This brief study has been produced by the partners of the CoNGOs consortium to share our different knowledge and experience, and to set out a joint understanding of the current state of play in relation to community forestry in Cameroon.
The study aims to:
• consider existing institutional and legal frameworks in Cameroon (and their strengths and limitations);
• set out demographic, cultural and socio-economic factors affecting community forestry;
• identify key actors and institutions (which will include a focus on cooperatives and other producer groups which reflect community utilisation of natural resources (including land for agriculture) in forested areas;
• Analyse the constraints – legal and practical – to effective community forestry in Cameroon; and
• Consider options and strategies which can be adopted (principally within the framework of the CoNGOs project) to enhance the effectiveness and viability of community-based forest management within Cameroon, and the benefits received by communities from it.