Forest Law Enforcement

Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) is the European Union’s response to the global problem of illegal logging and trade in the associated timber products. The project, implemented by Fondation Camerounaise de la Terre Vivante (FCTV), focused on improving and strengthening forest management by ensuring communities living around the Dja Biosphere Reserve (DBR), were able to participate in the implementation of FLEGT

Project Aim

The project, which was funded by UN Food and Agricultural Organisation, aimed to increase community participation in the effective implementation of FLEGT in Cameroon and the Dja Biosphere Reserve (DBR) in particular. The project sought to achieve this aim through greater community involvement in the monitoring of forest use. The action built upon FCTV’s other work facilitated in the Dja in partnership with Living Earth Foundation and Bristol Zoo Gardens under its Dja Periphery Community Engagement Project (2006-2008).

Project Background

In 2003, the European Union (EU) published an action plan outlining how to tackle illegal logging and trade of timber under the title of FLEGT. Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs), agreements between the European Union (EU) and wood-exporting countries, were a key part of the action plan and aimed to improve forest governance and ensure wood imported into the EU complied with the legal requirements of the partner country. In May 2010, the Government of Cameroon signed an agreement with the EU, committing itself to combating illegal logging and promoting the long-term goal of sustainable forest management.

Expected Results

• Integration of the concerns of community actors in Cameroon, particularly indigenous people, into Government law-enforcement strategies.
• Identification and implementation of appropriate ‘whistle-blowing and early warning’ community based forest monitoring systems, based on local knowledge in two sectors – west and south – of the DBR.
• Increased awareness amongst the general population living around the DBR and across Cameroon regarding FLEGT and its practical implications for their lives and livelihoods.

Project Activities

– Identify and implement suitable mechanisms to enhance local communities and indigenous groups’ active engagement in the support of transparent law enforcement processes.
– The best mechanisms, anticipated to be mobile telephone-based or radio-based communication systems, will be bought by the project and donated to the community monitoring committees.
– The support of community-based monitoring systems through training, mentoring and the facilitation of cross-community learning.
– Full evaluation at the end of the project to be undertaken with results disseminated widely, ensuring that lessons are understood.
– Facilitate workshops to help communities identify and classify perceptions on the threat to the forest environment and assess their role and level of involvement in addressing key issues.
– Building the capacity of target communities to engage with confidence with other stakeholders, including Government, private sector, international and local conservation organisations and non-Government organisations on the issue of forest protection.
– Creation of a network for advocacy among all stakeholders.
– Increased local ownership and support on the management and protection of resources; reducing the perception amongst community members that they suffer the entire burden and have none of the benefits of natural resource conservation.

Project Funding

The project is funded by FAO and will run from July 2010 to July 2011. For the latest news and information about the project, please visit the project website: Flegt – Cameroon