While knowledge on forest-linked institutional processes is gaining grounds, they require complementary evidence on the role played by actors in such change processes. This is particularly the case in sub-Saharan Africa where natural resource-based institutions are undergoing a seemingly endless evolutionary process. This paper provides such evidence by (i) tracing the pattern of institutional change, (ii) estimating the role of different actor groups in shaping forest-linked institutional change and (iii) analysing the effect of change determinants on forest-linked institutional change processes in the Santchou Landscape. Data was generated through a representative sample of 200 forest-dependent households around the Santchou forest landscape of Cameroon. A descriptive approach is used to trace patterns of institutional change and an ordinary least squares regression is used to estimate the effect of actor groups and change determinants on forest-linked institutional change. The results suggest that(1) Institutional change in the Santchou landscape has significantly assumed the pattern of the multiplication of its structural dimension, against a fairly constant process dimension, (2) changes in institutional structures in the Santchou Landscape are driven by exogenous actors (state and market-based actors) than endogenous ones. (3) Despite the growing wave of Christianity, the church as an actor group stills plays a less significant role in forest-based institutional change in the Santchou Landscape, (4) while state-based actor groups apply coercion, non-timber forest products (NTFP) and timber dealers use cash incentives to shape forest-linked institutional processes. More adaptive policies which accommodate the positive aspects of institutional change, while minimizing the negative ones are required for the effectiveness of institutional structures.