Abstract
Sustainable forest management in Cameroon is being plagued with many challenges directly related to key issues in the areas of forest law enforcement and governance. This study used questionnaires to examine the major community livelihood activities undertaken in the SBFR causing deforestation and forest degradation and to explore the localized trigger forces, and their implications for sustainable forest management in Cameroon. The authors found that the rated localized forces triggering indiscriminate human activities in the Southern Bakundu Forest Reserve (SBFR) are scarcity of farmland outside the forest reserve land, population growth, poverty and the more fertile nature of the forest reserve land than the limited, overused, and degraded community farming land. In addition, the authors found that forest monitoring activities in the field by forestry officials were plagued with complicity by some corrupt forestry officials, forces of law and order, administration, local management committee leaders, and disgruntled local population in the apprehension of illegal forest exploiters, besides inadequate resources. The strategies to address the above issues have not been prioritized. Based on the results, this paper argues that the governance failure to prioritize more and better investment in modern agriculture, non-wood domestic cooking energy and reliable rural transport systems, amongst others, including building institutional capacity and physical infrastructure compromises sustainable forest management in Cameroon at both the national and local community levels. In this light, a set of holistic and comprehensive strategic programmes are recommended as the way forward to guaranteeing sustainable development in forest management in Cameroon.
Highlights
Cameroon is a major powerhouse of the Congo Basin forest-rich region of the tropical rainforest-rich Central Africa
This study used questionnaires to examine the major community livelihood activities undertaken in the Southern Bakundu Forest Reserve (SBFR) causing deforestation and forest degradation and to explore the localized trigger forces, and their implications for sustainable forest management in Cameroon
This further demonstrates the scenario of unabated expansion of farming and other livelihood activities in the forest reserve triggered by the scarcity of farming land outside the forest reserve land, increased population growth in the villages adjacent to the SBFR, poverty and the more fertile forest reserve land than community farming land
Summary
Cameroon’s robust and comprehensive Forestry Law was enacted in 1994 (Law No 94/01 of 20th January 1994) and was perceived as the milestone in sustainable forest management. This well-defined national forestry policy is underpinned by a number of legislative and regulatory acts on the management of forests and protected areas (Lambi et al, 2012). The forestry laws are currently being implemented by MINFOW and the Ministry of Environment and Nature Protection (MINEP). The objectives of Cameroon’s Forestry Law of 1994 and forest sector policies relating to biodiversity conservation and sustainable development considers the three main principles of sustainable use of forests as put forward by the convention on biological diversity (Tieguhong & Betti, 2008). In line with the objectives of Cameroon’s forest code, the country has made commendable progress in sustainable forest www.ccsenet.org/jsd
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