Community forestry in Cameroon: a diagnostic analysis of laws, institutions, actors and opportunities

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.