and, for community forest management, an annual report for each of the three fondoms. Simple indicators of the status of the forests were developed for the communities in 1999. An institutional monitoring guide for Kilum-Ijim was produced in 2002, with a book of exercises.
ASSESSMENT AND CONCLUSIONS
The simple management plan for a community forest must be as straightforward as possible, covering essential operations. It must be realistic, with operations that can actually be carried out in practice. The activities should not be expensive for the community and funding arrangements must be defined in advance. The management plan is a flexible working document that can be adjusted. It must be participatory, involving all the members of the community.
The approach followed in this case study has been 100-percent participatory from the time it began in 1994 up to the legal acquisition of the first community forest in 2001. Experience has shown that the participatory process must study the role of users and field staff. The users are actively involved in all the stages of preparation, while field staff must facilitate the preparation process, provide technical advice, organize the plan, and help and supervise implementation of the various operations and the plan itself. The contribution of indigenous knowledge is also very important in community forest management and helps the communities to realize that they are capable of making it work.
The project has facilitated a partnership among communities, traditional authorities and government. The communities are the main managers, while the traditional authorities and the government provide coordination, conflict resolution, and technical and legislative support. This is thus a low-risk approach, in the sense that should one of the partners fail in its function, there is a high probability that the other two will continue the process.
An important lesson to be drawn from this experiment is the effectiveness of on-the-job capacity-building. Although training sessions are provided, the best way of developing capacities lies in planning and carrying out the various activities with the communities and other actors.
The observance of rules is very important for the success of community forest management. Procedures for dealing with and punishing minor infringements have been set up by the forest management institutes, while more serious violations are handled by the traditional authorities and/or the government.
The benefits of forest management act as an incentive for wholehearted participation in forest management. However, the cost of producing and implementing management plans is high in financial, human and material terms. Although the communities do an enormous amount on a voluntary basis, they cannot shoulder the costs of the more technical aspects. Partnerships for permanent funding mechanisms are essential if management is to be sustainable. Furthermore, ministry staff do not in general have the knowledge required to set the process in motion. The most serious constraint, however, is that of conflicts of interest, inasmuch as the interests of those with a short-term view of things are not served by the forest management process (for example, local élites and corrupt officials who look to short-term financial gain). The communities are powerless to deal with such people, who have influence with certain authorities, and an immediate solution to this problem has yet to be found.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Asanga, C. 2001. Facilitating viable partnerships in community forest management in Cameroon: the case of the Kilum-Ijim mountain forest area. In Wollenberg, E., Edmunds, D., Buck, L., Fox, J. & S. Brodt, eds. Social learning in community forests, p. 21-44. CIFOR/East-West Center.
Cheek, M., Onana, J.-M. & Pollard, B.J. 2000. The plants of Mount Oku and the Ijim ridge, Cameroon. RBG Kew.
Cheek, M., Gosling, G., Pollard, B. & Paton, A.J. 1998. Checklist of the flora of Mount Oku. Working Document. RBG Kew/NHY, Yaounde.
Cheek, M., Satabie, B. & Onana, J-M. 1997. Interim report on botanical survey and inventory for Kilum and Ijim Mountain Forest Project. National Herbarium, Cameroon & RBG, Kew, Oct./Nov. 1996.
Chirio, L. 1997. Etude herpétologique du massif d’Oku (Nord-Ouest Cameroun). Report. Kilum-Ijim Forest Project. Cameroon.
Collar, N.J., Crosby, M.J. & Statterfsfield, A.J. 1994. Birds to Watch 2: the World List of threatened birds. BirdLife conservation series no. 4. BirdLife International.
ENGREF. 1987. Massif d'Oku, Cameroun. Classement en réserve et principes pour un plan directeur d'aménagement. Summary. ENGREF- University of Dschang, Cameroon.
Fishpool, L.D.C. 1997. Important Bird Areas in Africa. IBA Criteria: Categories, species lists and population thresholds. BirdLife International.
Forboseh, P. & Maisels, F. 2000. The Kilum-Ijim forest vegetation survey: Ecological Monitoring Programme. KIFP, BirdLife International/MINEF, Cameroon.
Forboseh, P.F. & Ikfuingei, R.N. 2001. Estimating the population densities of Tauraco bannermani in the Kilum-Ijim forests, Northwestern Cameroon. Ostrich Supplement, 15: 114-118.
Hutterer, R. & Fulling, O. 1994. Mammal diversity in the Oku Mountains, Cameroon. Proc. mammal conference, Museum Koenig, Bonn.
Letouzey, R. 1985. Notice de la carte phytogéographique du Cameroun au 1:500 000, région Afro-montagnarde et étage submontagnard. IRA, Yaounde, Cameroon/Institut de la carte internationale de la végétation, Toulouse, France.
