Responsible Land governance for inclusive development in Cameroon “GoForDi”

1. Responsible Land governance for inclusive development in Cameroon “GoForDi” YARA INAUGURAL CONFERENCE 06 Febraury 2017 Estelle Karyn MANDENG NTSIMI, Legal & Policy Officer WWF Cameroon

2. Presentation Overview • Land and land governance, why does it matter? • Impact of land governance • Land governance in Cameroon: critical issues • WWF’s strategy on responsible land governance for inclusive development-GoForDi • Foreseeable Challenges • Potential GoFoRDi achievements • Conclusion

3. Land and land governance; why does it matter • Land is more than just an asset- religious significance and cultural identity • It includes the physical land and related natural resources, indispensable for development and the survival of communities which depend solely on it, • There is an emerging recognition that land is a critical governance issue. • “Land governance concerns the rules, processes and structures through which decisions are made regarding the access to land and its use, the manner in which those decisions are implemented and enforced, the way that conflicting & competing interests in land are reconciled.”

4. Social justice The development conflict The property conflict LAND Economic growth & efficiency Environmental conservation/ protection The resource conflict Land governance-managing the compromise • Land Use Choices = Dealing With Dilemmas • Ecological vs social values • Limits of resources vs consumption • Local vs global needs • Our generation vs future generation • Bottom lines vs good processes

5. IMPACT OF LAND GOVERNANCE • Within any jurisdiction, be it is a community or a country, there are multiple development objectives and multiple stakeholders, who have interests that range from survival to personal enrichment, and social well-being. As land resources are finite within a given jurisdiction, there is often competition between stakeholders for access to and use of the resources. • When land governance is weak the powerful dominate the competition for limited land resources. In an extreme form corruption can occur on a large scale, through “state capture” by individuals, families, clans, groups or commercial companies who influence and direct public policies to suit their interests. • When land governance is effective, equitable access to land and security of tenure may contribute to improve social, economic and environmental conditions. Benefits from land and natural resources are responsibly managed and any benefits therefrom are equitably distributed.

6. Context/Constraints Public Sector Trad. Sector Civil Society LAND Private Sector Individuals Land governance-Stakeholders • Actors with interest in Land • Public sector • Local communities • Traditional authorities • Private sector (formal & informal) • Civil society • Households/individuals

7. Land governance in Cameroon (1) • Ordinance N°74 -1 of 6 July 1974 lays down rules governing land tenure in Cameroon. Adopted fourteen (14) years after independence, its main objectives were to promote Cameroon’s economic growth and redefine land property rights by registration. • Major characteristic • Current land and forestry legislations confer on the State, the role of ultimate “master of land and the forest”. Local communities have become mere users, and no longer have property rights over land. • According to its national development strategic vision-Vision 2035 and the « Growth and EmploymentStrategy » Paper, the frameworkused by the authorities to harnesseconomicgrowthbetween 2010-2020, itdoes not really focus on recognizing and securing community land rights, but rather portrays land as an economic asset that shall enable the State achieve its development goals.

8. Land governance in Cameroon (2) • This option entails transformation of rural areas by engagement of the State in large-scale agriculture and development projects with foreign investors; which may further threaten the already fragile rights of local communities. • Setbacks • Long, expensive and complex registration procedures, which may foster bribery and corruption; • Lack of coordination between the different ministries: forestry, land, mining, etc. • Weak decentralized entities • Disregard of customary tenure which has contributed to the disempowerment of many traditional and local communities; • Fragmented communities • Little or no access to information on development projects which impact their their lifestyles; • The need to reconcile the requirements of environmental conservation with the exigencies of economic development in Cameroon, as in many other developing countries cannot be over emphazised.

9. WWF’s proposed strategy on responsible land governance for inclusive development « GoFoRDi » • WWF Cameroon, one of the- leading conservation NGOssince 1992, strives to influence decision-making and management of goals by landowners, government and , extractive concenssions, as well as otherdecision-makers. • Key contributions • 2009-advocacy the Parliament, Government,Donoragencies and CSOs for an integrated national land use plan, thatsafeguards national parks • 2010-Technical Monitoring Committee of the National Forum on integrated management of natural resources (CTSF) • Alegalreview of laws and policiesrelated to extractive, forestry, land tenure and environmental protection, risks of conflicts and possible resolutions • Development a regional spatial mapping in collaboration with CIRAD of « go and no go zones », for sustainablepalm oil expansion in Cameroon, CAR, RoC, Gabon and DRC • Identification of HCV indicators and criteria,to help define HCV areas in Cameroon in collaboration with MINEPDED • Production of a report on Emerging trends in land-use conflicts in Cameroon, highlighting different land use conflicts

