Cameroon’s forests are estimated to comprise 19,631,000 ha of which 4 percent are reserved for communities and the rest are allocated to reserves or private commercial timber operations. Within Central Africa, Cameroon is considered a leader in forest and resource-related development policies. It was the first country in Central Africa to allocate concessions through a competitive bidding process, allow communities to request the setting aside of areas as “community forest”, create a zoning plan for the dense forests in the Southern parts of the country, and to put substantial taxes on access to resource extraction areas. Cameroon’s significant forest zone population lends itself to the development of SMFEs (small and medium forest enterprises) and community enterprises that complement the large-scale, mainly export-oriented, concession forest industry
Publication year
2009
Authors
Mbile, P.; Ndzomo-Abanda, G.; Essoumba, H.; Misouma, A.
Language
English
Keywords
allanblackia, community forestry, land tenure, landscape, customary law, land management, soil
Geographic
Cameroon