Macleod, H. 1987. Conservation of Oku Mountain Forest, Cameroon. ICBP Report no.15, ICBP, Cambridge.
Maisels, F. & Forboseh, P. 1997. Vegetation Survey: Ecological Monitoring Programme 1997. Kilum-Ijim Forest Project, BirdLife International/Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Cameroon.
Maisels, F., Allport, G., Anders, S., Asanga, C., Bibby, C., DeMarco, J., Forboseh, P., Gardner, A., Gartland, S., McKay, C., Nkengla, J. & Thomas, D. 1998. In: Maisels, F. ed., Kilum-Ijim Forest Project Conservation Objectives.
Mbinglo, S. & Gardner, A. 2002. Institutional Monitoring Guide, Community Forest Management Programme, Kilum-Ijim Forest Project. BirdLife International/MINEF.
McKay, C.R. 1995. Biodiversity monitoring at Kilum and Ijim Forest. Report to BirdLife International, September 1995.
McKay, C.R. & Young, J. 1995. Developing a monitoring programme for combined community and biodiversity forest management in the Kilum-Ijim montane forest, Cameroon. Report to BirdLife International, September 1995.
McKay, C.R. & Coulthard, N. 1996. The Kilum-Ijim Forests I.B.A. in Cameroon: monitoring biodiversity using birds as indicators. Poster, Pan African Ornithological Conference, Accra, Ghana, Dec. 1996.
MINEF. 1998. Manual of the Procedures for Attribution, and Norms for the Management, of Community Forests.
Nurse, M. C., McKay, C. R., Young, J.B. & Asanga, C.A. 1994. Biodiversity conservation through community forestry, in the Montane forests of Cameroon. Paper presented in BirdLife International XXI World Conference: Global partnership for Bird Conservation, Rosenheim, Germany, 12-18 August 1994. ODI Rural Development Forestry Network Paper No. 18d.
Republic of Cameroon. 1992. Law No.92/455/PM of 23/11/92 on Co-operatives and Common Initiative Groups.
Republic of Cameroon. 1994. Law No.94/01 of 20 January 1994 to lay down forestry, wildlife and fisheries regulations.
Republic of Cameroon. 1995. Decree No.95/531/PM of 23 August 1995 to determine the conditions for implementation of forestry regulations.
Stuart, S.N. (ed.) 1986. The conservation of the montane forests of Western Cameroon. ICBP Report.
Tame, S. & Asonganyi, J. 1995. Vegetation survey of the Ijim mountain forests, Northwest Province, Cameroon. Report, BirdLife International/GEF (World Bank)/MINEF.
Thomas, D.W. 1986. Vegetation in the montane forest of Cameroon. In Stuart, S.N. ed. The conservation of the montane forests of Western Cameroon, p. 20-27. Report of the ICBP Cameroon Montane Forest Survey.
Thomas, D.W. 1987. Vegetation of Mount Oku. In Macleod, H. Conservation of Oku Mountain Forest, Cameroon, p. 54-56. ICBP Report no. 15, ICBP, Cambridge.
Thomas, D.W. 1989. Stranglers and monocarpic herbs in the montane forests of Cameroon. Unpublished report, KIFP.
Thomas, D., Gardner, A. & DeMarco, J. 2001. Devolution of Decision-making: Lessons from Community Forest Management at the Kilum-Ijim Forest Project, Cameroon. In Jeffery, R. & Vira, B. eds. Conflict and Co-operation in Participatory Natural Resource Management, p. 189-203. Global issues series.
Wild, C. 1994. The status and ecology of the montane herpetology of Mount Oku, Cameroon, Africa. ASRA Journal, 1994: 73-91.
Based on the work of André Pa’ah
CAFT, Cameroon
This is an interesting example of a multiple-use (primate sanctuary and timber production) community forest with significant biological wealth and village communities involved in participatory management of natural resources through the acquisition of a community forest. The creation of the Trinationale Agroforestry Cooperative (CAFT) shows how these communities have become aware of the opportunities offered by forest management.
DESCRIPTION OF THE CAFT FOREST
This is an evergreen closed natural moist forest of 17 970 ha belonging to nine village associations in southern Cameroon’s Ngoyla District. It possesses a wide specific diversity, with a whole range of tree species (moabi, ayous, tali, sapelli, azobé, sipo, etc.) and an equally abundant herbaceous vegetation. The traditional pharmacopoeia is very much present in the area, based on the use of the various parts of plants (leaves, fruit, bark, roots, etc.). The vegetation has not yet been seriously disrupted, inasmuch as there has been no industrial logging here.
