Vital Forest Graphics

Increase in forest concessions in Cameroon

Forest

Protected area

Forest concessions

Sources: Concession data from WCMC, CETELCAF. Land cover from TREES (EC Joint Research Centre), derived from 1992-93 AVHRR imagery; forested area includes dense moist forest and secondary degraded forest classes. Protected areas information from UNEP-WCMC, IUCN.

Basin had been allocated to timber concessions. If selective harvesting practices are followed, the impacts of the timber operators would theoreti- cally remain relatively limited. How- ever the implementation of such prac- tices has been hampered by the lack of a regulatory framework and control as well as attention to the dynamics of the forest. Fast growing global demand for timber has increased the risk of unsus- tainable forestry practices, illegal log- ging and corruption. It is now of vital importance to introduce and regulate sustainable forestry practice and as well as independent certification. Equally important is to strengthen the rights of forest based peoples and communities. In the DRC logging contracts cover- ing 25 million of the 41 million hec- tares originally allocated were cancelled in 2002. At the same time, a morator- ium on the further allocation of forest concessions was put in place. An inter- ministerial commission is at present verifying the legality of titles of all 156 forestry concessions. Meanwhile two of the largest operators of logging conces- sions in the DRC are likely to have their concessions certified in the near future.

The establishment of protected areas is a crucial element for the long-term sustainability of contiguous forests. In 1999, the governments of Central Africa agreed on the Yaoundé Declara- tion for the conservation and rational use of Central African forests. As a result, new protected areas have been established in Equatorial Guinea (10), Gabon (13) and Cameroon (4).

The initiative on Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) presents new opportunities to conserve forests. If countries in central Africa are to benefit froma REDDmech- anism,national incentiveschemesgeared towards poor communitiesmust address the complex problem of forest destruc- tion by slash-and-burn farmers without land title.

Logging concessions and protected areas

CHAD

SUDAN

NIGERIA

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

CAMEROON

EQUATORIAL GUINEA

UGANDA

GABON

RWANDA

CONGO

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

BURUNDI

TANZANIA

Rainforest Protected area Forest concession

ANGOLA

0

250 500 km

ZAMBIA

Source: Greenpeace 2007.

VITAL FOREST GRAPHICS 41