A three-day workshop took place to look at opportunities and challenges for the community.

Eleven countries from East, West and Central Africa which have large forests zones have met to in a workshop to seek out how to work together following the processes of the Reduce Emission from Deforestation and Degradation, REDD, to give communities the rights to forests.

The countries which have a common goal to keep the forest standing so as to conserve carbon stock and to reinforce carbon where there are no forest, are Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Cameroon among others.

In a press conference which took place after the meeting the representative of the Centre for Environment and Development, CED, Samuel Nnah Ndiobe, said they seek to evaluate how to mainstream community rights in forest issues. He said all participating countries have a common problem which they considered opportunities and challenges such as, the need to reform forest and land tenures, increase participation levels of the civil society and community because they are not involved in decision making, and the community is being blamed as key drivers of deforestation.

Stating the problematic, François Tiayon of Rights and Resources Initiative, RRI- USA said the communities have been owners of land but the law now states that all land is owned by government and the communities are considered as tenants. He said 73 percent of land in the world is governed by governments and in Africa 98 percent is owed by the government while two percent is owned by the community. He said surveys have been carried out which reveals there is an upward trend towards recognition of community rights. He said if government can ameliorate the text and community allowed to use enough land, it will not only conserve the forest but will alleviate poverty. If more land is given to community, they will protect it and manage it in a sustainable way. “If the rights of community are secured it will solve a lot of issues”, he said.

They concluded that government should engage on meaningful reform in land tenure and take in recognition the rights of community. There should be improved participation of key stakeholders which is community and the civil society in all steps of REDD processes.

The civil society is calling on government to carryout objective studies that does not lay blame on the community but transparent methodology and study carried out by independent researchers.

Protet Essono from the NGO Brainforest gave the case of Gabon as well as Burundi’ Liberate Nicayenzi from Repaleac, and NGO which fights for the rights of the pigmies in Burundi. She said there are a lot of laws which are inapplicable in Africa. “Let existing laws be applicable”.