Cameroonian forest communities on the path towards legality: Results of four years of combined efforts and guidance
New documentary produced by SAILD with the support of the FAO-EU FLEGT Programme highlights the benefits of community forestry and challenges faced by local communities to operate within legality
The Cameroonian NGO Service d’Appui aux Initiatives Locales de Développement (Support Service for Local Development Initiatives, SAILD) has been providing legal guidance to forest communities since 2015, with the support of the FAO-EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Programme. To showcase results obtained and challenges encountered throughout the process, SAILD has produced a documentary which illustrates the progress of combined efforts, and proposes solutions to strengthen legality in the region. The documentary is available here.
Entitled “Forest Communities: steps towards legality and traceability”, the documentary includes interventions from a number of local and international stakeholders, such as forest community leaders and FAO officials. Stéphane Sourdin, representative of the Delegation of the European Union to Cameroon, provides insights into initiatives lead by SAILD and local actors for increased legality in the sector:
“Since 2010, we have been working to ensure that timber exported from Cameroon is traceable and legal. An agreement between Cameroon and the European Union was signed at the highest political level. It was signed by Cameroon and 750 members of the European Parliament, and ratified by the Cameroonian Parliament. Since 2011, when it was put to action, we have been working to ensure that the timber exported from Cameroon complies with the requirements outlined by this agreement. This initiative is being carried out by Cameroon in close collaboration with the European Union”.
Forest communities are recognized as a source of legal and traceable timber and play an important role in Cameroon’s and the EU’s joint efforts for legality. SAILD’s documentary highlights the importance of community forestry not only as a building block for sustainability and legality but also as an essential actor in sustaining livelihoods and promoting local economic development.
The FAO-EU FLEGT Programme is a global demand-driven initiative that provides technical support and resources for activities that further the goals of the EU’s FLEGT Action Plan. The Programme is funded by the European Union, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom.
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