Biological indicators of the presence of large and small mammals are found throughout the Ngoyla zone (elephants, panthers, river hogs, antelopes, various reptiles and birds, etc.). Many large mammals come regularly to certain clearings. Wildlife is potentially threatened in the zone, being the only source of animal protein for the local population. The zone is a corridor allowing the movement of large mammals between the Dja and Nki Wildlife Reserves in Cameroon and the reserves of Minkebe in Gabon and Odzala in the Congo.
THE CAMEROONIAN CONTEXT AND ESTABLISHMENT OF CAFT
The Government of Cameroon has recently revised its environmental and forest management policies with Law 94/01 of 20 January 1994, one of the objectives of which is that of increasing the participation of local inhabitants in forest resource management. Decree 95/531/PM of 23 August 1995 lays down the procedures for implementing the Forest Code. This new Cameroonian forest policy is implemented and supervised by the Ministry of the Environment and Forests and the National Office for Forest Development. However, a number of institutions and organizations (parastatal organizations, international and national NGOs, conservation projects and embassies – for example, WWF, IUCN, UNDP, FAO, SNV, GTZ, the United Kingdom Department for International Development [DFID], the World Bank and the EU) are providing support to the government. The Network of Local NGOs and Associations in Lomié and Dja also plays an important role in establishing direct contact with the people living near the Dja Biosphere Reserve forests.
In 1994, the substitute Deputy for the Ngoyla zone introduced a project to create a community forest for the Baabaa clan. In 1997 and 1998 there were negotiations between the municipal authorities and logging companies regarding extraction of Ngoyla forest resources. In accordance with the zoning plan and forest regulations in force, the zone was set aside for allocation as community forests and not for illegal logging. SNV Cameroon joined forces with the Observatory of Baka and Bantu Cultures (OBBC)4 to sensitize the communities to the dangers of such logging. Letters from the nine communities requesting assistance were then drawn up as part of applications for the allocation of community forests. OBBC applied to the Netherlands Embassy in Cameroon for funding for the allocation process and to the Project for Sustainable Development Support in the Lomié-Dja Region (SDDL), an SNV eco-development project, for technical assistance. This project facilitated and developed the expertise needed for setting up the first five community forests in Lomié District in 2000.
The nine village communities have thus committed themselves to participatory management of natural forest resources. Following a series of four workshops organized by OBBC, village leaders from these nine communities were unanimous that only the formation of a local cooperative could overcome the various shortcomings in the working of community forest association structures. Thus, in line with Law 90/053 of 19 December 1990 on the freedom of association, they formed development committees, and CAFT was created in the village of Etekessang in 2001. CAFT works both to train community forest managers in implementing simple management plans and to distribute the benefits derived from these forests. It also plays a dominant role in the creation of added value in the production and protection of community forests, in order to ensure social, economic and ecological sustainability in the Ngoyla zone. The forest administration is responsible for approving management documents, supervising local-level preparatory work and implementing the management plan.
MANAGEMENT OF COMMUNITY FORESTS
Management of community forests is aimed at multiple uses (a primate sanctuary and timber production) and management work began in 2001 with a management inventory, a harvest inventory, etc. It is based on a simple management plan, which includes a five-year programme of action, an annual harvesting plan and the planning of community development microprojects.
Implementation of the simple management plan requires various tools (maps, a global positioning system, etc.) and is based on a participatory approach at all levels and the strengthening of the community members’ capacity for effective management of forest resources. OBBC and SNV organized a series of theoretical and practical training sessions covering data collection and processing techniques, the reading and use of maps, compasses and global positioning systems, the interpretation and use of the data collected, etc. The legal and regulatory framework requires data to be processed and collated, and this is also needed in order to obtain the approval of the supervisory authority (the Ministry of the Environment and Forests) for future uses of natural resources and redistribution of benefits to community members. The benefits are thus used to improve the people’s standard of living.
A survey of the whole area of the community forest was carried out (with a sampling rate of 4 percent) and this management inventory then allowed estimates to be made of the potential of the resources and their distribution on the ground. Two types of silvicultural practice are anticipated: the planting of fruit trees and forest enrichment with moabi and wild mango around the community forests to mark them off, and selective felling to free future stems. Felling will be directional in order to minimize the impact on future stems.
Natural resource use planning covers 25 years under the terms of the management convention concluded between the administration and the communities. Rotations and quantities to be extracted every five years for the length of the management convention are also laid down. In each of the village communities involved, a management leader assumes responsibility for relations with the ministry.
Three sectors have been identified in the CAFT forest: two sectors of primary forest and a fallow or agricultural sector. Their boundaries have been marked and all the stakeholders will ensure internal and external monitoring of extraction and use in these sectors. Infringements committed in these sectors make the community liable to suspension from the community forest and sometimes to permanent disqualification by the ministry. Hunting is also regulated and is permitted solely to community members for their daily food. All community members monitor such activities under the supervision of those in charge of forest operations.
