Final Project Report

ITTO RED-PA 056/11 REV. 1(F): STRENGTHENING THE CAPACITY OF ITTO PRODUCER COUNTRIES IN GENERATING AND DISSEMINATING SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION ON REDDES

DEVELOPING STRATEGIES FOR REDDES ACTIVITIES IN SELECTED PILOT AREAS IN CAMEROON, GHANA, LIBERIA AND NIGERIA

Final Project Report

Compiled and Edited by E.G. Foli & M. Kleine August, 2014

CONTENTS

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ...... ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... iv CHAPTER ONE: GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE ITTO REDDES PROJECT (RED-PA 056/11 REV. 1(F)) ...... 1 CHAPTER TWO: REDDES PILOT SITES IN THE SELECTED COUNTRIES 4 2.1 CAMEROON (DIMAKO DISTRICT)...... 4 2.1.1 Introduction ...... 4 2.1.2 Location of the pilot site ...... 5 2.1.3 Bio-physical conditions ...... 6 2.1.4 Socio-economic conditions ...... 7 2.1.5 Legal framework ...... `9 2.1.6 Status of forest landscape degradation: Problem analysis ...... 11 2.1.7 Developing solutions: Proposed strategies to solve the problems ...... 16 2.2 GHANA (OFFINSO DISTRICT) ...... 17 2.1.1 Introduction ...... 17 2.1.2 Location of the pilot site ...... 18 2.1.3 Bio-physical conditions ...... 19 2.1.4 Socio-economic conditions ...... 20 2.1.5 Legal framework ...... 20 2.1.6 Status of forest landscape degradation: Problem analysis ...... 24 2.1.7 Developing solutions: Proposed strategies to solve the problems ...... 25 2.3 LIBERIA (BOPOLU STATUTORY DISTRICT, GBARPOLU COUNTY) ...... 27 2.1.1 Introduction ...... 27 2.1.2 Location of the pilot site ...... 28 2.1.3 Bio-physical conditions ...... 28 2.1.4 Socio-economic situation ...... 29 2.1.5 Legal framework ...... 29 2.1.6 Status of forest landscape degradation: Problem analysis ...... 33 2.1.7 Developing solutions: Proposed strategies to solve the problems ...... 34 2.4 NIGERIA (AKURE, ONDO STATE) ...... 36 2.1.1 Introduction ...... 36 2.1.2 Location of the pilot site ...... 37 2.1.3 Bio-physical conditions ...... 37 2.1.4 Socio-economic situation ...... 38 2.1.5 Legal framework ...... 38 2.1.6 Status of forest landscape degradation: Problem analysis ...... 41 2.1.7 Developing solutions: Proposed strategies to solve the problems ...... 42 CHAPTER THREE: GENERAL CONCLUSIONS, LESSONS LEARNT AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICY MAKERS ...... 43 REFERENCES ...... 45

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ACS American Colonisation Society AfDB African Development Bank AFF African Forest Forum AFR Akure Forest Reserve ANAFOR National Forestry Development Agency, Cameroon CoC Chain of Custody CRL Community Rights Law (Liberia) CTFC Technical Centre for Council of Forests (Cameroon) CTFC Technical Centre for Council of Forests, Cameroon DSFZ Dry Semi-Deciduous Fire Zone EPA Environmental Protection Agency (Ghana) EU European Union FDA Forestry Development Authority (Liberia) FPDC Forest Plantations Development Centre FLEGT Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade FMC Forest Management Contract (Liberia) FORNESSA Forestry Research Network of Sub-Saharan Africa FORNIS FORNESSA Information Service (www.fornis.net) FORIG Forestry Research Institute of Ghana FPDC Forest Plantations Development Centre (Ghana) FRIN Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria FSD Forest Services Division (Ghana) FTI Forestry Training Institute (Liberia) GNA Ghana News Agency GNF Gola Yorma National Forest (Liberia) GSS Ghana Statistical Service IBA Important Birds’ Area ITTO International Tropical Timber Organisation IUFRO International Union of Forest Research Organisations LAP Land Administration Project LEITI Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiatives LUA Land Use Act (Nigeria) MESTI Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology Innovation (Ghana)

MINAGRI Ministry of Agriculture (Cameroon) MINAT Ministry of Territorial Administration (Cameroon) MINEE Ministry of Energy and Mines (Cameroon) MINFOF Ministry of Forestry (Cameroon) MINTP Ministry of Public Works (Cameroon) MINUH Ministry of Town Planning and Housing(Cameroon) MoFA Ministry of Food and Agriculture (Ghana) MSD Moist Semi-Deciduous NFRL National Forest Reform Law (Liberia) NGO Non-Governmental Organisation NTFP Non-Timber Forest Product PES Payment for Environmental Services PLAN International NGO (http://plan-international.org) REDD Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation REDDES Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation and Enhancing Environmental Services from Tropical Forests. RMSC Resource Management Support Centre (Ghana) SA Social Agreement (Liberia) SFID Societé Forestière Industrielle de Doume SGS Societé Générale de Surveillance TC Tribal Certificate (Liberia) TIDD Timber Industry Development Division (Ghana Forestry Commission) TSC Timber Sales Contract (Liberia) UL University of Liberia UNDP United Nations Development Programme USAID United States Agency for International Development VPA/APV Voluntary Partnership Agreement WD Wildlife Division (Ghana Forestry Commission)

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Reducing deforestation and forest degradation and enhancing environmental services from forests have become central to the global debates on climate change, conservation of biological diversity and sustainable forest management. Towards this end, this project aimed to contribute to ITTO’s Thematic Program on REDDES (Reducing Deforestation and Forest Degradation and Enhancing Environmental Services from Tropical Forests). This was achieved through scientific analysis of specific REDDES pilot areas in four ITTO member countries in Africa and capacity building in the dissemination of scientific information and effective interactions with policy makers at national and regional levels. In addition, the project supported the organisation of a regional forest science congress, including a special event organised by the African Forest Forum and ITTO. The focus of the project’s work was on four REDDES pilot sites located in Cameroon, Ghana, Liberia and Nigeria, and was clearly related to ITTO’s mandate, contributing directly to ITTO’s Objective No. 2 as provided for in the ITTA, 2006. Furthermore, the project was designed as a contribution to ITTO’s Thematic Programme on REDDES, pursuing specific REDDES objectives such as (a) reducing unplanned deforestation; (b) reducing forest degradation; and (c) contributing to the social and economic sustainability and well-being of forest-dependent communities by increasing forest values through forest restoration and rehabilitation. In addition, the project addressed three of the four strategic areas of the Thematic Programme on REDDES including (a) assessment and diagnosis, by enhancing availability and accuracy of data and information on the state of and threats to forest resources; (b) enabling conditions and capacity-building, by supporting the formulation of national forest policies including legislation as well as expanding the necessary national capacity through training; and (c) scaling up and dissemination, through sharing information and lessons learned locally, nationally, and internationally. The project derived from the realisation that deforestation and forest degradation are driven by a multitude of factors from outside and inside the forest sector. Population growth, expansion of agriculture land for food and biofuels and poverty are factors external to the forest sector, while commercial harvesting, firewood collection, excessive grazing and uncontrolled forest fire are directly related to forest governance. Experiences in the past have shown that successfully reversing deforestation and rehabilitating forests require work on a complex mix of underlying causes that vary from country to country. In order to reduce deforestation resulting in long-lasting expansion of the forest area and improvement in forest conditions, site-specific solutions, reconciled with local communities, need to be designed taking into account a wide range of ecological, socio-economic, cultural and institutional aspects. In many African countries adequate site-specific scientific information on REDDES implementation is largely absent. Therefore the key problem was defined as “Insufficient generation and dissemination of scientific information on REDDES for policy and management”. This key problem was addressed through this project by working with the forest science community in Africa towards strengthening the capacity in scientific analysis and evaluation of REDDES implementation projects, and dissemination of the scientific information to policy makers, forest managers, and local communities. The thrust of this project was, therefore, to actively engage the forest science community in the development of successful reforestation and forest rehabilitation programs in ITTO member countries in Africa.

Successfully reducing deforestation and expanding the area of rehabilitated forests (i.e. the main focus of REDDES) requires a wide range of measures at national and local levels. Besides appropriate national policies related to land tenure, expansion of agriculture land, rural services (e.g. education, health, transport, etc.), biodiversity conservation, and subsidies in the forestry sector, concrete examples of forest rehabilitation, so-called pilot areas, need to be established. Based on a thorough participatory analysis of the ecological, social and economic situation in these pilot areas, site-specific measures supported by local communities can be designed. Once the process of REDDES has been successfully introduced in some pilot areas, their number can gradually be increased to further expand the area of declining deforestation and successful forest rehabilitation. There is a strong link between the availability of adequate site-specific information and the success of REDDES implementation. Experiences from many African countries show that such site-specific information covering the whole range of ecological, socio-economic and institutional environment is rarely available. The project addressed this shortcoming by promoting the generation and dissemination of scientific information on REDDES for policy and management. Towards this end, the forest science community played a vital role in collecting, assessing and evaluating the necessary information and assist in designing specific projects and interventions that could lead to successful establishment of REDDES activities in the pilot areas. The approach adopted for achieving the expected outputs were: Output 1: REDDES pilot areas assessed. Groups of forest scientists were formed in each of the participating countries with the task to conduct a comprehensive assessment and evaluation of a potential REDDES pilot area (one pilot area in Cameroon, Ghana, Liberia and Nigeria, respectively). The assessment was based on standard approaches including ecological surveys, land use mapping, rural appraisal methods, and evaluations of the legal, regulatory and institutional framework responsible for deforestation and forest degradation. These types of information assisted in developing site-specific measures to be implemented in the pilot areas. Output 2: Scientific information on REDDES disseminated to and shared with policy makers and forest stakeholders. It is commonly accepted that reducing deforestation in the long term requires changes in local economies (e.g. energy consumption, land-use, income generation, employment etc.) and thus support by policy-makers and society at large. In this component the project sought to disseminate the results obtained in REDDES pilot areas to national and regional policy makers and forest stakeholders such as local communities, farmer’s associations, and environmental NGOs. Main avenues for communicating scientific information on REDDES included the online FORNESSA Information Service (www.fornis.net), existing communication channels between the local research institutions and national policy-makers in the four participating countries, and closer cooperation and exchange of information with the African Forest Forum at the regional level. Output 3: Research and networking capacity of African forest scientists expanded. Forest research institutions in Africa are continuously faced with problems related to human resources capacity, research facilities and funding. One way of addressing these problems is by intensifying collaboration in regional networks such as FORNESSA. The project, therefore, contributed to capacity building as follows: • As the regional coordinator of project activities, FORNESSA provided guidance to the groups of forest scientists working on the REDDES pilot areas in the four participating

countries. In this way, scientists learnt from each other across borders on methods and approaches for assessment and evaluation of specific forest rehabilitation projects. • Dissemination of scientific information will be published as policy briefs and summaries for policy-makers, both nationally and globally on FORNIS, under the guidance of IUFRO, thus expanding the capacities of the forest science community in the target countries in science-policy interfacing. • A regional forest congress was organised by IUFRO and FORNESSA in close cooperation with ITTO and AFF in Nairobi, Kenya from 26 to 30 June 2012, primarily involving forest scientists from Sub-Saharan African countries. In addition, IUFRO scientists from other regions participated and contributed latest scientific results on current issues related to climate change, biodiversity conservation, forests and water, forests for people, and sustainable natural resources management. Within the framework of the congress, a special one-day event for policy makers and forest practitioners was organised by AFF and ITTO, aiming at enhancing interactions between forest science and regional/national policy-makers and forest managers as well as enlarging ITTO’s constituency in Eastern Africa. While the three main outputs above were largely achieved, in this report we present highlights of Output 1 for each of the participating countries, focusing on the problems related to deforestation and forest degradation in each pilot site, the proposed strategies for REDDES implementation and the associated activities to guide policy makers for successful implementation. In the pilot area of Cameroon (the Dimako district), the main drivers of deforestation and forest degradation were proposed REDDES strategies were: (1) expansion of farmlands and road construction; (2) illegal logging and overexploitation of the forest; (3) soil compaction by heavy machinery retarding regeneration; (4) corrupt forest guards; (5) unsustainable agricultural practices including shifting cultivation and forest burning; (6) unsustainable collection of non-timber forest products (NTFPs); (7) and (8) illiteracy. The key strategies developed in consultation with the relevant forest stakeholders are (i) addressing overexploitation and illegal logging; (2) Enhancing sustainable NTFP collection and diversification of livelihood activities; (3) reducing deforestation and degradation by controlling expansion of farmlands; (4) improved fire management; and (5) enhancement of the social and developmental facilities such as schools, health facilities, etc. The drivers identified as responsible for deforestation and forest degradation in the Offinso district, which was selected as the REDDES pilot site in Ghana, are: (1) population pressure resulting in increasing demand for agricultural lands; (2) unsustainable agricultural practices through shifting cultivation and forest fires; (3) unsustainable timber harvesting practices and overexploitation; (4) land use changes; (5) corruption; (6) inadequate capacity of the forest service to control illegal activities; (7) lack of involvement of traditional authorities (chiefs) and local communities in forest management planning and decision-making; (8) weak law enforcement. To address these, the REDDES strategies developed with the stakeholders were: (1) community-based fire prevention and management; (2) establishment of plantations (afforestation, reforestation and forest restoration) and community woodlots; (3) sustainable community-based enterprises and alternative livelihood schemes; (4) adopting sustainable agroforestry and on-farm practices; (5) awareness creation and building the capacity of public institutions, local communities, media and other identifiable groups on linkages between sustainable forest management, environmental services and livelihoods and also to effectively

