FAO.org

Certified forest areas in Cameroon have been growing since the late 2000s as a result of forest enterprises adopting more legal and sustainable practices. In response to this trend, the Cameroon VPA now includes a mechanism that recognises private certification, allowing timber operations to be controlled more efficiently. This mechanism was piloted by the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife with funding from the EU FAO FLEGT Programme. It involved developing procedures for recognising certification bodies and private certification standards for legality and sustainability under the FLEGT initiative of the EU.

“When Cameroon’s VPA was signed, a mechanism for legality control was envisioned that would recognize the efforts undertaken by forest companies engaged in private certification in the country. This wish is now a reality due to a recent decision by the Ministry to formalize a manual of procedures that recognizes private certification under FLEGT,” said Jean Avit Kongapé, Technical Advisor for the Ministry.

The Ministry incorporated these procedures – known as the “Manuel des Procédures de déliverance des agréments et de reconnaissance des certificats privés de légalité et de gestion forestière durable dans le cadre du régime d’autorisation FLEGT” – into the country’s legal framework on 30 March 2015. The Ministry made two decisions with regard to private certification under the VPA in June 2013. They were validated through this pilot project and will allow for the establishment of authorized private certification bodies and standards. Forest enterprises that are certified through these authorised bodies will be able obtain legality certificates directly, reducing both time and costs.