ASSESSMENT AND CONCLUSIONS
The Ngoyla zone is in the ideal position of having both biological wealth and also local inhabitants involved in the participatory management of natural resources through the acquisition of a community forest. The creation of CAFT shows how aware the communities now are of the opportunities offered by forest management.
Implementation of the management plan has not yet been wholly effective and technical assistance is needed for data processing. This will require improvements in data collection and analysis skills, facilitation of access to information and help in introducing modern technologies for natural resource production and local processing in order to create local wealth. Basic communication infrastructures also need to be installed. However, protection of natural resources by the communities is going well.
Eleven other associations are in the process of acquiring community forests (covering about 22 000 ha) and joining CAFT, which will then have 40 000 ha of forest to manage. It has therefore been unanimously decided that certain community members should receive professional training so that they can play an effective role in protection and production activities, harvesting supervision and the local processing of natural resources.
CAFT is still in the early stages of managing human and natural resources and therefore needs support in training its staff so that they can identify the best management and administration strategies. It also needs technical and financial support to set up community hunting grounds or zones of hunting interest under community management, so that the village communities can play a more effective role in monitoring and conserving wildlife in the Ngoyla zone.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anon. 2001. Plan simple de gestion des forêts communautaires des 9 communautés (COBAM, CODEVIE, CODENVI, COBABA, CODEM, CODEL, CODOUM, COVILAM ET COVINKO I). Cameroon.
Government of Cameroon. 1994. Texte de loi N°94/01 du 20 janvier 1994.
Government of Cameroon. 1995. Décret N°95/531/PM du 23 août 1995.
MINEF. 1998. Manuel des procédures d’attribution et normes de gestion d’une forêt communautaire. Cameroon.
OCBB. 2000. Etude Socio-économique en vue du classement du Parc National de Nki. Cameroon.
OCBB. 2001. Rapport des quatre ateliers d’analyse stratégique sur les enjeux de la mise en place des forêts communautaires. Cameroon.
Pa’ah, P.A. 1986. Monographie du village Doumzoh.
Pa’ah, P.A. 1987. Etude Monographique du village Doumzoh dans l’arrondissement de Ngoyla. Cameroon.
Based on the work of Antoinette Pa’ah
OBBC, Cameroon
This is the first Cameroonian community forest in which the Baka Pygmy community has been able to exercise its full rights and be jointly responsible for management.
DESCRIPTION OF THE MOANGUE LE BOSQUET COMMUNITY FOREST
The Moangue le Bosquet community forest in Cameroon is a natural closed moist forest covering 1 808.5 ha and belonging to the State. It is located in the Haut-Nyong Department in the east of the country, in the Cameroonian-Congolian phytogeographical zone, with a predominance of medium-altitude closed evergreen moist forest of the Congolian type. The Bosquet forest abounds in such harvestable species as sapelli, rikio, kossipo, doussié and ayous. The vegetation is in general closest to that of a transition forest, being composed of elements from both evergreen and deciduous forests. There are also fallow areas near dwellings as a result of agricultural activities. The environment of the Moangue le Bosquet community forest is also favourable to a variety of animal species (primates, duikers, etc.).
THE POLITICAL AND INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT AND THE VARIOUS STAKEHOLDERS
The concept of community forestry appeared in clear official terms with the promulgation of Law 94/01 of 20 January 1994, containing regulations for forests, wildlife and fishing and providing for both the active participation of the local population in planning forest management and also the sustainable management of natural resources. This innovative forest policy also envisages a fair distribution of the returns from forest activities. A manual containing procedures for the allocation of community forests and management standards was published in April 1998.
This new forestry policy is implemented and supervised by the Ministry of the Environment and Forests and supported by various national bodies (the National Office for Forest Development, etc.) and international organizations (conservation projects, embassies, WWF, IUCN, UNDP, DFID, GTZ, FAO, SNV, the World Bank, the EU). The Network of Local NGOs and Associations in Lomié and Dja provides support to the Cameroonian Government and encompasses OBBC, the International Centre for Support to Sustainable Development, PERAD, the Baka Association, the Action Committee for the Rights of Children and Women, the Regional Programme for the Environment, the Dja Forest Study Centre, CAFT, the Youth Association for Sustainable Development and the East Cameroon Savings Bank. These organizations are helping to devise technical tools for natural resource management and conservation, disseminate legal documents, fund biodiversity conservation programmes, etc. However, although decentralization is becoming a major trend in the whole context of sustainable development in Cameroon, political power is still mainly in the hands of the urban élite and powerful government officials.