engage in conservation mechanisms such as REDD+ and PES; and (6) community-based sustainable forest management. In Liberia, the REDDES pilot site was the Gola Yorma National Forest and its surrounding Bopolu Statutory District. Here, deforestation and forest degradation are attributed to: (1) slash and burn agriculture; (2) illegal logging and chain sawing; (3) heavy charcoal production; (4) fuelwood extraction; (5) mining; (6) tree and cash crops establishment and production; (7) illegal human settlement and pressure; (8) forest abandonment and neglect by the Forestry Development Authority, Forestry Training Institute (FTI) and the University of Liberia (UL); (9) unsustainable hunting and fishing; (10) poverty; and (11) unsustainable harvesting of Non-timber forest products. The proposed REDDES strategies are: (1) protection of forest lands from shifting cultivation; (2) prevention of clearing primary forests for cash and tree crops establishment; (3) increasing tree cover in farming systems (agroforestry); (4) afforestation, reforestation and forest restoration in rural landscapes and cities; (5) formulating and implementing strategies to curtail heavy charcoal burning and fuelwood extraction; (6) formulation and strengthening of local community forest management committees to protect the forest; and (7) enforcement of forest laws and regulations; (8) public education and awareness creation on REDDES; and (9) creation of adequate employment opportunities and empowerment of more local community youths. The drivers identified as responsible for deforestation and forest degradation in Akure Forest Reserve pilot site in the Ondo State of Nigeria are: (1) poverty; (2) illegal logging; (3) unemployment; (4) lack of awareness and education; (5) population growth; (6) exclusion of chiefs from forest decision-making process and no incentives to farmers; (7) development of settlements/settlement (land use change); (8) ineffective forest guards (monitoring, supervision, corruption); (9) ineffective government policies; (10) hunting; (11) bush burning; (12) unsustainable farming practices; (13) NTFP collection; (14) lack of policy enforcement and discipline. Forest stakeholders in this pilot site agreed on the following strategies: (1) enforcing discipline; (2) cooperation with government Policy; (3) tree plantations by individuals; (4) reporting illegal tree fellers; (5) banning the setting of fires in the forest; (6) discouraging people from participating in deforestation activities; (7) employment creation; (8) ensuring equitable sharing of benefits from forest produce by giving the community 50% share of the forest produce; (9) employing more forest guards; (10) providing fertilizers to farmers to boost their produce; and (11) fulfilling promise of development by the government. By and large, it is obvious that the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation are similar in the four pilot sites. The proposed strategies also have a great deal in common, not varying much among countries. On the whole, the implementation of this project was very successful, given that it involved coordination of activities in four countries with diverse internal limitations. Notwithstanding the challenges associated with the coordination of a project of this nature with limited physical meetings between implementing institutions and scientists, the expected outputs were achieved successfully within the limits of time and resources available. The following lessons were learnt from project design and implementation: • From a perspective of a global network such as IUFRO, the involvement of local research institutions (IUFRO members) and a regional coordinator allowed adequate design and steering of the project. The regional inception meeting to plan the work and adopt a

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uniform but flexible approach to meet the exigencies of locality-specific peculiarities in each pilot area was very effective for successful implementation. • With regard to local stakeholder engagement, the project should have had more resources and time to organise additional working sessions, workshops and joint field visits, in order to better promote REDDES strategies into local land planning and management. • Joint learning processes with local stakeholders should be supported by experimental field plots, demonstration areas and or test sites for novel approaches to land management. These additional components require adequate additional funding to be included in the project budget. Such demonstrational aspects in pilot sites augur well for practical acceptance of the strategies developed, and could facilitate scaling up of REDDES activities beyond the pilot areas. • Future projects of this kind would need at least a three-year period of implementation. Alternatively, an initial two year period should be subject to extension for another two years. This will lead to higher impact of project results both at the decision-making levels of government, as well as field-level testing and piloting. From the perspective of operational aspects of project implementation the lessons learnt are these: • The REDDES expert groups consisted mainly of scientists from research institutions. However, a thorough analysis of the complex problems of forest degradation would require a more interdisciplinary group of experts from various specialised institutions including universities, NGOs, relevant district level implementation agencies and other interest groups. • Close cooperation between the coordinators at the global, regional and country levels worked very well. However, more opportunities for face-to-face meetings, at least once a year, would be beneficial for information flow among project partners, discussions on urgent project amendments and overall project steering. • The flow of funds between ITTO and IUFRO, as well as between IUFRO and the country partner institutions went well. ITTO provided the funds as planned; likewise IUFRO mobilized additional resources to supplement the budget as agreed in the project document.

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local inter-agency cooperation. Te dissemination component of the project suffered from the short duration of the project and inadequate funds. Additional face-to-face meetings with stakeholders would have helped in better integrating REDDES information into local decision-making processes. • Organisation and Management: The decentralised nature of the project organisation proved to be successful. Each national project partner (national research institution) independently organised the work in their respective pilot site. IUFRO and FORNESSA, as global and regional partners, facilitated the work in terms of coordination, financial management and reporting. The important outputs from this project are the REDDES strategies developed across pilot sites. For these to be impactful it is recommended that these be implemented on a demonstrational scale to allow replication and scaling up. Since relevant government agencies were involved in the entire processes it is expected that the strategies would be integrated into district level climate change mitigation activities. If this is done, then scaling up would be facilitated. As an effective precursor action, however, it is recommended that additional support should be provided for the project to be carried into a second phase for demonstration of selected priority REDDES activities in each pilot site to facilitate replication and effective up-scaling.

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE ITTO REDDES PROJECT (RED-PA 056/11 REV. 1(F))

Reducing deforestation and forest degradation and enhancing environmental services from forests have become central to the global debates on climate change, conservation of biological diversity and sustainable forest management. Towards this end, the aim of this project was to contribute to the International Tropical Timber Organisation’s (ITTO’s) Thematic Program on REDDES (Reducing Deforestation and Forest Degradation and Enhancing Environmental Services from Tropical Forests) through scientific analysis of specific REDDES pilot areas in four ITTO member countries in Africa, and capacity building in dissemination of scientific information and effective interactions with policy makers at national and regional levels. In addition, the project sought to support the organisation of a regional forest science Congress, including a special event organised by the African Forest Forum (AFF) and ITTO. The rationale for the project derived from the realisation that deforestation and forest degradation are driven by a multitude of factors from outside and inside the forest sector. Population growth, expansion of agriculture land for food and bio-fuels and poverty are factors external to the forest sector, while commercial harvesting, firewood collection, excessive grazing and uncontrolled forest fire are directly related to forest governance. Experiences in the past have shown that successfully reversing deforestation and rehabilitating forests require work on a complex mix of underlying causes that vary from country to country. In order to reduce deforestation resulting in long-lasting expansion of the forest area and improvement in forest conditions, site-specific solutions, reconciled with local communities, need to be designed taking into account a wide range of ecological, socio- economic, cultural and institutional aspects. Because to date in many African countries adequate site-specific scientific information on REDDES implementation is largely absent, the key problem has been defined as “Insufficient generation and dissemination of scientific information on REDDES for policy and management”. This key problem was addressed through the execution of this project by working with the forest science community in Africa towards strengthening the capacity in scientific analysis and evaluation of REDDES implementation projects, and dissemination of the scientific information to policy makers, forest managers, and local communities. The main thrust of this project was, therefore, to actively engage the forest science community in the development of successful reforestation and forest rehabilitation programs in the selected ITTO member countries in Africa, notably Cameroon, Ghana, Liberia and Nigeria. The development objective of the project was clearly related to ITTO’s mandate, and directly contributed to ITTO’s Objective No. 2 as provided for in the ITTA, 2006. Furthermore, the project was designed as a contribution to ITTO’s Thematic Programme on REDDES, pursuing specific REDDES objectives such as (a) reducing unplanned deforestation; (b) reducing forest degradation; and (c) contributing to the social and economic sustainability and well-being of forest-dependent communities by increasing forest values through forest restoration and rehabilitation. In addition, the project addressed three of the four strategic areas of ITTO’s Thematic Programme on REDDES, including (a) assessment and diagnosis, by enhancing availability and accuracy of data and information on the state of and threats to forest resources; (b) enabling conditions and capacity-building, by supporting the formulation

of national forest policies including legislation as well as expanding the necessary national capacity through training; and (c) scaling up and dissemination, through sharing information and lessons learned locally, nationally, and internationally. In accordance with the above, the project aimed at making available scientific information on REDDES for policy and management (specific objectives), with three key outputs as follows: Output 1: REDDES pilot areas are assessed and strategies for implementation of REDDES activities developed. Expert groups composed of forest scientists were formed in each participating country (i.e. Cameroon, Ghana, Liberia, and Nigeria) for conducting a comprehensive assessment of REDDES pilot areas addressing the whole range of socio-economic, ecological, and institutional issues and, based thereon, developed strategies for the rehabilitation and restoration of forests. Output 2: Scientific information on REDDES is disseminated to and shared with policy makers and forest stakeholders. This component aimed at disseminating the scientific information generated in the four REDDES pilot areas to a wide range of end-users such as policy makers, land managers, forest communities and scientists of other disciplines. For this purpose, the project made use of various existing means such as the internet-based FORNESSA Information Service (FORNIS), communication channels with local and national policy makers and at the regional level close partnership with the African Forest Forum. Output 3 - Research and networking capacity of African forest scientists is expanded. Besides training activities in support of the scientific assessments under Output 1 and science-policy interfacing under Output 2, the project promoted regional networking through the organisation of a regional congress in Nairobi, Kenya, with participation of forest scientists and practitioners from all over Sub-Saharan Africa and overseas. Participating in the event provided forest scientists with a multitude of opportunities to get in contact with colleagues from other ITTO producer countries and other countries in the region to exchange experiences, learn from each other and develop collaborative activities and joint projects. The four-day conference also included a special one-day ITTO-AFF event organised by the African Forest Forum (AFF) for policy-makers and forest practitioners from the region. This event sought to enlarge ITTO’s constituency in Africa by highlighting ITTO’s work in the region and to bring ITTO’s objectives and strategies to the attention of the Government of Kenya. The project was implemented by ITTO (Executing Agency) through IUFRO in close cooperation with FORNESSA’s member institutions in Cameroon, Ghana, Liberia, and Nigeria, and the African Forest Forum. Overall, the project sought to bring about the following changes: • Forest scientists in Africa are enabled to provide comprehensive scientific analysis and evaluation of specific REDDES implementation sites; • The forest science community is able to effectively communicate the scientific results on reforestation and forest rehabilitation to policy-makers and practitioners; and • Research networking among forest science institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa is strengthened, in order to enhance joint learning and compensate for the usually insufficient national resources available to forest science. The risks involved in achieving the project’s objectives included the prolongation of unfavourable enabling policies and insufficient funding for achieving significant progress in

reversing deforestation and enhancing forest rehabilitation. However, the project addressed this by informing national and local decision-makers about workable approaches to reduce deforestation that are in line with local livelihood needs, making the project’s results highly relevant. In this report we present a synthesis of the salient aspects of the project with detailed description of the pilot sites in each country, including an overview of the bio-physical and socio-economic conditions, the legal framework, status of forest degradation. The report also highlights an analysis of the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in each pilot area, and proposes strategies for the implementation of REDDES activities. It is expected that policy-makers will be interested in the information generated by the project and, as a result, will support the expansion of REDDES implementation areas in their respective countries.

CHAPTER TWO REDDESS PILOT SITES IN THE SELECTED COUNTRIES

2.1 CAMEROON (DIMAKO DISTRICT) L. B. Cheteu, F.U. Fomum , T. Essang, S. Obi, H. Ntoumbang, & Y. Balagoundé

2.1.1 Introduction Located deep in the Gulf of Guinea, the Republic of Cameroon, with an area of 475,442 km2, is bordered to the northwest by Nigeria, on the north by Chad, on the east by the Central African Republic and south by Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon (Figure 1). It is between latitude 2° and 13 ° North of the Equator and 8° and 16° East of the Greenwich Meridian. The country presents a wide variety of climatic zones, coupled with an equally great geological and topographical diversity, giving it a wide variety of green areas, landscapes, ecosystems, and habitats that make Cameroon an "Africa in miniature".

Figure 1: Map of the Republic of Cameroon The vegetation is a combination of tropical Africa with dense rainforests to the south, savannah in the centre, north and steppe forests and mountain meadows. There are three types of climates: equatorial south, tropical central and Sahelian north. Precipitation decreases from the coast to the interior and south to north, but increases with altitude.

Cameroon's population was estimated at 16 million in 2003 with an annual average growth of 2.8% and expected to reach 20 million by 2010 and 25 million in 2020 (CEC, 2004). The country has 10 regions, including eight French and two English regions. Over the past five years, growth was strongly influenced by the activity of the oil and agricultural sectors (wood, banana, cocoa, coffee, cotton, rubber) whose revenues represent nearly 50% and 25% of exports. From the demand side, consumption accounted for nearly 80.3% of GDP and investment 16.9%. In terms of supply, the primary sector, whose value is on the rise, occupies 60% of the active population and contributes 21% to GDP. Growth in this sector is hampered by the poor quality and inadequate rural infrastructure, funding constraints of production, but also by the isolation of production areas from the centres of consumption. In the secondary sector, the value added represents almost 33% of GDP. Business remains with a downward trend due to the depletion of certain oil wells, low competitiveness of agro-industries and saturation capacity of the electric power supply. The increase in the value added of this sector requires a substantial strengthening of basic infrastructure but also a significant improvement in the business environment. Service, which represents 46% of GDP, continued to grow by 6% on average, due to the growth of mobile telephony and the transport sub-sector. Cameroon has suffered significant pressure on its biodiversity and biological resources: 27.5% of forests are degraded; deforestation rate of 0.9% / year is the highest in Africa (ADB, 2010); the amount of arable land per capita decreases continuously. Cameroon is a country with enormous potential and where almost 90% of African ecosystems are represented. The country is rich in forest agricultural natural resources (cocoa, coffee, banana, tobacco, cotton), 22 million hectares of forests with over 70 varieties of wood, water and mining.

