History

Forest management and silviculture

Forest harvesting in Cameroon began around the end of the nineteenth century, and it is likely that the first silvicultural trials also date from that time. It had been decided from the outset that loggers should plant from three to ten seedlings of the same species for each tree logged. This procedure was soon abandoned, as it proved almost impossible to monitor operations in these vast tracts of forest. The first tree-planting operations in Cameroon date back to 1935, covering several thousand ha. Silvicultural trials involving thinning natural forests were undertaken at the same time. In 1947, after World War Two, natural regeneration was practiced anew in Cameroon in the forest areas of some regions, only to be supplanted in the early 1960s by plantations, the results from natural regeneration having proved unimpressive. The natural regeneration technique in use at that time was confined to simple operations of vine clearing, devitalization, and release clearing around regenerated trees. These practices had virtually disappeared by 1960-1980.

Savannah plantation programmes for fuelwood and service wood production and windbreaks for soil conservation and crop protection were successfully implemented after World War Two. From 1946-1957, tree-planting schemes for soil rehabilitation were also introduced in the Mokolo and Yagoua regions. The establishment of the National Forestry and Fisheries Fund in 1965 gave new impetus to tree-planting schemes, and new reforestation projects were launched. The number of savannah reforestation sites, mostly involving eucalyptus, has increased in recent years, thanks mainly to new financing sources like ¿Green Sahel¿.

Forest legislative texts have been periodically updated since colonial times to bring them in line with new technical concepts and policy orientations in forest ecosystem management. In 1973, for example, Ordinance n°73-18 of 22 May 1973 established the national forest regime, later modified by Law 81-13 of 27 November 1981. From the late 1970s to the early 1980s, the notion of customary ownership by traditional communities made its appearance, along with concerted management rules involving several partners. The earlier 1981 legislation on forests, wild life and fisheries already contained a number of forest conservation provisions such as the minimum legal harvest diameter, and the protection of seed trees, which led to the conservation of most high-grade species and forest categories. Cameroon also embarked on a major reconnaissance and forest inventory effort. In 1987, the Tropical Forests Action Plan did a review of the forest sector, proposing a series of actions in the form of projects targeted at forest ecosystems and the implementation of economic recovery policies through forestry sector objectives. In 1988, a national workshop on desertification recommended the formulation of a national action plan to combat desertification (PALCD). ONADEF was established in 1990, supplanting the National Forest Regeneration Service (ONAREF) and the National Centre for Forest Development (CENADEFOR).

Forest management decision-making centres were characteristically dispersed, however, until the year 1992. The forest, including the sector concerning wood and other forest products, came under the Ministry of Agriculture, and wildlife under the department in charge of tourism. This situation was regularized in 1992 with the establishment of the Ministry of Environment and Forests. In 1993, a zoning plan for forests in southern Cameroon featuring participatory approaches was launched, with forestry policy implemented in accordance with Decree Law n°95/678 PM of 18 December 1995 institutionalizing the zoning plan. The new forest law of 20 January 1994 focussed on forest management and nature conservation. It embodied now widely accepted development and environmental concepts such as involving NGOs, the private sector, village communities and other stakeholders. Indeed, the new law on forest, wildlife and fisheries recognizes the rights of indigenous populations and calls for the introduction of preemptive rights over community forest, with various entitlements written into concession deeds. In 1995, new ways and means of applying the forest law were enacted, Cameroon ratified the United Nations Convention on Desertification and the National Forests Action Plan led to the identification of close to 100 projects whose execution will contribute to the implementation of forestry policy. The Framework Law on Environmental Management was passed in 1996.

The establishment and management of community forests by local people has received considerable impetus lately with the growing involvement of various private companies in the work of forest inventories and management. Several standards and procedures handbooks have been published as field guides for mapping, remote sensing, field surveys and compilation, along with survey, management and harvesting inventories.

last updated: Tuesday, November 24, 2009