On the basis of Law 90/053 of 19 December 1990 on the freedom of association, the people of Moangue le Bosquet village formed an association or village development committee in 1998. The Bosquet Baka Community (COBABO) is thus the owner and manager of the Bosquet community forest. The village has four common initiative groups (CIGs) concerned with agricultural production. COBABO owes its success to the well-developed partnership it maintains less with State structures than with NGOs, projects (the SDDL/SNV Project, the Catholic Mission’s Association for the Self-Promotion of the Eastern Province Population Project), a cooperative bank and donors.
The Moangue le Bosquet community forest is thus managed by an indigenous village community, the Baka (the main Pygmy community in Cameroon), for purposes of land security, biodiversity conservation and timber and NWFP production. SNV provides technical support by organizing village communities and supervising the formulation, monitoring and evaluation of the management plan. The forest administration is responsible for approving management documents and for field-level supervision of preparatory work.
MANAGEMENT OF THE MOANGUE LE BOSQUET COMMUNITY FOREST
The Moangue le Bosquet forest is the first community forest in Cameroon in which the Baka community can exercise its full rights and also be responsible to the administration for its management with no intermediary. For COBABO, this forest is an instrument for the sustainable management of forest resources and an effective way of reducing the endemic poverty of the Pygmy inhabitants of this rural zone. Until 1998 the Baka people of Bosquet were overlooked by laws on associations. They were also being deprived of their fair share in forest fees paid by a logging company that was cheating them and selling off the trees from their forest. The Pygmy population of Moangue le Bosquet thus came to see community forestry as a way of protecting and conserving their forest resources, and also of harvesting them for themselves.
Following awareness-raising activities by the International Centre for Support to Sustainable Development and the SDDL/SNV Project, the Pygmy population expressed a desire to form a CIG. The SNV project had the aim of supporting vulnerable communities through eco-developmental activities in the Lomié region, especially in the village of Bosquet, 98 percent of whose inhabitants are Pygmies. The support provided by this project to COBABO began by helping it prepare an application for a community forest in 1998, after which it helped it formulate a simple management plan in 1999. The community forest management convention between COBABO and the government was signed in 2000. Since 2001, assistance in implementation of the simple management plan has taken the form of practical training sessions on State-supervised harvesting of timber and its marketing. Collaboration mechanisms were established between the International Centre for Support to Sustainable Development and the Association for the Self-Promotion of the Eastern Province Population, which strongly supported the idea of organizing the Baka into working groups. Four CIGs concerned with agricultural production have been formed in Bosquet.
The simple management plan for the Bosquet community forest was produced with the keen participation of the communities in every stage of the process. It includes a five-year action programme and an annual harvesting plan based on the practices of the rights-holders and beneficiaries of forest resources.
COBABO adopted a method based on the participatory approach. A series of training sessions and workshops was thus organized and run by the SDDL/SNV Project and other COBABO partners. This training covered map-making, socio-economic data collection and analysis techniques, forest navigation techniques, multiresource inventory techniques and data interpretation.
Management tasks (making management and harvest inventories) began in 2000. The community divided its forest into three sectors:
• primary forest in the north, to be used for small-scale timber harvesting;
• the inhabited and agricultural zone, to be used for housing, agriculture and NWFP collection;
• primary forest in the south, to be used for small-scale timber harvesting.
The community forest was surveyed using a multiresource sampling (at 2 percent) to determine the potential of forest resources and their distribution on the ground, and a systematic 100-percent sampling survey so that the community could effectively plan the harvesting of timber resources and thus establish the market value of its forest.
Timber is harvested by the villagers using a mobile saw. This type of logging requires no heavy machinery and therefore does little damage. The community will use directional felling and State-supervised harvesting
techniques. The wood is basically sawn into planks and slats. The volumes of harvestable and marketable timber have been determined. The simple management plan anticipates a silviculture based on natural regeneration, although the community will plant wild fruit trees to improve the production potential of the forest.
The Baka community decided that only the inhabitants of the village should continue to exercise rights of entry and use in the forest. New plantations can be opened up only after consultations among farmers, the COBABO office and the village head. Hunting, fishing, gathering and NWFP collection require prior authorization from the community. The opening up of new plantations and hunting are banned in the two primary forest sectors. A plan for wildlife and NWFP harvesting is included in the simple management plan.
Income from forest harvesting is helping to improve the local population’s standard of living by allowing collective investments.
ASSESSMENT AND CONCLUSIONS
Cameroon’s new forest law has revolutionized attitudes to the management of forest areas by encouraging the participation of vulnerable communities in the harvesting and conservation of the natural resources alongside which they live and for which they are responsible.
All the management activities of the Moangue le Bosquet community forest have enjoyed great success thanks to a wide range of technical, material and financial support from the SDDL/SNV Project. The project has also fostered the growth of a broad partnership throughout the region. Awareness and training campaigns with a view to greater security and more effective harvesting have increased the mastery of techniques for managing forest resources. The Baka community has started on a mobile training programme in State-supervised harvesting. The people’s knowledge of the forest and their grasp of various ways of improving rights of use and control of the forest resources of their land have increased.