2.1.2 Location of the REDDES pilot site The district of Dimako (Figure 2) is located in the East region of Cameroon and lies between latitude 4° 37' North of the Equator and longitude 14° 17' East of the Greenwich Meridian. It covers a surface area of 750,000 hectares. The project site covers five sectors made up of 30 small villages: Pol Sector: Tahate, Bongossi, Ngombol, Akano, Nkolmeyanga, Grand Pol, Simeyong, Tonkoumbé, LittlePol, Nkolbikon, Mayos. Forest sector: Djandja, Kouen, Toungrelo, Lossou Mbang Road sector: Kandala, Nguinda, Nkoumadjap Savannahh Area: Small Ngolambele, Ngolambele, Baktala, Longtimbi. Dimako centre: Kpwengué, Source, God knows, Tombo, Ayene, North Camp, Mokolo Beul.

Figure 2: Location of pilot site Dimako District in Cameroun

2.1.3 Bio-physical conditions There are three distinct types of vegetation cover in the Dimako forest (Canadel, 2010). These are: • the dense semi-caducous forest covering about 15,286 ha; • the degraded forest covering an area of 587 ha; and • the swampy forest, covering an area of 405 ha. Therefore, a greater part of Dimako forest is semi-caducous, with high economic potential. The dominant economic tree species in the forest are Sterculiaceae and Ulmaceae. The Sterculiaceae are characterised by species such as Cola altissima, Cola cordifolia, Cola gigantea, Mansonia altissima, Nesogordonia papaverifera, Pterygota macrocarpa, Sterculia rhinopetala, and Triplochiton scleroxylon. The Ulmaceae, on the other hand, are represented by the genus Celtis spp and Holoptea grandis. In addition to these two plant families, there are many other tree species representing other families also characteristic of this forest type such as Aningeria altissima, Autranella congolensis, Albizia ferruginea, Àlbizia iwa, Amphimas pterocarpoïdes, Gossweilerodendron balsamiferum, Khaya anthotheca, Gambeya lacourtiana, Pterocarpus mildbraedii, Entandophragma cylindricum, erythroxylum mannii and Parinari excelsa.

The degraded forest area is made up of land that has been subjected to agricultural practices and covered by fallow and annual plants. The swampy areas, which have hydromorphic soils, comprise two forest types: • the temporarily flooded forest found in vallies and stream banks; and • the swampy raphia forest with muddy or poorly-drained soil, and characterised by various species of raffia such as Raphia hookeri. Other plant species such as Allanblackia floribunda, Uapaca guineensis, Xylopia staudtii, Cleistopholis patens, Cola lepidota, Garcinia mannii, Macaranga sp, Hallea ciliata, Nauclea pobeguinii, Raphia monbuttorum often form a riparian vegetation characteristic of all river valleys. Depending on the degree of perturbation, this vegetation can be interspersed with the raphia species named above (Luc Durrieu de Madron, et al. 1998). The climate of Dimako can be described as equatorial Guinean, with four seasonal rainfall differences. The average precipitation is 1500 mm per year, and average temperature is 24°C, with average amplitude of 2.4°C. The district of Dimako is drained by two major rivers: the Doumé and its major tributary the Djo. Both rivers receive water from a large network of small rivers which are seasonal. The soils are predominantly red-coloured ferralitic type, with a thin layer of topsoil that renders them nutrient-poor, acidic and brittle. There is a community forest under community management and a communal forest covering an area of 18,052 ha (classified as the permanent forestry domain in Cameroon) situated between latitudes 4° 10’ and 4° 20’ North and longitudes 13° 30' and 13° 50' East of the Equator. This is solely managed by the Council under a prescribed management plan. The Dimako communal forest has about 18 mammals and 196 species of birds. The fauna seems to be concentrated in the central and eastern part of the forest. About 79 species identified in this forest are endemic in the Guinea-Congolese forest. Inventory results have shown that there exist gorillas (Gorilla gorilla), chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), elephants, giant pangolins (Manis tricuspis and M. gigantea), bush pigs (Pot amochoerus porcus), antelopes, squirrels etc. The forest in Dimako has been subjected to industrial exploitation for about 55 years, particularly by the “Societé Forestiere industrielle de Doume” (SFID). However, this company stopped its activities in 2002. A majority of the primary forest vegetation is therefore said to have disappeared giving way to secondary forest vegetation.

2.1.4 Socio-economic conditions The city of Dimako was founded in 1800 by a fraction of the Bakoum people in the Ngolambélé chiefdom. The district of Dimako is inhabited by 11,225 people, with more than half of the population living in the district center. The average density is 4.5 inhabitants per km2 and growth rate is 3.2%. The district comprises 30 villages. Each village is governed by a traditional leader chosen by his elders and generally approved by the administrative authority. The major ethnic groups living in the district are Bakoum, Pols and Baka pygmies. Due to the flourishing economic situation many migrants have come here from different parts of Cameroon and even from neighbouring countries. Dimako is essentially inhabited by a rural community whose main activities are based on agriculture, fishing, hunting and exploitation of timber and non-timber forest products and most inhabitants highly depend on these activities for subsistence. The most hunted are monkeys, rodents and other herbivores. Fishing is a common activity usually carried out by

the Bantus using traditional methods. Species commonly caught are catfish, tilapia, crayfish vipers, prawns and crabs. The main crops cultivated are plantain, banana, cassava, groundnuts, yams, cocoyam, sweet potatoes, maize and vegetables. Generally, people practice a combination of cultures, and average areas of the fields are about one to two hetares of land. The town also has a large oil palm plantation. The population collects diverse NTFPs from the communal forest. These include jansang (fruits of Ricinodendron heudolotii), bush mangoes (fruits of Irvingia gabonensis), fruits of Moabi (Baillonella toxisperma) used as food. Tree barks, roots and leaves are used as traditional medicine. Wine is tapped from palm and raphia trees. The small cane (Eremospatha macrocarpa) and large cane (Laccosperma secundiflorum), bambos, raffia, lianas, eben, leaves of Megaphrynium macrostachyum (a Maranthacae) and stems from the forest are used for craft and building of habitats. Firewood, which is indispensable for cooking and drying of fish and bush meat, is either collected from the forest or fallows and the most appreciated species are Myrianthus arboreus, Hylodendron gabunensis, Pentaclethra macrophylla and Terminalia superba. In some cases the wood, which is in high demand, is sold to the neighbouring town of Bertoua. Tree barks and other medicinal plants are collected from the forest for self-medication. Other activities are practiced on small scales and contribute to the well-being of the people. These activities include rearing of fowls, pigs, sheep and goats around homes and tourism through the promotion of the arts and culture of the BAKA people at the Mayos Multimedia Centre. The key stakeholders in Dimako are: 1. The State of Cameroon The Cameroon government intervenes in the conservation and management of biodiversity resources in Dimako through representative structures under the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife , Ministry of the Environment and Nature Protection, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Fisheries and Animal Husbandry etc. The functions of these ministries include: • Encouraging the people to participate in the conservation and management of forest resources. • Evaluating forest resources in order to increase State revenue while conserving productivity. • Promoting the renewal of the resources through regeneration and reforestation in order to foster productivity.

2. The Council The Mayors elected by the local population are the link between the people and the government, as they carry out developmental projects based on the needs of the local people.

3. CTFC (The Technical Centre for Council Forests) This structure monitors environmental impact assessment plans and their implementation, and monitors the implementation of the communal development plan. Besides supporting the marketing of NTFPs, they also monitor the inventory and exploitation activities in the Dimako communal forest.

4. The NGO, Plan Cameroon This organisation works with the municipality in various fields such as education, health, and housing. 5. The local population who are in direct contact with the resources (fauna, flora and even land).

2.1.5 Legal framework Laws and regulations governing land/resource use There are several laws and regulations related to the management of resources in the country. Some of these are the following: . The Cameroon Forestry Law of 1994 regulates and spells out the various sanctions related to the exploitation and transportation of forest resources (trees, fauna and non timber forest products). . The zonation and management plan for Cameroon’s forest. In order to establish good management planning for forest resources, a land use plan, called the Zonal Plan, has been developed which clearly demarcates forestland from land allocated for other uses drawn up by an inter ministerial team made up of the following ministries of the Cameroon government MINAGRI, MINFOF, MINAT, MINEE, MINUH, MINTP. The zonation plan based on a national forest by inventory was approved by a Prime ministerial Decree N° 95/678/PM of 18 December 1995. Forests in Cameroon are zoned into two main categories: 1. The permanent forests, which are forest areas allocated permanently to forest and wildlife use and include Council forests, forest reserves, parks, sanctuaries, game reserves, and forest designated for production, teaching and research. 2. The non-permanent forest estate, which may be used for purposes other than forestry, and allows the population to practice agricultural activities and meet the needs of the community. More recently other regulations have been put in place to enhance better management of natural resources, and include: . The involvement of Councils in the management of natural resources within their area of competence; . Laws permitting Councils with forest under exploitation to receive some financial and infrastructural benefits or fallbacks; . The development of an appropriate taxation policy; . The strengthening of the participation of the rural population in forest management; . The adoption of measures aimed at harmonizing forest policies with those of other sectors; . The fight against large scale poaching; . The promotion of industrial processing of timber valorizing the end product; . The adoption of sustainable mechanisms for the financing of the forestry sector from internal and external sources.

Recently, a Voluntary Partnership Agreement has been signed between the State of Cameroon and the European Union, APV/ FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade) to encourage legal and sustainable forest exploitation all over the national territory.

Forest management institutions and their settings in the forest sector The control of forest resources (fauna included) is ensured by the forest control brigade for the Eastern Region of Cameroon, the forest chief of post for Dimako as well as his team of forest guards to check illegal exploitation and poaching. The district delegation for the environment and nature protection representing it’s ministry, follows up issues related to the protection of flora and fauna, pollution, water resources, etc. Representing the Ministry of Agriculture, the delegation of agriculture of the district follows up agricultural activities with the direct assistance of the chief of post for agriculture. ANAFOR, the National agency supporting forestry development works with the Council on agro-forestry issues. The CTFC, which is the Technical Centre for Council Forests, maintains partnership with the municipality. The Centre ratified the Charter of the Council Forests (CTFC) for monitoring the environmental impact assessment and it’s implementation; it monitors the implementation of the communal development plan; carries out inventory and also monitors exploitation activities in the Dimako communal forest, while supporting the marketing of NTFPs.

Land tenure Studies conducted in the village of Bimba show that the indigenes divide the village territory into three parts: . The village territory; here land appropriation concerns mainly those portions that have been valorized, thus “village land” is that found around the homes and constitutes family land. All the rivers and paths belonging to the village are considered as collective property. . The forest close to the village, an exclusive domain to the villagers and set aside for farming, fishing, hunting and harvesting. Here individual land ownership does not exist on forest land. . The forest domain far from the village; a domain used by many villages for hunting, fishing and large-scale harvesting. This domain is reserved for common use by the villages and so does not belong to any village although it remains the property of the village concerned. Village territory is often delimited by the villagers. Often, however, they fear that their rights may become limited only to the part defined as their territory. The limits are well known to the elders while the youth show very little interest. Concerning land ownership, land valorized (farm, plantation, home) is considered as individual, i.e., the first to clear the piece of land becomes the owner. Land can be acquired through heritage. Traditionally, the woman has no right to land and only uses it (Durrieu de Madron et al., 1998).

2.1.6 Status of landscape degradation: Problem analysis Presently, following anthropogenic pressure, three forest types can be observed in the district. . The communal forest exploited following a sustainable management plan; . The Community forest exploited following a simple management plan; . Agro forestry zones which are forest patches dotted here and there and often exploited illegally.

Expansion of farmlands and road construction Industrial forest exploitation, which began in Dimako since 1965 by the company SFID, has greatly favoured the expansion of farm lands through the creation of roads into the forest permitting farmers to occupy forest land for farming. Stimulated by ready market, farmers have recently engaged in the production of cash crops such as cocoa and Robusta coffee, banana (Musa cercopioïdes) and plantain (Musa paradissima), oil palm on large portions of land, usually on several hectares of forest land at the expense of the existing forest. Generally people practice mixed cropping, i.e., a combination of cultures, on the same piece of farmland of about one to two hectares of land. However, the evacuation of farm produce still remains a major problem to farmers in the area because the existing farm roads receive very little or no maintenance. Usually, the process of farm creation involves clearing, cutting down of trees and mass burning. The use of bush fire is a frequent technique adopted by farmers to prepare farmlands for planting. Such methods, when practiced, are very devastating as they clear up the entire flora, kill or send away the fauna. Data gathered by Durrieu de Madron, et al. (1998) show that the forest domain has been reduced by 3% in 13 years while the extent of fallow and cultivated land have increased by 2.01%, representing a total surface area of 22.4%, with a good portion of the Savannah domain also subjected to burning. An area of 587 ha of the Dimako Council Forest has been degraded as a result of agricultural practices. Deforestation is the major factor behind the reduction of forest area in the district which has in turn led to a decrease in the availability of fertile land and productivity.

Illegal logging and overexploitation The commercialization of wood is a very lucrative business, motivating illegal logging in many forest patches in the District. Cases of illegal forest exploitation are very common and some tree species have been banned either because of overexploitation or for their low density per hectare (Table 1). The tree species Nauclea diderrichii (bubinga) stands the risk of disappearing because of excessive exploitation both by traditional millers and wood exploiters. Firewood collection from theforest or fallows for commercial purposes is indispensible for cooking and drying of fish and bush meat. This is also a motivating factor for the exploitation of young trees and shrubs thereby exposing the soil. The most appreciated species are Myrianthus arboreus, Hylodendron gabunensis, Pentaclethra macrophylla and Terminalia superba. In some cases the wood is sold to supply the neighbouring town Bertoua which is in high need. Tree bark and other medicinal plants are collected from the forest for sale and self- medication.

