Consistency of Agricultural, Forestry and Mining Policies with Sustainable Forest Management in the East and South Regions of Cameroon

Abstract

The eastern and southern regions of Cameroon, lower middle income country, need to increase their level of land use by the agricultural, forestry and mining sectors in order to develop. At the same time, Cameroon is committed to managing its forests sustainably to meet the needs of present and future generations. This study assesses the compatibility of agricultural, forestry and mining policies with sustainable forest management in the East and South forest regions. Five analytical criteria were used and the analysis was carried out through surveys of key informants in the private sector, public administrations and civil society. The study showed that from 2013 to 2018, the contributions of the agricultural, forestry and mining sectors to GDP grew by about 74%, 65% and 60%, respectively. Agricultural, forestry and mining policies have an average compatibility rate of 45% with sustainable forest management, of which 52% for the forestry sector, 43% for the agricultural sector and 40% for the mining sector. Nonetheless, there are 21 causes of incompatibility, including 1) the non-involvement of all relevant public administrations in policy-making, 2) the low efficiency of the control system of exploitation activities, and 3) the poor coordination of actions in the three sectors. It was proposed to a) improve the legal and regulatory framework of the three sectors of activity and b) develop land-use planning tools among other measures to align existing policies with sustainable forest management.