The people of Bosquet are wholeheartedly committed to carrying out the various management tasks for their forest, although the complex mentality of the Baka and their low educational level have sometimes made information collection and research difficult. However, their participation in training sessions on community forest topics has led to some useful solutions to this community’s lack of information and research.
Nevertheless, there is still a considerable lack of understanding about implementation and respect for the simple management plan with regard to the harvesting of timber products and the implementation of village community development projects. This lack is compounded by the suspension of some types of harvesting of wood products. In addition, returns from the sale of wood are being poorly managed, with only one family appearing to profit. The community microprojects anticipated in the simple management plan have not yet got under way. Small-scale hunting and NWFP harvesting practices have not yet changed very much.
If current practices are to be improved and the whole Baka community is to benefit from forest income and products, the following areas require attention:
• an improvement is needed in the technical capacities of the community’s leaders with regard to forest resource harvesting;
• an increase is needed in the level of information and communication regarding changes in harvesting activities and marketing of the resulting timber;
• the financial management techniques of those in charge of management within the community need to be developed;
• help is needed in setting up an effective internal decision-making framework for supervision of resource and income management, so as to ensure transparency.
• the community should be alerted to the dangers it runs if it fails to adhere strictly to the terms of its simple management plan, for the government can suspend forest harvesting at any time if the rules for harvesting and the redistribution of forest income and benefits are violated;
• the government, projects and NGOs must boost training and the exchange of experience regarding community forestry and the planning of extraction and investments in order to ensure ecological, social and economic sustainability.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
COBABO. 2000. Forêt communautaire de Moangue le Bosquet. Le plan simple de gestion. Lomié, Cameroon.
Ekoumou, C. 2001. Inventaires forestiers à 100% de la FCT du Bosquet. Lomié, Cameroon.
Kpaman, G. 2001. Rapport de stage de découverte du milieu humain du village Karagoua. Lomié, Cameroon.
MINEF. 1994. Loi N° 94/01 du 20 janvier 1994, relative à la nouvelle législation des forêts au Cameroun. Yaounde, Cameroon.
MINEF. 1998. Manuel des procédures d’attribution et des normes de gestion des forêts communautaires. Yaounde, Cameroon.
Nguele, J. 2002. Mémoire de fin d’études du cycle des Ingénieurs de conception des Eaux, Forêts et Chasses. Dschang, Cameroon.
Pa’ah, P.A. 2002. Etude de cas d’aménagement forestier exemplaire: cas de la forêt de la CAFT. Ngoyla, Cameroon.
SDDL/SNV: 1998. Rapport MARPP de Moangue le Bosquet.
Van Der Wal, M. 1999. Development of a community based Gorilla research and observation site in the eastern Province of Cameroon. Lomié, Cameroon.
Veen et Ngouffo. 1994. Milieu physique et développement dans la zone d’intervention de la SNV à Lomié (Région Est/sud Cameroun). SNV, Yaounde, Cameroon: Editions.
Based on the work of Hamid Taga
Directorate of Forests, Chad
This experiment in participatory forest management concerns the organization of local inhabitants in structures – forest management groups – capable of managing this forest. The participatory approach has been recognized as the critical factor in the success of this management effort, whose main objective is the production of fuelwood and charcoal.
DESCRIPTION OF THE MOGROUM FOREST
The Mogroum forest, covering 40 000 ha, is a publicly owned natural transitional (closed/open dry) forest. It lies in Chad’s Mogroum Canton, 130 km from N’Djamena, in a transitional zone between the Sahelian and Sudanian zones, which lends the vegetation a very special character in terms of both productivity and plant composition. Lying between two bioclimatic regions, it contains a wide range of species, with about 50 timber species and 30 herbaceous species. The vegetation comprises savannah woodland, which may be closed or open, with tree and bush savannah in several places.
Drought and poaching have contributed greatly to the decline of wildlife in the Mogroum forest, which was formerly very rich. Many species have disappeared, as a result either of predation or of their migration to more favourable environments. Wildlife today appears to be residual and is limited to some Dorcas gazelles, but especially to rodents and green monkeys. The only game birds that are found in any abundance are ducks in the rainy season.