Table 1: Species threatened with extinction and banned from exploitation. Tree species Scientific names Density (trees/ha) Doussie (red) Afzelia bipindensis 0.04 Moabi Baillonella toxisperma 0.02 Kossipo Entandrophragma candollei 0.05 Pao rosa Swartzia fistuloides 0.01 Tiama Entandrophragma congolensis 0.05 Acajou (Bassam) Khaya ivorensis 0.05 Azobé Lophira alata 0.02 Sipo Entandrophragma utile 0.02 Mukulungu Autranella congolensis 0.01 Acajou blanc Khaya anthoteca 0.006 Fromager Ceiba pentandra 0.76 Total 11 Species

Source: MINFOF, 2006

Soil compaction by heavy machines The felling and evacuation of trees is always accompanied by the destruction of other plants, especially the young plants and the undergrowth. Soil compaction (Figure 3), which is the reduction of the volume of the soil by repeated passage of heavy machinery, causing low aeration, insufficient drainage and root deforestation (OBI, 2011), is very common and retards or completely prevents the regeneration of certain plants.

Figure 3: Repeated soil compaction by heavy machinery and equipment can affect regeneration of some species after timber harvesting. Corrupt forest guards In the Dimako District, only the Council and community forests are legally exploited according to a management plan; the future of the other existing patches of forest is compromised by certain personalities in the administration. Even though under the

surveillance of forest guards, the resources in this area are still being poached by illegal forest exploiters favoured by corrupt forestry agents and villagers who exchange these resources for money. The illegal exploiters (Figure 4) are therefore not ready to leave the forest patches of Dimako for as long as they benefit from the solidarity of the local administrators. According to Boussougou (2010), the complicity between the forest guards and illegal exploiters is a motivating factor for the exponential exploitation of forest resources.

Figure 4: Illegal timber harvesting in Dimako forest, Cameroon

Shifting cultivation Agricultural practices, particularly shifting cultivation, are at the centre of deforestation, leading to the production of green house gases which are said to contribute to more than 90% of Cameroon’s green gases estimated 17.4% (Tchoffo, 2009).

Hunting and fishing Hunting is practiced for bush meat which is a major source of animal protein for the entire population and a direct source of revenue. The hunters use guns, traps and, sometimes poisonous chemicals to catch the animals and as such killing is not often selective. However, the most hunted are monkeys, rodents and other herbivores. Hunting and deforestation have sent many animal species away, especially gorillas, chimpanzees, elephants, giant pangolins and bush pigs and they have become very rare. In fact, large mammal such as elephants have completely disappeared from the zone. Fishing is a common activity usually carried out by the Bantus using traditional methods. Species commonly caught are catfish, tilapia, crayfish, vipers, prawns and crabs. Fishing is carried out using traditional methods, and the products are generally used for home consumption and are occasionally sold. Occasionally, they use illicit substances (poison) to catch fish, the consequence being mass killing of fish which greatly pollutes the water and reduces the population.

Cash crops The production of cash crops is mostly for commercial purposes and done on large portions of land. The cultivation of cocoa and Robusta coffee is being revived despite the price instability on the world market. The town also has a large oil palm plantation of nearly 15 hectares which is not yet in production. It is difficult to estimate the agricultural production in the municipality because producers do not keep account and no and no statistics could be found at the delegation of agriculture.

Unsustainable collection and decline in the availability of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) NTFPs play an important role in the lives of the people of Dimako because they serve as food, medicine, gift and source of income. A wide range of NTFPs (Figure 5; Table 2) are collected in the district, yet no current inventory has been carried out on the quantity of each product collected. The collection of NTFPs is uncontrolled and with pressure from demographic growth and urban demand, the people have abandoned the customary methods of collection which were relatively sustainable and have adopted mass collection methods some of which have led to the destruction of trees and hampering their regeneration.

Figure 5: Non-timber forest products on display at the Dimako district market.

Illegal and uncontrolled management of NTFPs may bring about the disappearance the trees species from which they are collected. Indeed, such plant species are threatened or have completely disappeared from some parts of the forest. (Durrieu de Madron et al., 1998). An example is the Entandrophragma cylindricum (sapelli) tree on which the highly appreciated caterpillar species always lives. Since these caterpillars are a source of nutrient and revenue to many families, the trees that harbour them are exposed to destruction. The fact that the women have to trek long distances into the forest in groups nowadays to collect these products is a clear indication of the decline in quantity of NTFPs in the Dimako district. Another example is Baillonella toxisperma, commonly called Moabi; apart from its wood, its grains are used for producing oil used both for cooking and aesthetics and is highly appreciated both in urban and local markets. Thus the species stands the risk of being overexploited (Faure, 1993).

According to Justice et al., (2001) ecologically, harvesting NTFP impacts primarily the distribution, abundance and age class distribution of individual species, thus it contributes to forest degradation and not deforestation.

Table 2: Main non-timber forest products (NTFPs) collected from the Dimako forest. (Products of high economic value are shown with an asterisk). Vernacular Exploited for Scientific name Part used Name timber Moabi Baillonella toxisperma yes pulp, grain, bark, latex Ayous Triplochiton scleroxylon yes Specific caterpillars Entandrophragma Sapelli yes Specific caterpillars cylindricum Padouk Pterocarpus spp. Yes Bark Essessang* Ricinodendron heudelotii Yes Grain Emien Alstonia congolensis Yes Bark Tali Erytrophleum ivorensis Yes Bark Yellow Moambè Enanthia chloranta Yes Bark Bush Mangoes Irvingia gabonensis No Fruit, seed Colanut Cola accuminata No Seed Voacanga* Voacanga africana No Fruit, latex Akpa* Tetrapleura tetraptera No The pod Ndimba* Afrostyrax lepidophyllus No Graine, Bark Raffia Raphia spp. No Shoots, rachis (bambo) Palm trees Elaeis guineensis No Nuts Cane Ancystrophyllum spp. No Stem Yam Dioscorea spp. No Tuber Koko or eru* Gnetum africanum No Leaves Bitter cola Garcinia cola No Seed

Illiteracy The level of literacy in the District is low; this is a major problem which negatively influences inhabitants in many aspects such as health, socio-economic development and the management of the environment and its resources. Education has little or no place in the life in the indigenes. For example, children prefer to go hunting, collecting NTFPs and fishing; these vocations provide them with immediate income rather than attending school. The problem of illiteracy has been accentuated by the following factors: the schools are few and often distant, and even where they are present the buildings are inadequate with insufficient teaching staff, poor electrification of the area and the remoteness of the schools. Other problems related to the well being of the population and environmental functions include water and water basin protection, maintenance of the climatic conditions and biodiversity conservation.

2.1.7 Developing solutions: Proposed strategies to solve the problems Following consultations with policy makers, civil society organisations and village/community people in Dimako district through the stakeholder workshops and administration of questionnaires several strategies were developed for solving the problems related to deforestation and forest degradation, and for enhancing REDDES activities in the Dimako District of Cameroon. The key strategies proposed, and the corresponding activities to facilitate implementation are summarised below:

Proposed strategy Activities . Improve zonal planning. 1. Address over exploitation . Forestry decree instituting participatory management, decentralization, and illegal logging. transparency, and amelioration of livelihoods in forest exploitation with the creation of more community forests. . Sustainable harvesting, valorization and marketing of NTFP. . Regulate hunting, harvesting of wood and tree barks, fishing, by issuing permits by the Council under the assistance of syndicates from the 2. Enhance sustainable NTFP population. collection and encourage . State to grant loans to the youth to aid self employment through training diversification of activities. workshops; diversify livelihood activities through loans to assist apiculture, aquaculture, life stock and poultry farming, craft, tailoring, hair dressing etc. . Establish a nursery of about 4,000 seedlings and managed by the Council (Moabi, Ayous, fraké, Sapelli, Bibolo, Doussié, Pachyloba, etc). . Reforest 500 ha of areas degraded by slash and burn planting 100 ha every 5 years. 3. Reduce deforestation, degradation and expansion . Delocalize farm lands from forest areas. of farmlands. . Forestry Department to distribute tree seedlings for agro forestry. . Stabilization of agriculture through ameliorated fallow techniques under trial by the Department of Agriculture with soil enriching leguminoceae such as Cajanus cajan and Callindra callothyrsus. . Ban the use of fire within forest areas. This should be supervised by the 4. Improve fire management. Council and forest guards. . Improve education by providing schools and scholarships to more than 100 less privileged Baka children. 5. Enhance other social and . State and the non-governmental organizations like PLAN Cameroon to developmental facilities. help improve health by training qualified staff and providing social facilities (potable water sources (wells), health centres, housing facilities to under privilege groups).

2.2 GHANA (OFFINSO DISTRICT) E.G. Foli, S.D. Addo-Danso, L. Damnyag, B.D. Obiri, E. Marfo, S. Britwum & W.E.E. Kofie

2.2.1 Introduction Ghana covers a total area of 238, 500 km2, and lies within longitudes 2° 00’W and 1° 10’E, and latitude 8° 00’ N of the Equator. The country’s population was estimated at 24.66 million in 2010, with average annual growth rate of 2.45. Between 2000 and 2010, population density increased from 79 to 102 persons per km2 (GSS, 2012). Ghana’s economy has maintained an average annual growth rate of about 6.0% over the five years up to 2010, reaching a record high of 15% in 2011 (AfDB, 2014). Gross National Income per capita was estimated at US$ 1,283 in 2010 and is projected to increase to US$3,000 by 2020 (World Bank, 2011). Agriculture, mining and oil are the main economic activities in Ghana. The agriculture sector, which includes crop production, forestry and cocoa production, is the largest contributor (about 21.3% in 2013) to GDP, while forestry alone contributes an estimated 11.5% of GDP, providing livelihood for approximately 2.5 million people (GSS, 2013). Cocoa accounts for about 10% of total agricultural-sector production and contributes about 20% of total value of export receipts. In 2012 crop production accounted for about 16.4% of GDP, but remains a major source of employment estimated at 40% of the total labour force. In 2012, oil production earned the country about USD3.0 billion, accounting for about 22% of total value of exports and about 5% of total government revenue (GSS, 2013). Over the past two decades, the overall poverty rate declined substantially from 51.7% in 1991/92 to 28.5% in 2005/06 (AfDB, 2014). Ghana is characterized by two rainfall seasons, interspersed with one relatively severe and one less severe dry period. Average monthly temperature is almost constant throughout the year with a mean annual temperature of 26°-29° C and a daily range along the coast of only 6° to 8° C (White, 1983). Of the total land area, 15.7 million ha lie within the savannah zone (SZ) in the north while the remaining 8.2 million ha is within the tropical high forest zone (HFZ) in the south. Woodland covers about 9.4 million ha of the savannah zone, producing mainly wood-fuel and small amounts of building poles for local use. The high forest zone (HFZ) has also been sub-divided into nine forest types, each with distinct plant associations and rainfall patterns, and soil conditions (Hall and Swaine, 1981; Baker et al. 2003; Amissah et al. 2014). These include the Wet Evergreen, Moist Evergreen, Moist Semi-deciduous South East, Moist Semi-deciduous North West, Dry Semi-deciduous Inner Zone, Dry Semi- deciduous Fire Zone, Upland Evergreen, Southern Marginal, and Southern Outlier. The High Forest is designated for commercial logging, and has been distinguished as forest reserves and off-reserve areas. Ghana’s forest resources have been dwindling particularly at an alarming rate, with an average estimated annual deforestation rate of 2% between 1990 and 2000 was 2% (FAO, 2010).

2.2.2 Location of the REDDES pilot site 2.1.2 Offinso District The Offinso District of Ghana is located in the extreme north-western part of the Ashanti Region at 6o 48’N and 1o 38’W (Figure 6). The pilot sites selected for this study (Table 3) comprise two main sub-districts, namely Offinso North (comprising 20 communities with Akomadan as the main town) and Offinso South Municipal District (comprising 14 communities with Abofour as the main town). These sub-districts, covering a total area of 134,100 ha, are part of the 27 administrative authorities in this part of the Ashanti region of Ghana.

Figure 6: Map of Ghana (right) showing the location of five of the 20 study communities in the Offinso North and Offinso South Municipal Districts (left).

Table 3: Characteristics of the pilot area in the Offinso District, Ghana.

Characteristic Offinso North Offinso South Municipal Population 76,895 56,881 Longitude 1o45W and 1o65 W. 1° 35 E and 1° 50 W Latitude 7o 20 N and 6o50N 7o 15 N and 6o 95 S Land Area 74,100 ha 60,000 ha Mean Annual Rainfall 700-1200 mm 953.4 mm Mean temperature (min and max) 27°C and 30°C 21°C and 32°C. Vegetation Moist semi-deciduous forest with thick Semi-deciduous forest vegetation cover and under growth interspersed with thick vegetation cover. Forest Reserves Afransu-Brohoma, Asuofu East, Asuofu Afram Headwaters and Opro West F, Mankrang Agricultural Activities Major food crops: tomatoes, okro, maize, Major food crops: maize, cassava, yam, rice, plantain, cowpea, groundnut and yam, plantain, cowpea and rice. onion. Major tree crops: cocoa, citrus, oil Major tree crops: cocoa, citrus palm and cashew and oil palm

Sources: Offinso North District Assembly (2012); GSS (2012); MoFA (2013).

