Some 50 members of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Cameroon, abbreviated in French as CNCTC, drawn from all the 10 regions of Cameroon, have called on Government to enshrine the rights of communities in the Forestry Law.

They urged the Government to ensure that the rights of communities as proposed in the draft of the revised Forestry and Wildlife Law under scrutiny at the Prime Minister’s Office is maintained.

The call was made at a three-day workshop in Yaounde, from October 29 – 31, organised by CNCTC, the Network of Traditional Rulers for the Sustainable Management of Ecosystems in Central Africa, RECTRAD, and the Centre for Environment and Development, CED, with funding from the German Development Organisation, GIZ, on the consolidation of a document on the position of the traditional rulers with regards to the ongoing reform of the Forestry and Wildlife Law.

The Yaounde event held against a backdrop of the revision of the 1994 Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries Law engaged by the Cameroon Government since 2008. The draft, submitted at the PM’s Office in December 2012 for study and onward transmission to Parliament, takes into consideration current forestry management challenges and associated governance.

Addressing the traditional rulers and the media, the Executive Secretary of CED, Samuel Nguiffo, said the revision of the law formally involved all stakeholders at various levels following the creation of a working group on May 25, 2009.

“Forest communities, network of Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, the private sector and researchers elaborated and submitted to the Ministry in charge of Forests, proposals for a law that respects the objectives of sustainable development in Cameroon,” he stated.

He disclosed that during the revision processes, remarkable progress was made through the inclusion of rights of communities to own land and forests. He described such a move as new in the Central African sub-region, but regretted that this right can only be accorded on request from the communities.

“We are calling on Government to automatically give rights to ownership of land, forest and other resources to the village communities headed by traditional rulers, not because they applied for it, but because the villages need the resources for their livelihoods. This was one of the proposals made by the working group which we want to see feature prominently in the new Forestry and Wildlife Law,” Nguiffo told the press.

“… since December 2012, virtually no progress has been observed in the forestry and wildlife reform process. If it is certain that the draft text is being scrutinised at the PM’s Office, it remains uncertain that progress made in favour of rights of communities would be maintained,” a document on the terms of reference of the workshop stated.

Nguiffo added that in the hey days, land and forest management was done following the Customary Law, but disorder set in when the State came in and took the powers and gave to the administration manned by civil servants. “Traditional rulers are conscious that the livelihood of their communities depends on the land and resources and are, therefore, likely not to indulge in mismanagement,” the CED Scribe held.

Chief Tanyi Robinson of Tinto in the Southwest Region, said since the 1994 Forestry Law came into place, the community has evolved and traditional rulers who are auxiliaries of the administration and custodians of the traditions want their roles in the management of natural resources improved.

“To adapt the law to the 2035 context of emergence, land and resources should be allocated to communities under the control of traditional rulers,” Chief Tanyi stated.

Speaking for the President of CNCTC, His Majesty Mballa I, commented on the rich forestry ecosystem of Cameroon re-echoing its envious position of Africa in miniature. He also talked of the important role of the resources to the local and national economy, stating that the 1994 Forestry Law was an inspiration to other countries of the sub-region.

The event which featured presentation of papers was coordinated by His Majesty Bruno Mvondo, a key executive member of CNCTC and Teodyl Nkuintchua who is in charge of projects at CED.