THE CHADIAN CONTEXT AND THE VARIOUS STAKEHOLDERS
Regional awareness was awakened by the exceptional droughts of 1968–1973 and 1983–1984 that ravaged the Sahel. Desertification of the most vulnerable zones caused a massive migration of people to areas relatively more favourable to production. Faced with this twofold challenge (desertification and population movement), the Sahelian states forming the Permanent Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS) held a regional seminar in Nouakchott (29 October–14 November 1984), at which they adopted a strategy aimed at conserving their land and ecological heritage, reviving productive potential and satisfying the population’s basic needs. With assistance from CILSS and the United Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office, Chad then prepared a Master Plan to Combat Desertification, which was adopted in 1989. This environment-development approach with the participation of the local people was pursued at a number of meetings and seminars in the country, leading in 1991 to the establishment of an environment-development technical support unit, which worked until 1994 when it produced a proposal for a series of programmes and an action plan for the period 1994–2000. Delays caused by political and military unrest led the Government of Chad to apply to the Netherlands, UNDP and FAO for funding for various projects, including that of management of the Mogroum forest.
Law 36/PR/94 of 3 December 1994, on the organization of the marketing and transport of wood to urban centres and the taxes to be levied, stipulates that State-owned forests may be ceded to a rural or village community for its benefit. The new law setting out regulations on forests, wildlife and fishing, at present on its way through parliament, defines the national forest estate and stipulates how it is to be harvested and protected. Management plans are prepared in consultation with the institutions and inhabitants affected and are approved by a decree from the minister responsible for forests.
In an effort to stop the damage to resources caused by the local population (from fires, overgrazing, etc.), a pilot management scheme was implemented in part of the forest (7 800 ha) with a view to involving the inhabitants, making them aware of their responsibilities and applying a set of techniques to achieve sustainable resource management. The Mogroum forest is officially part of the State-owned private estate, although the customary rights of the local population are recognized. Each of the three villages using the forest has its own area, which it harvests by virtue of traditional rights of use, under the authority of the head of the village or area. The Mogroum forest is set under the responsibility of the forest administration, whereas the pilot scheme is under that of the traditional head of the Mogroum Canton and under the direct charge of the village heads, who receive help from the forest department.
RURAL FORESTRY AND FOREST MANAGEMENT FOR FUELWOOD PRODUCTION
Through FAO, Dutch technical cooperation financed the Rural Forestry and Forest Management for Fuelwood Production Project between 1989 and 1992, with the objectives of promoting rural forestry, preparing natural forest management plans and promoting improved stoves. The preparatory work for management of the Mogroum pilot series started in 1990 under this project, which gathered information on the political, institutional, socio-economic and ecological environment of the forest. A preliminary forest inventory carried out in June 1990 revealed an insufficient potential to supply fuelwood to N’Djamena. The area was thus expanded from 4 000 to 8 000 ha. The Chadian Government then applied to FAO for help in financing and implementing the Support to the Development of Rural Forestry Project for six months in 1993. UNDP financed the Preparatory Assistance for Management of Natural Forests around N’Djamena Project, also carried out by FAO, between 1993 and July 1994. The activities of these two projects focused mainly on organizing the local population into forest management groups and carrying out some harvesting work. These three projects made up the first phase of the Rural Forestry and Forest Management for Fuelwood Production Project – Phase 2, which aimed at carrying out a priority action plan for environmental protection and desertification control, on the basis of participatory, rational and sustainable management of Chad’s forest potential. The immediate objective was thus to consolidate and implement the first participatory management plan for the Mogroum forest, which was prepared in 1992.
The forest became the object of participatory management by the local people on a pilot series covering 7 800 ha. In view of imprecision in some basic data and the low involvement of the beneficiaries, the project had to return to some preliminary tasks (demarcation of the forest, village lands, felling plots, etc.) and also organize the people. The management plan and the harvesting plan for the Mogroum pilot series are based on such field work as the first-degree systematic inventory (with a 2.7 percent sampling rate) of timber resources. The pilot series was divided into systematically inventoried square sample plots. The total volumes of standing wood and wood that could be marketed as fuelwood were determined, and the plots were classified into regeneration, aging and thinning groups.
Exploitation of the forage potential was also seen as an essential element in management from the very start. With a view to making up the forage shortfall in the dry season, the management plan thus envisages the development of grass ensilage and storage techniques.
The methodological tool used was semi-structured interviews with groups, individuals and resource people in order to ensure the effective participation of all the parties concerned. A historical overview was also used to determine significant steps for the life of the village and its inhabitants. The calendar of activities provided information on the timetable of production systems, work times, workers, etc. Venn diagrams were used to explore organizational problems, relations between the village and the outside world, etc. Analysis of problems and the search for solutions are the most important stage and are a precondition for negotiating a contract binding on the various parties (population, administration, project).
A series of awareness and animation campaigns was conducted in order to explain the benefits of forest management. The various meetings were used to explain that management would make no difference to village ownership of the land and that natural resource management would directly benefit the inhabitants concerned, organized into village forest management groups. Socio-economic surveys and studies were conducted following these campaigns, leading to the formation of 18 forest management groups (four of them composed solely of women) between 1992 and 1996. Only 13 of these groups are directly involved in management of the pilot series, under the title of “forest management committee”. The women’s groups are confined to producing seedlings, carrying out community planting and collecting dead wood, seeds and fruit. The management plan was prepared according to the clauses in the terms and conditions defining the rights and responsibilities of each party regarding the forest. It was drawn up for a ten-year period beginning in 1996 so as to allow study of the reactions of the various species to felling and the effects of silvicultural techniques on regeneration.