2.2.3 Bio-physical conditions The Offinso District has semi-equitorial conventional climate with two rainfall seasons. The major rains occur in April to July, while the minor season lasts from September till mid- November. Annual rainfall ranges from 1,500 mm in the north to 1,700 mm in the south, with a mean monthly temperature of 27oC. The area is drained by two major streams, the Afram which is located to the east, and Birimu on the west. There are, however, several other largely ephemeral water bodies.

Figure 7: Vegetation map of Ghana showing Offinso District in red circle (Source: IUCN, 2009).

In the 1950’s the Offinso area was classified as lying within the Moist Semi-deciduous (MSD) forest type of the High Forest Zone of Ghana (Figure 7), characterized by high forest tree species of high economic value such Milicia exelsa, Antiaris toxicaria, Celtis spp., Triplochiton scleroxylon, Entandrophragma spp., Khaya spp, Nauclea diderrichii, Pericopsis elata, Terminalia ivorensis, Guarea cedrata, and others. However, owing to forest degradation over the years it is currently classified as a forest-Savannah transition in the Dry- Semi deciduous Fire Zone (DSFZ) of Ghana (Hall and Swaine, 1981), and has eight forest reserves (UNDP, 2007; see Table 3). It is now characterized by sparse woody understorey

and few scattered remnant dominant or canopy trees of the original high forest, except for the forest reserves, although these have also suffered degradation from human population- induced pressures, and the economic timber tree species are now scarce. The light canopy in these forests has increased the presence of ground flora, including Marantaceae spp. and Zingiberaceae spp. (Swaine et al., 1997). The area still has some tree species of economic value such as Milicia excelsa, Antiaris toxicaria, Triplochiton scleroxylon, Khaya spp., Entandrophragma spp., Guarea cedrata, and these continue to generate substantial revenue for both national and local economies, although over the years volumes have declined as a result of over-exploitation, fire and illegal timber harvesting.

2.2.4 Socio-economic conditions The Offinso District has a population of 138,500, with a density of 63 persons per km2. The economically active population comprises the 15 - 64 years age group, which constitutes about 49% of the total population. Agriculture, which engages more than 70% of the economically active population, remains the mainstay of the District’s economy in terms of employment and income generation, and contributes about 55% from food crops, 35% from cash crops and 10% from livestock to household income in the District. The major food crops produced in the District (Table 3) include plantain, cassava, yams, cocoyam and maize, and a total land area of about 24,000 ha is put under food crop production each year. Vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, garden eggs, and okra are also produced and are mostly grown in Akomadan, Afrancho, Nkenkaasu, Asuoso and their surrounding areas. Cocoa, oil palm, and citrus are the main cash crops produced in the District. It is estimated that about 23,500 ha of farmland lie fallow each year as a result of unsustainable agricultural practices and shifting cultivation. The key stakeholders in the District include famers, community groups, traditional authorities (chiefs), District/Municipal level stakeholders (Police Service, Fire Service, Forest Service, Ministries of Health, Agriculture, etc, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), timber concessionaires, forest service, illegal chainsaw operators, etc.

2.2.5 Legal framework

Laws and regulations governing land/resource use Laws and regulations, both at the national and local levels, have been enacted to ensure the effective and efficient utilization and management of land and natural resources. The main policy framework within which lands are managed and administered in the two study areas is the 1999 National Land Policy. The policy seeks to maintain the integrity of lands, and also ensure that socio-economic activities are in conformity with the principles of sustainable land use. The key areas that the policy seeks to address, among other things, are equity and security of tenure, land encroachment, sustainable land use and environmental conservation such as preventing cropping around water bodies. However, in its current form the policy has not been able to deal completely with land tenure insecurity, which has led to conflicts in many communities (Blay, 2005; Blocher, 2006). There is an ongoing Land Administration Project (LAP), which is serving as the main mechanism for the implementation of the National Land Policy. It generally seeks to harmonize past and present land policies and legislative frameworks with customary laws for sustainable land administration in the country. As part of the project, the Lands Commission Act, 2008 (Act 767), which integrates all public sector land institutions under the Lands Commission, was promulgated.

At the local level there is a land use control regulation framework that is administered through Section 46 (1) of the Local Government Act, 1993 (Act 462). Boamah (2012) reported from a study in the Offinso South Municipality that there exist large-scale violations of the land use planning controls, affecting the overall planning in the municipality. Apart from the land-related policies, there are other regulations controlling the use and management of natural resources in the area. For example the exploitation of mineral resources such as gold and bauxite is regulated by the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703). This Act guides the acquisition and operational framework for mining in the country. These new policies on land and mineral resources have implications for forest tenure and rights, and the control of deforestation and forest degradation (ITTO, 2011). The most important natural resources, which affect the livelihoods of local communities in Offinso South Municipal and Offinso North District, are forest and wildlife resources (UNDP, 2007; Appiah et al. 2009). Even though the constitution of Ghana recognizes local communities as the owners of the forests, it is held in trust by the State (Kotey et al. 1998). The State therefore exercises control over the use of trees on all lands in the country (Acheampong and Marfo, 2011). Forest resources have been controlled and managed through different laws, decrees and regulations, and these have evolved over the years. The current policy regulating the use and management of forest resources in these areas is the 1994 Forest and Wildlife Policy. Regulations such as the 1997 Timber Resources Management Act, Timber Resources Regulation Act, 1998, the Forestry Commission Act, 1999, the 2002 Forest Protection (Amendment) Act, and the Timber Resources Management (Amendment) Act, 2002 are also in place to ensure the effective implementation of the policy. The 1994 Forest and Wildlife Policy generally recognizes the importance of community rights in the forest governance structure (Kotey et al. 1998, Foli, 2010), but this has not in reality translated into the use of forest resources by local communities including those in the study areas (IUCN, 2007). Almost all the legislations mentioned above recognize the public ownership of forest resources, both on private and public lands. Therefore the use of trees naturally growing on any kind of land is controlled by the State, and it is an offence to harvest or sell timber without permission from the Forestry Commission (Acheampong and Marfo, 2011). All rights to allocate trees in both reserve and off-reserve areas have also been vested in the State through the Timber Resources Management Regulations (L 1649), 1998. Consequently, farmers have no right to harvest trees in their farms or to any revenue generated from timber extraction by concessionaires. These tree tenure arrangements have contributed immensely to unsustainable exploitation of tree resources through illegal chain saw milling in the area (GNA, 2003; IUCN, 2007). As a result of the numerous challenges facing the forestry sector, a new Forest and Wildlife Policy (2012) has been drafted and approved by government to ensure a good balance between promoting forest production and governance. In addition to this, the Forestry Development Master Plan (which spans 1996-2020) is currently undergoing review.

Forest management institutions and their setting in the forest sector Forestlands in Ghana are owned by Chiefs and traditional landowners, who had absolute usufruct rights over forest resources based on customary law. However, in 1970 the rights to manage and develop the forest resources were vested in the President of Ghana in trust for the landowners and the people of Ghana. This was to eliminate conflicts over forest resources and also harmonise forest management systems and investment procedures. Accordingly, the Forest Services Division of the Ghana Forestry Commission is empowered by the Government to institute effective measures for the management and control of the

forest resources. This role had been played in the years prior to the vesting of the forestlands in the President of the Republic. However, their mandate was strengthened and broadened to make their roles more effective as custodian of the forest resources. The transfer of the forest resources to the government did not by any means deny the land-owning Chiefs and communities their usufruct rights (Foli & Dumenu, 2011). The principal institutions involved in the management of the forest resources are the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, which plays an oversight role as the main political and administrative body that ensures that the tenets of the Forest and Wildlife Policy are implemented. The Ministry is supported by the Forestry Commission, which was established in 1980 and restructured by an Act of Parliament (Act 571) in 1999 into a semi-autonomous corporate entity to improve its effectiveness. The Forestry Commission comprises the Forest Services Division (FSD), the Wildlife Division, Timber Industries Development Division and a Resource Management Support Centre (RMSC). Altogether the Forestry Commission is staffed by about 600 professional and technical forestry personnel employed by the government. Other supporting institutions include the Forest Plantations Development Centre (FPDC), (under the Ministry of Lands & Natural Resources), and the Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG), established in the early 1960s to undertake all aspects of scientific research into forestry and forestry-related issues. The Institute is placed under the Ministry of Environment, Science & Technology Innovation (MESTI), as it is considered appropriate to place it under one Ministry together with all other scientific research institutes in Ghana for administrative convenience. Additionally, the Faculties of Renewable Natural Resources and Forest Resources Technology, both of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & technology, provide the requisite training for professional and technical forestry personnel at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Land tenure One of the main issues confronting sustainable utilization and management of natural resources in the two pilot sites in the Offinso District, and the country as a whole, is the complex nature of the current land tenure arrangements. Tenure influences the acquisition, utilization, control and disposal of land and resources, thus impacting the social and economic well being of a people. According to Acheampong and Marfo (2011), tenure goes beyond community’s relationship with resources, but involves a complex interaction among a group of people through which rights and obligations towards land and resources-use are defined. Land tenure arrangements in both Offinso South Muncipality and Offinso North District are similar: consisting of both customary and public ownership and use systems. More than 70% of the lands are under the customary arrangement, making clans, chiefs, families and individuals important stakeholders in the utilization and administration of land resources (Baryeh, 1997). Under the customary land tenure system, ownership and user arrangements may be freehold, leasehold or customary freehold (Benneh, 1989; Damnyag et al. 2012). The different arrangements influence very much how lands have been administered and used over the years by indigenes and migrants, particularly for farming purposes in the two areas. According to Nsiah (2010) the land tenure arrangements in the Offinso township, and its surrounding communities have recently changed from a system where land was given free of charge to friends and needy ones to leasehold, renting or outright purchase. The freehold or allodial arrangement gives absolute right to a clan, chief or an individual to control and manage a piece of land usually for a family. The allodial title, as the highest form of ownership, allows

interest to be transferred, thus allowing members to acquire land due to their membership in the family or clan (Ako-Adjei et al., 2009). Consequent to this arrangement, families and individuals can own several hectares of land, with average ownership amounting to about 100 hectares (Nsiah, 2010). Access to land through leasehold, where land belonging to one entity is leased to another for a fixed time, is a prevalent arrangement in the two study areas (Nsiah, 2010; Damnyag et al., 2012). According to Nsiah (2010) most indigenes in these areas usually lease their lands as a response to shortage of family lands. Lands which are acquired under the leasehold are restrictive, and do not offer any security of tenure to the lessee (Benneh, 1989). It is noteworthy that leasehold is the most common land arrangement for agricultural purposes in the District (Nsiah, 2010; Damnyag et al., 2012). It is also the only avenue for migrants to have access to land since they cannot own land in these communities. The study areas have a large migrant population particularly from the northern parts of the country (UNEP, 2007). Leasehold periods can range from just one year, where farmers mostly cultivate annuals, to fifty years, where long-term investment such as tree plantations can be made (Nsiah, 2010). There are generally two kinds of leaseholds, namely share-cropping and annual land rental payments (Nsiah, 2010; Damnyag et al. 2012). Under the share-cropping arrangement land is given to a person to crop, and the products are shared between the lessee and the lanowner. The arrangement is such that the crops to be planted are determined by the landowner. This form of tenure arrangement is usually between an indigene landlord and a migrant farmer (Damnyag et al. 2012). A study by Damnyag et al. (2012) reported that more than 70% of farmers in some selected communities in the Offinso North District are engaged in share- cropping leasehold. This form of arrangement favors short-term rotation cropping, but is a big disincentive to tree planting owing to tenure insecurity (Damnyag et al. 2012). As a consequence of the various forms of conflict associated with the share-cropping arrangement, annual land rental payments are preferred (Nsiah, 2010). Migrants in particular perceive this form of arrangement more profitable because they are able to harvest produce at any time, without the risk of conflict with the landowner. However, similar to share-cropping, this form of leasehold does not provide the right conditions for long-term investments into tree planting (Nsiah, 2010). Nsiah (2010) indicated that most landowners do not lease or rent out lands for tree plantations because they see tree planting by migrants as a way of holding on to land for a long time, which may indicate future ownership. The third arrangement is the customary freehold in which individuals can use a piece of land freely because of their membership in a clan or family (Damnyag et al. 2012). This form of arrangement tends to secure the rights of the user, and therefore a farmer with such a right is able to use the land as they so desire (Benneh, 1989; Nsiah, 2010). The different ownership rights provide local communities the absolute rights over all customary lands including forest reserves, but the management rights of the natural resources such as timber is held by the State through legislation controls. This makes the State, in most situations, exercise its right to grant timber concessions with little or no consultation with the chiefs and local communities. The local communities therefore feel marginalized in the decisions about their resources, which serve as a major disincentive to the conservation and management of forest resources, especially in off-reserve areas. Apart from customary lands, there are also lands that are held by the government for the State. There are also situations where lands are dual owned by both the government and local communities. Past Ordinances such as the Ashanti Lands Ordinance, 1943 (Cap 145) allowed

the colonial government to acquire portions of land for public purposes (Baryeh, 1997). These lands are managed by the Assemblies, and used for infrastructural purposes such as schools, clinics and housing projects.

2.2.6 Status of forest landscape degradation: Problem analysis The main pressure on the forest resources derives from increasing populations and the need for more land for agricultural production. This is exacerbated by unsustainable agricultural practices through shifting cultivation, regular occurrence of forest fires, poor harvesting practices and over-exploitation of timber, illegal timber harvesting, and encroachment by migrant farmers as a consequence of changing climatic conditions (Figure 8). Crop failure as a result of changing rainfall patterns and drought have also increased the rate of encroachment on the forest as the demand for more fertile land increases each year. In addition to indiscriminate felling of trees, the increasing demand for agricultural land has brought with it the indiscriminate use of agrochemicals.