10. WWF’s strategy on responsible land governance for inclusive development « GoFoRDi » • WWF strategybased on itsprinciples for land use • https://sites.google.com/a/wwf.panda.org/footprint/land-use • Key elements of GoFoRDi(Gouvernance Foncière Responsable pour un Développement Inclusif ) • Shallpromote the Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Land Governance, Fisheries and Forestswithin the context of National Food Security (VVGTs) • ShallbealignedwithnineSDGs,i.e. 1,2,5,10, 12, 13, 15,16 and 17.

11. WWF’s proposed strategy on responsible land governance for inclusive development « GoFoRDi project » (3) • The projectshall focus on 4 investment clusters in 3 landscapesnamely: Campo Ma’an, Mount Crm and TRIDOM. • Characteristics of sites • (Fako, Ocean, Dja-et-Lobo & • Haut Nyong) • Located in the south– • heavily dense forest area • Habitat of indigeneouscommunities • and wild life • Attracts -large scale • Investment (agriculture, mining, logging, • Deepsea port, etc) • Conflict of interest of different • Stakeholders

12. GoFoRDi’s Implementation • Targets • Local traditional communities • Decentralized territorial units/collectivitéterritoriale (local councils) • States actors/decision-makers • CSOs and multi-stakeholder platforms • Actions • Case study analysis, to support policy work • Stop community land invasion • - Land registration • Long term planning, asset management and integrated land use planning, based on the new spatial planning law • Set up a database and train on issues of large-scale land grabbing • Tackling corruption • Denounce corruption (via workshops/meetings, etc.) • Build transparent, effective and accountable land tenure systems

13. GoFoRDi’s Implementation • Dissemination of information • Capacity building of CSOs ,to improve their monitoring skills and influence major projects or initiatives ,that could change land governance • Awareness raising: of decision makers,to take into account social and environmental parameters of projects • Advocacyon ongoing policy reforms-inclusiveness • Capitalize/build on achievements and lessons learnt • Partnership • Academia/Research: CIRAD • State: MINDCAF, MINFOF, MINADER,MINEPDED • Legislative power: Parliamentarians • Civil Society Organisations: Technical centre for Communal Forests (CTFC), Fondation Paul Ango Ela

14. Present & Foreseeable challenges • A constantly evolving problem: stakeholders’ understanding of the problem: new evidence may be adduced; political change may bring new perspectives to the table; alliances and power relations shift with time. Vested interests also adjust to reforms, developing new strategies or tactics to preserve the status quo and their direct and indirect interests. • Lack of a clear and final solution: GoFoRDi doesn’t propose a solution but a reflection by all stakeholders on the issue, to determine a specific and suitable manner of implementing international commitments internally. Land challenges may not result in verifiably “right” or “wrong” answers, but rather stakeholders could be satisfied with “better”, “worse” or “good enough”, as the way forward. Negotiations may result in compromises that are not perfect, but deemed acceptable at the time. • Social and institutional complexity: The fragmented nature of the land sector, – with responsibilities involving several ministries and departments and a diverse private, professional and civil society actors , with multiple and often divergent interests • Behaviour change is critical • Financial sustainability (Private Public Partnership)

15. GoFoRDi goals • Although improving land governance is difficult and challenging, the following results can be achieved: • Unified and resilient communities; • Development of collaborative land use managements tools (Pilot land registration models) ; • Secured formal and informal rights of indigenous and local communities, as well as their recognition by all stakeholders; • Reinforcement of decentralization, by the elaboration in pilot agreed local development plans (PALCI), that integrate the village proto-land registers and recommendations of the regional development; • Proper information of Institutional actors and decision makers on the impact of development projects; • Improved coordination between the ministries and within local & national multi-stakeholder consultation platforms; • Empowered CSO networks- independent monitoring of land use change process and the application of texts, lead advocacy actions and denounce irregularities; • Capitalize on achievements of the project and their inclusion in the various reforms.

16. Expectations • Advice • Similarprojects/Sharing of experience - Funding/Donors