Cameroon : Indicators

2010 > Forest legal framework > Is the forest law available?

Forest legal framework

Is the forest law available?

Cameroon has one of the best forest laws of Congo basin countries. It was formulated between 1989 and 1993 under the aegis of FAO and the Breton Woods institutions, and was voted by the first ever pluralist National Assembly of Cameroon. This forest law is available, and there was an effort to ensure a wide dissemination of its content. This forest law is severely criticised as it contains more than 75 references to implementation decrees which are not totally available up to date.

Title	Law N°94/01 of 20 January 1994 to lay down forestry, wildlife and fisheries regulations
Date	1994
Source	On request at the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF) www.minfof-cm.org, www.riddac.org/document/pdf/cm-loiforet.pdf (run by a network of NGOs), www.glin.gov (run by the Law Library of Congress USA).
Language	French and English
Accuracy	The forest laws process followed a top-down approach and lack consent of local population.
Timeliness	This law has now been fully amended. However, a controversial article of the Law (71) was revised in 1999 to allow further export of logs. Currently, this law is under reform. It’s an open process, providing space to all the actors to suggest a new content to the forestry law.
Completeness	This law covers the whole country. However, it seems to focus only of forest exploitation with little emphasis on wildlife, local populations, indigenous peoples and vulnerable forest types such as mangroves, gallery forests, and mountain forests. It also lacks strong provisions for forest protection and conservation, and the use of forests for recreation and research purposes.