Figure 8: Unsustainable agricultural practices through slash-and-burn and shifting cultivation (top left), regular occurrence of forest fires (top right), over-exploitation of timber and illegal timber harvesting have together resulted in deforestation (bottom left) and seasonal drying up of major rivers (bottom right) in the Offinso district of Ghana. (Photo credits: Top left and right, and bottom left by Ernest Foli; Bottom right by B.A. Gyampoh).

Over the years, this situation has gradually impacted on the structure of the forest and its capacity to continue to provide the ecosystem services that the communities derive from it. In effect, it is becoming increasingly difficult for farmers to plan cropping seasons to coincide with the rains in order to maximize crop yield, as rainfall patterns have become increasingly

unpredictable. Along with the unreliable rainfall regime, increasing temperatures and more intense and prolonged sunshine result in the wilting of cocoa leaves and poor yield of vegetables and other crops. Therefore, in addition to the disruption of community livelihood as a result of low agricultural output, heat and water stress related diseases such as malaria, diarrhoea, bilharzias, shingles and other skin conditions are also becoming more common. These have the effect of increasing poverty and upsetting community well-being in the District, and it is important to devise appropriate strategies for coping and/or adapting to these effects. Other factors that have contributed to landscape degradation in the Offinso District include: • Land use changes; • Corruption; • Lack of manpower in FSD, especially forest guards; • Lack of involvement of chiefs in forest management decision-making process; • Weak law enforcement and inadequate monitoring by the forest service; • Inequitable sharing of benefits from forest resources harvesting; • Exclusion of traditional authorities (chiefs) and local communities from policy- formulation and forest management planning.

2.2.7 Developing solutions: Proposed strategies to solve the problems The results of the individual interviews and the focus group discussions held in the District as part of this study showed that definite strategies need to be devised to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and enhance environmental services in the pilot sites. In the first place, there is need for new policies to be formulated and the existing ones strengthened to help to effectively address the rate of deforestation and forest degradation and enhance environmental services in the pilot districts. All the stakeholders contacted indicated such a need as they all completely disagree with the current policies and measures as ineffective in the control of deforestation and forest degradation. Furthermore, specific measures must be identified and implemented to improve emission reductions and carbon stock enhancement. Some of these measures include prevention of wildfire outbreak, protection of forest lands from encroachment, provision of legal backing to communities to protect the forest, and enforcement of forest laws. Others are proper monitoring of the forest, education on forest benefits under a PES scheme and promotion of tree planting among communities’ members. Other important strategies that were identified during the focus group meeting and the individual interviews were public education and awareness creation, as well as empowering and motivating communities. Activities that the government needs to undertake in order to contribute to the social and economic development of forest dependent communities and also enable the communities to collaborate more effectively in protecting the forests are: • To take the necessary steps to ensure equity in benefit sharing. • Devolve aspects of forest management to communities. • Undertake constant motivation and consistent education of local communities

• Ensure adequate budgetary allocation to communities for motivation and educational activities. • Intensify collaborative forest management / creation of community wildlife taskforce with adequate logistics. • Involve communities in forest decision making. Since locals are more likely to obey their chiefs it would be prudent to include chiefs in Committees with the authority and responsibility of monitoring tree planting. • Formulate and implement good policies. • Amend laws to reflect the current demands. • Promote and improve the Modified Taungya System (MTS) to facilitate tree plantation development. • Employment for the youth. • Capacity building for FSD staff. • Raise awareness among local people. • Provide training on small-scale enterprises/alternative income generating activities (mushroom cultivation, snail farming, fish farming, rattan plantation). • Facilitate cultivation of cash crops on arable land to avoid fire incidents/ land leasing for tree plantations. • Promote transparent and fair land allocation to farmers. • Community development. • Reasonable compensation payment will motivate forest communities to protect the forest.

2.3 LIBERIA (BOPOLU STATUTORY DISTRICT, GBARPOLU COUNTY) B.S. Goll, N. Ndam, P.E. Munyeneh & L. Greene 2.3.1 Introduction The Republic of Liberia is located on the west coast of Africa (Figure 9) between latitude 6o 30’ North of the Equator and longitude 9o 30’ West of the Greenwich Meridian. It is bordered on the west by Sierra Leone, on the north by Guinea, on the east by Côte d’Ivoire, and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean (FDA, 2009; MPEA, 2009). The estimated population is 3.5 million, with a growth rate of 2.61% (LISGIS, 2009). About 53% of the population lives in rural areas, and 70% of the active population is engaged in agricultural activities; agriculture is the dominant contributor to export trade and earnings and a source of livelihood for a greater number of people than any other sector (USAID, 2010). In addition, the state is also rich in natural resources, including valuable timber species, significant biodiversity, and mineral resources, including iron ore, gold and diamonds.

Figure 9: Map of the Republic of Liberia Liberia has a total land area of 9.58 million hectares, of which forests covers about 4.30 million hectares (45% of the land area). Therefore forestry has long been one of the most important sectors of the economy. The main drivers of forest landscape degradation and deforestation in Liberia are (1) unsustainable slash-and-burn agriculture; (2) extensive and excessive commercial logging; (3) mining; (4) unsustainable use of forest resources such as wildlife, Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs); (5) land degradation caused by agricultural operations, e.g. irrigation; (6) land degradation caused by waste disposal or pollution; (7) increase in population and post-conflict population migrations; (8) establishment of tree crops plantations; (9) small-scale chain saw operation for local markets and fuelwood production; (10) charcoal production and fuelwood extraction; and (11) illegal human settlement.

2.3.2 Location of the REDDES Pilot Site The Gola Yorma National Forest (Figure 10) is located in the north-western part of Liberia, between latitude 06o’ 55’ 58” North of the Equator and longitude 10o 45’ 44” West of the Greenwich Meridian. It is about 76 km from Monrovia, the capital city of Liberia. The forest falls in the tropical rainforest belt, with swampy valleys covered by natural vegetation of wild oil palm trees. Terminalia species are the primary species found within this forest site. The GolaYorma National Forest borders the Gbarpolu Forest along the Mahe River on the Bomi-Bopolu Highway. It is found within the Bopolu Statutory District, Gbarpolu County. This forest area is subdivided into compartments and blocks for effective and comprehensive sustainable management.

Figure 10: Map of the Yorma National Forest, Gbarpolu County, Republic of Liberia.

2.3.3 Bio-physical conditions Gola Yorma National Forest (GNF) is characterized by evergreen and semi-deciduous tropical rainforest in the south and north respectively. The mean rainfall range during April to October, wet season, is between 4,064 mm to 4,572 mm. The mean temperature ranges from 15°C to 18° C. The high relative humidity of the forest is attributed to the presence of the Harmattan wind. The forest is underlain entirely by rocks of Precambrian origin. The soils are sandy clay textured latosols with light yellow to deep red colour. This site has steep slopes and low land that is relatively drained with at least 2% slopes. The forest area can be flooded during the rainy season for a brief period of time. The vegetation is characteristic of lowland per-humid rainforest with swamp areas, dry lands and riparian forest. The dominant tree species in the Gola Yoma National Forest are: Terminalia ivorensis, Tetraberlinia tubmaniana, Calpocalyx aubrevillei, Heritierra utilis,

Dialum spp., Gilbertiodendron preussi, Monopetallanthus compactus, Parinari excelsa, Nesogordonia papaverifera, Aningeria robusta, Klainedoxa gabonensis, Ceiba pentandra, Lophira alata, Piptadeniastrum africanum, Sacoglottis gabonensis, Hallea ciliate, Milicia spp, Pynanthus africanus, Guarea cedrata and Funtumia elastica. There are also some other Non-timber Forest Products (NTFPs) that the local people depend on hugely as a source of food (palm cabbage, palm nuts, monkey apple, etc., beverage (palm wine), local construction materials (thatch, rattan, raffia, round poles, etc.), and medicines for healing many diseases. The GNF serves as a sanctuary for many endangered, threatened and endemic wildlife species. It houses the endangered Liberian Mongoose (Liberiictis kuhni). It is also one of the Important Birds´ Areas (IBA) of Liberia. Additionally, it is one of two sites in Liberia that contains the vulnerable birds such as the African Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus) and the white-breasted Guinea fowl (Agelastes mealeagrides).

2.3.4 Socio-economic situation Gola, Mandingo, Kpelleh, and Belleh are the main inhabitants residing in the villages and towns within this locality. In addition to these tribes, immigrants from the western world dwell in western homes. The inhabitants of the towns and villages are associated with the secret societies’ of young boys and girls called the Poro and Sande Societies. The population is made up of 35,100 males and 22,006 females. Most of the people residing near this forest area are farmers who mainly practice shifting cultivation. Other livelihood activities are fuel wood collection, charcoal burning, hunting, alluvial gold and diamond mining, fishing, etc.

2.3.5 Legal framework Laws and regulations governing land/resource use Several laws, regulations, and strategic standards have been formulated, validated, enacted and instituted by the Liberian government at the national and local level to ensure sustainable, effective, and efficient utilization and management of the forests, land, environment, water, air and the natural resources. The National Forest Reform Law of 2006 of Liberia (NFRL, 2006) remains the main legal policy framework document for ensuring sustainable management of the Liberian forests, lands, environment, conservation of the state forest resources, protection of the state environment, and sustainable development of the Republic’s economy, with the participation of and for the benefit of all Liberians, and to contribute to poverty alleviation in the Nation. It further ensures protection of the environment. The expectation is that where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage to the environment, the FDA should not rely on a lack of full scientific certainty as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation. Another important law is the Community Rights Law of 2009 (CRL, 2009). With respect to forest lands the "Community Rights Law" provides the legal framework that empowers local communities located in or near forest lands to access, manage, use and benefit from forest resources on those lands for sustenance and livelihood improvement, as well as for community development. In addition it empowers communities to fully engage in sustainable management of the state forest and its existing resources by creating a legal framework that defines and supports community rights in the management and use of the forest resources. The CRL defines rights and responsibilities of communities to own, manage, use and benefit from forest resources whether by customary, statutory or other tenure systems. On the other

hand, it establishes mechanisms to promote informed representative community participation in matters related to community forest resources. Finally, it defines the roles and responsibilities of the FDA as the regulatory authority, promoter and protector of community rights with respect to community forest resources. Other legal instruments instituted to sustainably manage Liberia’s forests include the Environmental Protection Act of 2000 (which calls for the constant monitoring, coordination, and supervision, management, and protection of the environment to provide high quality information and advice on the state of the environment and other related matters). The Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiatives (LEITI) Act of 2009 ensures that all benefits due the Government and people of Liberia on account of the exploitation and/ or extraction of the country’s mineral and other resources are verifiably paid or provided, duly accounted for and prudently utilized for the benefit of all Liberians and on the basis of equity and sustainability. Revenue transparency in commercial forestry has been embedded in the public domain by the inclusion of forestry in the Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiatives. Currently, this applies to commercial logging but could be expanded to forest carbon revenue. Apart from the above mentioned Acts, the Voluntary Partnership Agreement/Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (VPA/FLEGT), Chain of Custody System (CoC), and the Code of Harvesting Practice have been put in place by the Liberian Government/FDA to promote sustainable forest management and control forest degradation and deforestation. The VPA is a bilateral trade agreement that was signed in 2011 and ratified in 2014 between the Government of Liberia and the European Union (EU) to ensure that all timber and timber products leaving Liberia to Europe must be taken from a legal source. This agreement is a central element of the EU’s strategy in the fight against illegal logging. Under the VPA, the timber producing country develops systems to verify that its timber exports are legal, and the EU agrees to accept only licensed imports from that country. The Chain of Custody System has been put in place to capture the economic potential of the Liberian forest sector and its associated benefits for rural livelihoods and National growth through a comprehensive monitoring system ensuring that wood products and associated revenue are tracked down and accounted for. The National Chain of Custody (CoC) system and this system is currently being contracted to an independent international monitoring institution known as Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS), as the institution that is charged with the sole authority to operate the system. In addition, SGS has been charged by the government of Liberia to fully build the capacity of the Forestry Development Authority to operate the CoC in order for them to take it over and have it sustained in the future. Lastly, The Code of Forest Harvesting Practices of 2007 developed by the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) was developed for Timber Harvesting to provide a clear set of guidelines to help foresters and logging companies select practices to be followed when carrying out harvesting operations under forest management contracts (FMC) and timber sales contracts (TSC). This standard mandates forest concession holders and owners to conform to the regulations or guidelines to harvest commercial timber from a specified area of forest in a way that meets standards for sustainable forest management. Sustainable forest management recognizes the importance of all products and services provided by the forest, including timber, water quality, soils, biodiversity, and the livelihood of people that live or work in the forest.