The villagers agreed that each village should keep the recognized boundaries of its land, but that the planned silvicultural activities concerning both harvesting and regeneration or enrichment would be carried out by all the members of the village groups, ignoring such boundaries. The Mogroum forest was then subdivided into three village areas known as “management blocks” or “units” of varying sizes. Each block is subdivided into plots, known as “working units”, making a total of 79 plots. These plots are divided into groups according to their different silvicultural practices: a regeneration group enriched by sod seeding or planting, an aging group closed off in rotation for two to four years throughout the management period, a thinning group and a harvesting group meeting harvestability criteria.
Harvesting rules were established. Seed-trees and isolated trees will be excluded from harvesting to ensure stand regeneration. Tracks will be made in the form of felling strips and firebreaks. A 20-year cycle will be followed, given the lack of knowledge of such parameters as volume, drought cycles and productivity. The wood will be cut by woodcutters who are members of the groups, or the groups will negotiate sales to loggers from N’Djamena. The harvesting plan proposed by the project gives details of anticipated annual production, the areas to be harvested, enriched and protected, anticipated returns and expenses, and the responsibilities of each party.
Income from the sale of wood and charcoal will be shared among the woodcutters (40 percent), a working capital fund (16 percent), the creation of a management fund reinvested in the forest to finance rehabilitation work (34 percent) and forestry tax (10 percent).
The activities assigned to the village groups are those of harvesting and marketing forest products, enrichment, rehabilitation and protection against brush fires and the wandering of animals into closed-off plots. The groups must also take part in rehabilitation of their village environment, especially by planting trees in and around settlements. Through the working capital fund, they will help to finance joint socio-economic activities in their villages. Complementary activities should be undertaken as part of the overall management of village lands with a view to sustainable development (wells, orchards, crops, improved stoves, craft work, etc.). Although biodiversity protection is not mentioned in the management plan, such measures as brush fire prevention, the closing off of certain areas, a ban on the felling of sacred trees are nevertheless anticipated.
It is also anticipated that the forest service will periodically monitor and evaluate implementation of the management plan, punishing anyone who infringes the terms of the plan and settling any dispute between group members, between one group and another and between groups and third parties.
ASSESSMENT AND CONCLUSIONS
No monitoring has been carried out since FAO’s technical assistance came to an end. The forest management groups that were set up have not become operational and the management plan has not been implemented. Revenue received has been held for more than two years before being shared out among members according to the distribution system. Harvesting is not being carried out according to prescriptions. The problem is that the forest management groups and inventory and management unit were instituted just before FAO’s technical assistance came to an end, so that they did not gain enough experience in forest management. Activities carried out as preliminaries to management gave rise to a certain resistance to change and anxiety among the population that they might be dispossessed of their land. Moreover, there is still no programme for research and the dissemination of information in Chad.
However, the concept of village land introduced by the project has been adopted by the inhabitants and has enabled them to integrate all their activities with regard to agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry, etc. into a single system. Each area of village land is guarded by its people, so that access to forest resources within it is denied to any outsider – which was not previously the case. Brush fires also no longer occur. With no monitoring in place, villagers have adopted a kind of selective harvesting in which only large trees on several plots are felled, thereby achieving prudent harvesting. Plant formations have thus as a whole remained intact. The renewal of technical assistance is, however, urgently needed, for it would prevent the loss of experience that was gained at the cost of several years’ hard work and also enable the people to build on this experience.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Coulibaly, B. 1966. Etude socio-économique dans les villages riverains de la forêt de Mogroum et des forêts de la ceinture verte de N'Djaména. FAO, Rome.
FAO. 1997. Plan d'aménagement et de gestion de la série pilote de la forêt de Mogroum. Rome.
Sadio & Doumdanem. 1996. Document technique n° 2.
Seid, K.M. 1996. Résultats d'inventaire et proposition d'aménagement de la forêt de Mogroum. FAO, Rome.
Selmi, M.T. 1996. Plan d'aménagement et de gestion de la forêt de Mogroum. FAO, Rome.
Selmi, M.T. 1996. Programme d'aménagement des formations forestières naturelles autour de N'Djaména. FAO, Rome.
4 A local NGO with headquarters in Ngoyla, OBBC was created by the young people of Ngoyla in 1996. It aims to adapt the economic and sociocultural influences of the zone to environmental management standards with a view to executing community development projects and microprojects.