Forestry stakeholders in the country are seeking ways of surmounting challenges of governance and control in the forestry reforms in the past ten years so as to better the future and make the country’s forestry policy a reference in the rest of the world. This was the focus of a one-day workshop at the Yaounde Monte Febe Hotel yesterday that brought together forestry stakeholders from within and without government cycles. The objective was to evaluate the path covered thus far so as to right the wrongs in the future.
Speaking during the ceremony, the Minister of Forestry and Wildlife, Prof. Elvis Ngolle Ngolle, said there has been progress in the implementation of the reform. “All the evidence shows that the reforms that were embarked on in the last ten years have born fruits but there is still a lot to do”, he said, adding that, “we are not perfect but we have the will to implement the forestry policy that the Head of State has defined which aims at ensuring that there is good governance on the way we manage the forest”. Through discussions and paper presentations, participants handled topics like, “management of forest resources: 10 years of reforms”, “balance sheet of forest control in Cameroon and perspectives, “national strategy for the fight against corruption in the forestry sector”, as well as “an evaluation of the governance reforms by the private sector”.
According to a 2003 – 2005 report of an independent observer on forest law enforcement in Cameroon, anomalies like logging without authorisation, logging of trees below minimum exploitable diameter, logging out of boundaries and opening of roads without authorisation as well as cutting down of non-authorised species, continued to retard efficiency in the sector. But Prof Ngolle Ngolle believes that together with development partners, victory could be attained. “With the involvement of and implication of other actors, like the European Union and the World Bank, we believe that together in the spirit of partnership and in a common course to ensure the preservation of our forest and wildlife and our biodiversity, good governance necessarily demands good control”, he said. “We believe that the future of Cameroon’s forest is intact and is quite promising as long as there is this common will to ensure strict and effective control of forest management”, he added.
The workshop is within the framework of common efforts, between the government and the European Union to ensure and promote legal timber trade and good steward of the forest sector. This is through the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan voluntary partnership agreement between Cameroon and the European Union. Among other things, the agreement seeks to strengthen forest governance, promote Cameroon timber products and improve the country’s competitiveness in the international market place. Yesterday’s workshop was attended, among others, by the Ambassador of the European Union in Cameroon, Raul Mateus Paula.