Forest management institutions and their setting in the forest sector The 1986 National Constitution of Liberia gave the government the power to manage the national economy and natural resources of Liberia and required the legislature to ratify agreements (including forest concessions). All forestlands are state owned. The government has absolute control and rights based on the 1986 Constitution. Accordingly, the Forestry Development Authority was created by a Special Act in December 1976 and mandated with the power to issue, amend and rescind forestry and wildlife regulations. The Act defined the objectives for the sector, which may be grouped into three broad themes: (i) establishing a permanent forest estate made up of National Forests and National Parks; (ii) optimizing the contribution of forestry to the national economy; and (iii) increasing public involvement in forest conservation and management through the creation of communal forests and agroforestry programs (NFRL, 2006). In short it is the custodian and manager of the entire Liberia forest landscape. Specifically, the Forestry Development Authority has the following functions: (i) formulating forestry policy; (ii) forest resource management; (iii) control and management of concessions; (iv) collection of revenue from forest activities; (v) research (including market intelligence); and (vi) training. In this capacity the Forestry Development Authority has issued 27 regulations that deal mostly with the administration and management of forestry and wildlife activities (including forest charges, fines and penalties). Until now, there has been little assessment of the impact of these developments or any reformulation of policy. Consequently the Forestry Development Authority has remained a highly centralized institution, with a predominant focus on industrial production (NFRL, 2006). Under the NFRL (2006) agreement, it has mandated the State to draft and enact the Community Rights Law. This law was drafted and enacted in 2009 to support a huge number of people residing in rural areas to benefit from forests and trees as an integral part of their livelihoods. This has been done under appropriate sustainable management arrangement and scheme. The forest is being used both as a sustainable source of forest products and as areas that are protected for important social and cultural uses. The Liberia Code of Law (1956) permitted the creation of government reserves, native authority reserves, communal forests and national parks, but few native authority reserves and communal forests materialized. Consequently, the government managed the entire forest estate and the issues of community forest management were never properly addressed. Community forest management interventions have presented a number of challenges in Liberia due to the government and other institutions having little understanding or experience with the management of common property resources. As a way of overcoming those challenges, some essential adaptable mechanisms have been put into place to assess the needs and perceptions of local communities and individuals. Moreover, some activities have been formulated and developed over the years jointly by stakeholders to encourage local communities to sustainably manage their forests by creating rights, transferring control and building capacity for forest management within local communities. The rights to manage and develop the forest have now been vested in the local communities and the FDA. This has been done to empower local communities in owning forest, practicing sustainable forest management, and enhancing equitable distribution of the state forest and natural resources. Moreover, it is purposely done to curtail conflicts over the existing forest resources, promote sustainable collective multi-stakeholders participation in forest management systems and institute investment strategies and procedures.

Land tenure Liberia has never had a clearly defined land rights policy and tenure system; as a result, government officials and common citizens are unable to secure land for programs (construction of government and individual structures). Customary communities fear for the loss of their land without just compensation from multi-national corporations/ companies operating in their community (USAID, 2000). Liberia has a plural land tenure system based on a combination of statutory common law, including statutes and case law, derived from the Liberian State, and an array of customary laws derived from local lineage-based governance systems. The statutory tenure system was introduced in the early 1800s by the American Colonization Society (ACS), which purchased land along the coast of present-day Liberia from indigenous African chiefs and, in the 1820s, began bringing freed slaves from the United States to settle. Each settler was allotted about 4.1 hectares of farmland, 10.1 hectares for married couples, or a town plot, which they held in fee giving them permanent, heritable, and fully transferable rights. In areas not under Americo-Liberian domination, however, customary systems based on community or collective dominion over discrete territories prevailed (Wily, 2007). As a result, land tenure regimes in Liberia are roughly divided geographically, with statutory tenure dominating in urban areas and coastal counties and customary tenure systems dominating in the interior. However, over time, many parts of the interior have been substantially influenced by the statutory tenure regime. Though customary land tenure regimes are predominant in rural Liberia and contradictory claims persist, scant research has been conducted on the subject. Since very little research has been done on the Liberian Customary Law, little is known about its content and operations (Rose, 2011). Previous research has indicated, however, that each of Liberia’s approximately sixteen (16) tribes has its own system of land tenure, though differences between them are not dramatic (Wily, 2007). One distinctive commonality among tribes across the country is that land is generally considered to belong to extended families, towns, or cluster of towns – rather than to individuals or households. According to the survey and study conducted within the Bopolu District where the Yorma National Forest is situated, the local people heavily practice the customary land tenure system. The land is accessed through family groups within their respective towns. The local people of this district have divided themselves into autonomous town clusters. These towns are further divided into ‘sibs,’ comprising family groups who traced their lineage through the male line to a common ancestor. “Public property,” or property held in common (i.e., undeveloped land, paths, and water resources), are controlled by elders. Within the clan, each cluster of towns recognizes boundaries. Within the cluster, each town has its own allocated land. And each sib within each town has land to meet its members’ needs. After “pacification” of the interior, however, the property regime in Bopolu District underwent a dramatic shift. In some cases, Town Elders assumed the responsibility of distributing land. Currently most of the land in the district is divided, though into private plots and held under Tribal Certificates (TCs). Conclusively, authorities used client-patron relations or intermarriages to confer land rights to others and to increase their power. Land is not scarce. Land access and settlement are flexible and individuals control farms. However, while farmers are concerned with the control of crops and trees on their land, they do not raise land ownership questions. Farmers could claim any land not already marked by another farmer for that year’s swidden, any forest contiguous to their previous season’s rice

field, and any land that they had improved. In Bopolu District, land ownership is based on the oral history of family members and a Council of Elders. This system within the hinterlands of Liberia allowed a small amount of land under cultivation for agricultural purposes and prohibits the direct sale of land as an economic resource. This means that the idea of a title ownership is alien to the indigenous people. Under legal arrangement based on the customary land tenure system, Tribal Certificates (TCs) are issued to the holder, authorizing him or her to have a designated area of land surveyed.

2.3.6 Status of forest landscape degradation: Problem analysis In the Yorma National Forest area, the main drivers of deforestation and landscape degradation are (1) slash and burn agriculture; (2) illegal logging and chain sawing; (3) heavy charcoal production; (4) fuelwood extraction; (5) mining; (6) tree and cash crops establishment and production; (7) illegal human settlement and pressure; (8) forest abandonment and neglect by the Forestry Development Authority, Forestry Training Institute (FTI) and the University of Liberia (UL); (9) unsustainable hunting and fishing; (10) poverty; and (11) unsustainable harvesting of Non-timber forest products (Figures 11 – 14).

Figure 11: Illegal logging and chain Figure 12: Slash-and-burn agriculture sawing operations. and Shifting cultivation.

Figure 13: Heavy charcoal production. Figure 14: Illegal human settlement. 33

2.3.7 Developing solutions: Proposed strategies to solve the problems The results from field visits at the selected pilot site, interviewing individuals, holding workshops and conducting focus group discussions at both the community and district levels have shown that specific suggested strategies are needed in order to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and enhance environmental services at the pilot site. When facing new challenges such as climate change and food security, emphasis must be placed on the importance of innovative approaches, best practices and collaborative/collective partnerships. However, this must be done by building on existing knowledge and long experience in sustainable forest management (including community- based forest management). Secondly, there is a need to involve communities in forest decision-making and engagement processes at all stages of discussion especially when it comes to the call for enhancing sustainable forest management. This is especially so because most forest dependent people are quite willing to learn new strategies that could enable them manage their forest resources sustainably and better their lives. All the stakeholders strongly stressed this need as they all complained that most of the decisions taken in the past by the government and her partners had been taken at a higher level and regarded the approach adopted in the present study as being an effective community engagement tool. The discussions led to the identification of relevant and adaptable strategies and mechanisms that could be practically demonstrated to minimize carbon emission and increase carbon stocks. Some of the measures include (i) protection of forest lands from shifting cultivation; (ii) prevention of clearing primary forests for cash and tree crops establishment; (iii) increasing tree cover in farming systems (agroforestry); (iv) afforestation, reforestation and forest restoration in rural landscapes and cities; (v) formulating and implementing strategies to curtail heavy charcoal burning and fuelwood extraction; (vi) formulation and strengthening of local community forest management committees to protect the forest; and (vii) enforcement of forest laws and regulations. Additional measures may include constant and persistent monitoring of the forest, provision of sustainable livelihood options for heavy forest dependent people, adequate awareness raising and education on sustainable forest management, and forest benefits sharing mechanism under a PES scheme. Other key strategies identified and suggested by the stakeholders during the focus group discussions and stakeholders’ interviews included the need for more public education and awareness creation on REDDES, as well as creation of adequate employment opportunities and empowerment of more local community youths. Consensus on the activities that the government of Liberia needs to implement in order to enhance the urgent social and economic development needs of forest dependent people and to prepare them to cooperate, co-manage and sustainably protect the forests include: • Ensuring adequate budgetary allocation to the FDA for promoting sustainable forest management; • Recruiting and employing more young Liberian professional foresters and natural resource management technicians; • Developing a progressive training package for both trained foresters and local forest dependent people for effective forest management; • Reviewing and making changes within the Social Agreement (SA) developed under the 2006 NFRL taking into consideration identification of benefits by communities and time

for benefit(s) delivery by forest concession owners and operators and equitable benefit sharing mechanisms; • Need for FDA to take full control and management of the Yorma National Forest; • Procuring and deploying more field equipment and logistics to FDA field staff; • Devolving aspects of forest management to communities; • Providing more sustainable livelihood options for local communities and forest dependent people residing around the forest; • Increasing joint forest management / creation of more effective Community Forest Management Committees; • Serious consideration must be placed on lowland/swamp farming by the government to help local inhabitants sustainably protect and manage the forest; • Demarcation of adequate land by the government to facilitate local fringe forest inhabitants to practice sustainable agro-forestry and grow more cash crops; • Sensitization and creation of sufficient awareness among local inhabitants to support REDDES initiation in Liberia; • Creation of a condition to have local people taught basic enrichment planting techniques to enhance restoration of degraded forest areas within the Yorma National Forest. (YNF); • Allocation of more lands for woodlots establishment by the State to reduce further pressure on the forest and support constant production of charcoal and fuelwood by local inhabitants; • Payment of compensation to local communities to have them keep and protect their forests.

2.4 NIGERIA (AKURE, ONDO STATE)

2.4.1 Introduction Nigeria covers a land area of about 983,213 km2 with a forest area of about 345,000 km2, which is 35 percent of the total land area (Adedokun et al, 2005). Nigeria is situated on the west coast of Africa, lies on latitudes 4° north of the Equator and latitudes 3° and 14° on the east of the Greenwich Meridian (Figure 15).

Figure 15: Map of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

The country shares boundaries with the Republics of Benin and Niger in the west, Cameroon in the East, Niger and Chad in the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the South (NNPC, 2014). The country is rich in petroleum and many other natural resources. The three dominant tribes are Yoruba in the southwest, Ibo in the eastern region and Hausa in the north. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the seventh most populous country in the world. With approximately 174 million inhabitants, Nigeria’s population is growing at an average of 3 percent annually - a rapid pace (World bank, 2013). Its many ethnic groups give the country a rich culture but also pose major challenges to nation building. The economy is dominated by the production of petroleum, which lies in large reserves below the Niger Delta. Oil wealth has financed major investments in the country’s infrastructure (Indexmundi, 2014). Nigeria has emerged as Africa's largest economy, with GDP estimated at US$ 502 billion in 2013. The economy has continued to grow at a rapid 6- 8% per annum (pre-rebasing), driven by growth in agriculture, telecommunications, and services, and the medium-term outlook for Nigeria is good, assuming oil output stabilizes and oil prices remain strong.(CIA world factbook, 2014) Agriculture still remains a major key sector of the Nigerian economy accounting for 22% of the country recently rebased GDP in

2012 (Businessday, 2014). Nigerian agriculture features tree and food crops, forestry, livestock and fisheries. Like most African countries, the climate is tropical with two main marked seasons. The dry season lasts from November to March with the dry dust-laden North-easterly winds blowing across the country. The rainy season is from April to October. During this period the moisture-laden south-westerly winds blow from the coast bringing in the rains. Rainfall decrease from about 1,5000 mm in the south to about 500 mm in the North. The temperature is generally high, ranging between 220C and 340C except the Jos Plateau, the Mambila Plateau and the Obudu Cattle Ranch Plateau where the temperature is relatively cooler all year round (Institute for African Development, 2000).

2.4.2 Location of the REDDES Pilot site Akure Forest Reserve (AFR) in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria is located in between latitude 7° 17′46″ North and longitude 5° 01′48″ East. It covers an area of 6,993 ha. The Federal Department of Forestry and Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria have chosen the Akure forest as a Biosphere reserve (Figure 16).

Figure 16: Map of a part of Akure showing the Akure Forest Reserve pilot site in Nigeria.

2.4.3 Bio-physical conditions Akure Forest Reserve (AFR) lies at an altitude of 279 m in the tropical humid lowland forest zone. The forest has a well-drained soil because of the Owena River, which flows from north to south across the forest reserve into the Atlantic Ocean. The Soil pH is 5.93. The underlying rock is crystalline, mainly igneous varying considerably in mineral composition. Mean annual rainfall is about 4,000 mm. Average rainfall is highest in the AFR between July and September and lowest between January and February. Temperature ranges from about 20.6oC to 33.5oC. Akure Forest Reserve is classified as high forest and hosts diversified hard wood timber producing species such as Milicia excelsa, Antaris africana, Terminalia superba, Lophira

procera and Symphonia globulifera, Entandrophragma spp., Khaya spp, Guarea spp., Triplochiton scleroxylon, Mansonia altisima, Steculia spp., Afzelia spp, Brachystegia spp. and Tectona grandis.

2.4.4 Socio-economic situation Two of the major stakeholders of AFR, Aponmu community and Owena community, have been in existence for about 200 and 100 years, respectively. There are about 20 to 25 tribes residing at Aponmu, such as Igbira, Idanre, Igbo, Akure, Igede, Ososo, Ogoju, Irobo, Calabar and so on. The main occupation of the people is farming. AFR has a favourable ecological and climatic condition that supports the cultivation of large variety of crops. Agricultural produce in the Ondo State include tree crops such as cocoa, oil palm, rubber, cashew and kola nut. Arable crops such as cassava, yam, maize, rice, sugarcane are cultivated, as well as fruit crops such as pineapple, citrus, mango, pepper and tomato. However, Ondo State’s main revenue yielding crops are cocoa and oil palm. Ondo State is also one of the main timber producing States in Nigeria due to its rich forest which hosts various types of hardwood species such as iroko, mahogany, obeche and teak. The availability of timber in large quantities has led to the establishment of several sawmill companies in the State, the largest of which is the Nigeria-Romania Wood Industry. But the forests of the State are under threat due to the bush fallow system.

