International Conference on Forest Tenure, Governance and Enterprise New Opportunities for Central & West Africa

1. International Conference onForest Tenure, Governance and EnterpriseNew Opportunities for Central & West Africa WRAP UP DAY ONE By: Prudence Galega NESDA CA May 25 – 29, 2009Hôtel Mont Fébé, Yaoundé, Cameroon

2. CONFERENCE CENTRAL QUESTION How can forest reforms be accelerated to respect community rights, promote SFM and socio economic development? CONFERENCE OBJECTIVE Catalyse new and broad actions for governments and CSOs on securing forest and land tenure rights in Central and West Africa

3. THE ROLE OF FOREST TENURE IN DEVELOPMENT -1 • Participants were ushered into the conference with a strong political recognition by the host country and key forest inter governmental organizations of the importance of forest and land tenure to the development of the region and the commitment to integrate into national reform processes, concrete and practical actions that can enable an improved SFM and better livelihoods for local communities. • Tenure is highlighted as a central question to development and a transversal issue to all development sectors and can therefore constitutes an impulse or block to development. • The opportunity that forest tenure offers for development has generated great concern and interest among government and non government actors. Focus of African leadership on Land policy development: AU, Cameroon

4. THE ROLE OF FOREST TENURE IN DEVELOPMENT -2 Forest Tenure has to do with devolving rights from state to communities and is thus recognized as the right path to addressing the challenges of poverty. The impacts of a weak tenure systems were identified as: • Degradation and deforestation undermine sustainability of forest management • The urgency from CC affect forest and land tenure • Modern forest economy remains a paradox as poverty prevails in a region with high forest resources Highlights the urgency for reforms

5. LESSONS LEARNT FROM REFORMS The multiple actors participating in the conference brought in a diverse experience from Africa and beyond on various reforms initiatives  • Africa is in a transitional phase, start of the process. Specifically in West and Central Africa this has been a slow process. • Out of Africa, reforms have been engaged by developing and developed countries with tenure models that transfer wide authority to local communities

6. STATE OF FOREST AND LAND TENURE IN AFRICA Generally highlights similarities and specificities Similarities: • The authority of the state in forest and land tenure is dominant. • There is a legal pluralism with regard to tenure (various modern legal systems and customary law) • Recognition of local communities as custodians in effective occupation of land and forest resource yet depossessed of ownership by the existing modern legal systems. Thus marginalization, multiple conflicts Disparities: • Sub regional differences and specificities  

7. STRATEGIC LESSONS FROM REFORM INITIATIVES IN AFRICA Draws from reform processes in several countries: Cameroon, Mozambique, Tanzania • Building a strong consensus through consultation, recognising the multiple and diverse actors; Community as separate actors. Key to this is the need to ensure that the communities express their opinions. Participatory approach • The drafting process: working groups, issues and options, consultative, participation; Find and record existing rights, investigator to investigate claims, assisted and helped to put forward their claims; various options on how to develop the rights. • A major lesson of wide consultation and understanding community claims prior to the role of legal and drafting experts • The notion of local communities to integrate all vulnerable groups including the minorities. Rights and interests of these groups. Accompany communities. • Solutions adapted to local context • Stages in developing tenure? Approach: a clear national policy of customary tenure as equal to statutory tenure

8. STRATEGIC LESSONS FROM REFORM INITIATIVES OUT OF AFRICA -1 Experiences from Brazil, China, India, highlight great similarities in the scope and content of the reforms which provide some key lessons: • Community rights and respect of human rights constitute a major drive in these initiatives; devolving rights to the local community groups ie farmers, pastoral groups etc….  • The success story lies on government support to the processes; a careful design of the reform process which largely integrates the opinion of the people 

9. STRATEGIC LESSONS FROM REFORM INITIATIVES OUT OF AFRICA - 2 • Mass movement of tribal regions, violent conflict is inevitable in access to rights • CSO playing an active role • Reform is a process with various stages that culminate in the revision of the law • Community access to justice where tenure rights are violated is strengthened with the existing judicial systems • Notwithstanding these efforts, there are yet no guidelines on how to secure and diversify forest tenure

10. CONCLUSION • Forest tenure reform can have positive impact on SFM and poverty alleviation. • Tenure and industry exclusionary model that undermines the rights of the local people does not argur well for SFM and is bound to fail. Conflict, poverty and degradation • Understanding the rights of the local people is therefore crucial for the reform process • How canwecapitalize on theselessons to furthershareexperiences on the rights of communities in Central and West Africa and their inputs in the reformprocess– DAY 2