A Critical Appraisal of Government Forestry Policy in View of Forest Sustainability in Cameroon - Implementing Environmental and Resource Management - page 184

and section 16.5 adumbrates the current forest policy framework. Section 16.6 es-
pouses community forestry while sections 16.7, 16.8 and 16.9 describe the differ-
ent legal and forest regulatory mechanisms in force in Cameroon. Section 16.10
examines the various sustainability initiatives at play and section 16.11 is dedi-
cated to conclusions and recommendations.
16.2 Problem Statement and Study Objective
Cameroon's forests and great biodiversity potential are being degraded through
exploitative logging, fuelwood demands, clearing for agricultural purposes, over-
grazing and fire. An estimated 200,000 hectares of forest are lost annually to these
activities, of which 75,000 to 95,000 hectares are taken up by shifting cultivation
alone (Biwas 1992). In some areas of cleared forest, financially profitable foreign
tree species introduced by man, such as rubber and oil palms, have replaced the
original forest (Ndamukong 2001).
In the early 1990s, the administration initiated a policy reform process, in con-
junction with a World Bank structural adjustment loan. Despite the enactment of a
forest legislation and management policy, forests in Cameroon have continued to
suffer degradation (DFID 2002; GFW 2000). Ndenecho (2005) attributes this per-
ennial degradation to the fact that the indigenous people, in part, have not always
respected forest legislation, especially, when their livelihood or interests are
threatened. Meanwhile, protected area status has often been imposed, without
prior consultation, thus ignoring the socio-economic and cultural situation of those
whose survival depends on the forest. This approach has often provoked social
tension and conflicts, which usually undermine the possibility of implementing
and achieving basic conservation objectives. This paper, therefore, attempts an
appraisal of government forest policy with the aim of highlighting significant
challenges, which if properly addressed, will greatly enhance the sustainable man-
agement of the rich forest and biodiversity heritage in Cameroon.
16.3 Methodology
Three distinct methods were applied in order to elicit the data for this study, these
were: content analysis, field observation and interview survey. The main objects
of the analysis were the current forest legislation and forest policy framework en-
acted over a decade ago. In detail, the units of analysis were the articles under leg-
islation as well as the different terms of reference in the policy framework. Using
secondary sources, such as legislative and policy documents, books, journals,
newspapers, and annual reports, provided a basis for evaluation. Content analysis
was embarked upon with the aim of better understanding and appreciating the va-
lidity of the forest legislation and policy framework as instruments for enhancing
forest sustainability. Field observation was carried out as a primary source of data.