2.4.5 Legal framework

Laws and regulations governing land/resource use The role of legislation in inducing responsible attitudes and behaviours towards the environment cannot be overlooked. Legislation serves as an effective instrument for environmental protection, planning, pollution prevention and control. The following provides a summary of Nigerian legislation on the environment. The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999), as the national legal order, recognizes the importance of improving and protecting the environment and makes provision for it. Relevant sections are: Section 20 makes it an objective of the Nigerian State to improve and protect the air, land, water, forest and wildlife of Nigeria. Section 12 establishes, though impliedly, that international treaties (including environmental treaties) ratified by the National Assembly should be implemented as law in Nigeria. Sections 33 and 34 which guarantee fundamental human rights to life and human dignity respectively, have also been argued to be linked to the need for a healthy and safe environment to give effect to these rights. Several regulations/enactments exist in Nigeria that give effect to these constitutional provisions in relation to land and resource use. For instance, the Nigerian Urban and Regional Planning Act (CAP N138, LFN 2004) is aimed at overseeing a realistic, purposeful planning of the country to avoid overcrowding and poor environmental conditions. In this regard, the following sections become instructive: • Section 30 (3) requires a building plan to be drawn by a registered architect or town planner.

• Section 39 (7) establishes that an application for land development would be rejected if such development would harm the environment or constitute a nuisance to the community. • Section 59 makes it an offence to disobey a stop-work order. The punishment under this section, is a fine not exceeding N10, 0001 (Ten thousand naira) and in the case of a company, a fine not exceeding N50, 000. • Section 72 provides for the preservation and planting of trees for environmental conservation. The endangered species Act (CAP E9, LFN 2004) focuses on the protection and management of Nigeria’s wildlife and some of their species in danger of extinction as a result of overexploitation. The noteworthy sections are: • Section 1 prohibits, except under a valid license, the hunting, capture or trade in animal species, either presently or likely to be in danger of extinction. • Section 5 defines the liability of any offender under this Act. • Section 7 provides for regulations to be made necessary for environmental prevention and control as regards the purposes of this Act. Also, the Sea Fisheries Act (Cap S4, LFN 2004) makes it illegal to take or harm fishes within Nigerian waters by use of explosives, poisonous or noxious substances. Relevant sections include the following: • Section 1 prohibits any unlicensed operation of motor fishing boats within Nigerian waters. • Section 10 makes destruction of fishes punishable with a fine of N50,000 or an imprisonment term of 2 years. • Section 14 (2) provides authority to make for the protection and conservation of sea fishes. Inland fishing is regulated by the Inland Fisheries Act, Cap I10, LFN 2004, which focuses on the protection of the aquatic habitat and its species, with the relevant sections being: • Section 1, which prohibits unlicensed operations of motor fishing boats within the inland waters of Nigeria; and • Section 6, which prohibits the taking or destruction of fish by harmful means. This offence is punishable with a fine of N3, 000 or an imprisonment term of 2 years or both. The Agriculture Act and its Plant (Control of Importation) Act (Cap A93, LFN 2004) are concerned with the control of the spread of plant diseases and pests. Worth noting is Section 6 which allows authorized officers to take emergency control measures, and provides for the recovery of costs and expenses incurred by the officers in controlling the situation.

Forest management institutions and their settings in the forest sector The three main forest management institutions in the area are government institutions, community or traditional and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). These institutions play important roles related to sustainable utilization and management of forest resources.

1 US$1.00 = N162.52 as at 04 September 2014.

Forestry workers (State Government Agents) have the mandate to enforce forestry legislations and monitor the sustainable harvesting of forest resources. Accordingly, the government grants permits to timber extraction companies with the intention of controlling excessive exploitation. While States proffer policy statements that are slightly different from the National Forest Policy, they conform to the concept of sustained yield and maximization of socio-economic benefits. Government continues to retain absolute decision-making power, including the power to decide and approve forest management plans and determine the species to be harvested, as well as how much has not been achieved. In addition, Government decides the price of species harvested, markets for products and how benefits are shared. There are no legal provisions that protect the traditional rights of indigenous people in spite of their involvement in ensuring sustainable forest resources use and management. However, in Ondo State, various forest management initiatives are recognized, including Government, Non-governmental Organizations and indigenous people practices. Experience has shown that their levels of commitment and achievements are not known. This explains why government institutions are still believed to have done much, in spite of the significant performance of Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) and indigenous people in forest resources management. The recognized Government institutions in the area are as described below. Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN) Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN) was established as Federal Department of Forestry Research in 1954. The Institute’s Decree 35 of 1973 and other establishing Research Institute of 1977 changed the status of the Department to an institute being supervised by the Federal Ministry of Environment. Its mandates is to conduct research into all aspects of Forestry, Wildlife Management, Agroforestry and Forest Products Utilization. Furthermore, through its Colleges it has the mandate to train technical and sub-technical personnel for the forestry services and other agro-allied services in the country. The mandates of the Institute cover the entire country, being the only such organization so mandated. To realize its mandates, FRIN has four large specialized research departments with each having various specialized sections, and three support staff departments, six outstations and four HND/OND awarding Colleges.

State Forestry Forestry workers (State government agents) have the mandate to enforce forestry legislations and monitor the sustainable harvesting of forest products. Individual states profess policy statements that are slightly different from the National Forest Policy; nonetheless they all subscribe to the concept of sustained yield and maximization of socio-economic benefits. Government continues to retain absolute decision making power, including the power to decide and approve forest management plans and determine the species to be harvested, as well as how much has not been achieved. In addition, Government decides the price of species harvested, marketing of products and how benefits are shared. There are no legal provisions that protect the traditional rights of indigenous people in spite of their involvement in ensuring sustainable forest resources use and management. In addition, government gives permits to timber extraction companies with the intention of controlling excessive exploitation. The poaching of wildlife animals under preservation attracts a penalty of imprisonment when convicted by a court of law, or a fine determined by the judge in accordance with the provisions of forest law.

Land tenure Traditional land tenure throughout Nigeria was based on customary laws under which land was considered community property. An individual had usufructuary rights to the land he farmed in his lineage or community area. He could possess the land as long as he used it to his family's or society's benefit, and could pass the land on to heirs and pledge its use to satisfy a debt, but could not sell or mortgage it. The right of disposal belonged only to the community, which, acting through traditional authorities, exercised this right in accordance with customary law. Three major categories of land tenure (each with its distinct tenurial practices) operate in the communities at Akure Forest Reserve. They are self, lease and government owned lands. In response to a potential crisis in land distribution, the Federal Military Government promulgated the Land Use Decree of March 1978, establishing a uniform tenure system for all of Nigeria. Subsequently incorporated in the Constitution of 1979, the decree effectively nationalized all land by requiring certificates of occupancy from the government for land held under customary and statutory rights and the payment of rent to the government. However, the decree stipulated that anyone in a rural or urban area who normally occupied land and developed it would continue to enjoy the right of occupancy, and could sell or transfer his interest in the development of the land. The Land Use Act (LUA, 1979) law to unify tenure system all over the country states that: “...all land comprised in the territory of each State in the Federation are hereby vested in the Governor of that State and such land shall be held in trust and administered for the use and common benefit of all Nigerians...(part 1:1)”. With these clauses, the Act puts all lands in the custody of the State. According to the government, this was necessary to make the delivery of development quicker. The LUA, therefore, gives state governors powers to grant statutory rights of occupancy of fixed periods in urban areas. It gives municipal chairpersons (mayors) powers to grant customary right of occupancy on land in the rural areas. Based on the operational principles of the LUA, land tenure is nationalised in Nigeria. The main purpose of the 1978 decree was to open land to development by individuals, corporations, institutions, and governments. The decree gave State and local governments authority to take over and assign any undeveloped land. Occupancy or possession of undeveloped land by individuals was restricted. To prevent fragmentation, the statutory right of occupancy could be passed on only to one person or heir.

2.4.6 Status of forest landscape degradation: Problem analysis The key problems identified in the Aponmu and Owena communities were acute shortage of land for farming, perceived lack of stake in terms of benefits from the forest, inadequate development in the area, and lack of community empowerment to challenge illegal fellers in the area. In addition to these, the following factors were identified as the causes of landscape degradation in Akure in the Ondo State of Nigeria: . Poverty; . Illegal logging; . Unemployment; . Lack of awareness and education; . Population growth; . Elimination of chiefs from forest decision-making process and no incentives to farmers; . Development of settlements/settlement (land use change);

. Ineffective activities of forest guards (monitoring, supervision, corruption); . Instability of Government policy; . Hunting, bush burning, fire cooking, farming, NTFP collection; . Lack of policy enforcement and discipline.

2.4.7 Developing solutions: Proposed strategies to solve the problems The consultation processes adopted in developing strategies for solving the problems related to deforestation and forest degradation in Ondo State resulted in consensus on participatory forest management as the main strategy. The corresponding activities identified for effecting this strategy are: Strategy Activities 1. Awareness is critical and must be pursued vigorously through the media, policy briefs, etc. 2. Allocation of land to committed farmers for agroforestry and participation in REDDES activities. 3. Communal forestry should be practiced. Tree planting campaign /boundary trees and enrichment planting programmes should be encouraged. Participatory forest 4. Farming inputs, e.g., fertilizers, etc., should be supplied to the management. farmers along with tree seedlings. 5. Youth empowerment should be taken seriously by the government and not lip service only. 6. The community and traditional rulers should be empowered to guard and protect the forest. 7. Provision of social and infrastructural amenities. 8. Formation of a forest forum through the local leaders with focus on the development of the area and reporting illegal tree fellers.

At the community level, it was recognised that the following would be critical in the implementation of the activities: (i) discipline; (ii) cooperation with government policy; (iii) tree plantations by individuals; (iv) reporting illegal tree fellers; (v) banning the setting of fires in the forest; (vi) discouraging people from participating in deforestation. At the level of government successful implementation of the activities would depend on (i) awareness creation; (ii) provision of tree seedlings for planting; (iii) employment creation; (iv) punishing trespassers; (v) ensuring equitable sharing of benefits from forest produce by giving the community 50% share of the forest produce; (vi) employing more forest guards; (vii) providing fertilizers to farmers to boost their produce; and (viii) fulfilling promise of development.

CHAPTER THREE GENERAL CONCLUSIONS, LESSONS LEARNT AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICY MAKERS On the whole, the implementation of this project was very successful, given that it involved coordination of activities in four countries with diverse internal limitations. Notwithstanding the challenges associated with the coordination of a project of this nature with limited physical meetings between implementing institutions and scientists, the expected outputs were achieved successfully within the limits of time and resources available. The following lessons were learnt from project design and implementation: • From a perspective of a global network such as IUFRO, the involvement of local research institutions (IUFRO members) and a regional coordinator allowed adequate design and steering of the project. The regional inception meeting to plan the work and adopt a uniform but flexible approach to meet the exigencies of locality-specific peculiarities in each pilot area was very effective for successful implementation. • With regard to local stakeholder engagement, the project should have had more resources and time to organise additional working sessions, workshops and joint field visits, in order to better promote REDDES strategies into local land planning and management. • Joint learning processes with local stakeholders should be supported by experimental field plots, demonstration areas and or test sites for novel approaches to land management. These additional components require adequate additional funding to be included in the project budget. Such demonstrational aspects in pilot sites augur well for practical acceptance of the strategies developed, and could facilitate scaling up of REDDES activities beyond the pilot areas. • Future projects of this kind would need at least a three-year period of implementation. Alternatively, an initial two year period should be subject to extension for another two years. This will lead to higher impact of project results both at the decision-making levels of government, as well as field-level testing and piloting. From the perspective of operational aspects of project implementation the lessons learnt are these: • The REDDES expert groups consisted mainly of scientists from research institutions. However, a thorough analysis of the complex problems of forest degradation would require a more interdisciplinary group of experts from various specialised institutions including universities, NGOs, relevant district level implementation agencies and other interest groups. • Close cooperation between the coordinators at the global, regional and country levels worked very well. However, more opportunities for face-to-face meetings, at least once a year, would be beneficial for information flow among project partners, discussions on urgent project amendments and overall project steering. • The flow of funds between ITTO and IUFRO, as well as between IUFRO and the country partner institutions went well. ITTO provided the funds as planned; likewise IUFRO mobilized additional resources to supplement the budget as agreed in the project document.

All in all, the conclusions are summarized as follows: • Identification: Addressing issues related to Deforestation and Forest Degradation and Enhancing Environmental Services from Forests (REDDES) is particularly relevant in the four West African countries that participated in the project. • Design: The approach adopted for the project, namely working with local forest research institutions which bring on board long-term experience in addressing land management issues in the pilot sites, turned out to be an excellent way of mobilising available scientific information and bringing these insights to the attention of local stakeholders. However, the initial project period of two years has proven to be too short to sufficiently disseminate the information effectively to relevant stakeholders. • Implementation: Mobilising available scientific information has been successful, though the composition of the expert team could have been broader in terms of scientific specialisation and affiliation. In effect, there was insufficient time to arrange for wider local inter-agency cooperation. Te dissemination component of the project suffered from the short duration of the project and inadequate funds. Additional face-to-face meetings with stakeholders would have helped in better integrating REDDES information into local decision-making processes. • Organisation and Management: The decentralised nature of the project organisation proved to be successful. Each national project partner (national research institution) independently organised the work in their respective pilot site. IUFRO and FORNESSA, as global and regional partners, facilitated the work in terms of coordination, financial management and reporting. The important outputs from this project are the REDDES strategies developed across pilot sites. For these to be impactful it s recommended that these be implemented on a demonstrational scale to allow replication and scaling up. Since relevant government agencies were involved in the entire processes it is expected that the strategies would be integrated into district level climate change mitigation activities. If this is done, then scaling up would be facilitated. As an effective precursor action, however, it is recommended that additional support should be provided for the project to be carried into a second phase for demonstration of selected priority REDDES activities in each pilot site to facilitate replication and effective up-scaling.

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