INTERNATIONAL TROPICAL TIMBER ORGANIZATION ITTO PRE-PROJECT PROPOSAL TITLE IDENTIFICATION OF A REHABILITATION AND MANAGEMENT PROJECT FOR THE DEGRADED SECONDARY FORESTS OF THE MVILA DEPARTMENT INCAMEROON SERIAL NUMBER PPD 92/04 Rev.1 (F) COMMITTEE REFORESTATION AND FOREST MANAGEMENT SUBMITTED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF CAMEROON ORIGINAL LANGUAGE FRENCH SUMMARY The specific objective of this pre-project is to develop a project proposal to be submitted to ITTO in order to provide support to SFM processes in the Mvila secondary forests and promote Clean Development Mechanisms. The future project will contribute the rehabilitation and sustainable management of the secondary forests of Mvila Department by restoring their ecological and socio­ economic functions through a Clean Development Mechanism strategy to benefit the surrounding local communities and secure environmental protection. The outputs of this Pre-project will be as follows: (1) Available information is compiled and the analysis of additional information needs required to develop a CDM Project is complete; (2) Future project stakeholders have been identified and made aware of the priority actions to be planned for the future project; (3) A project document to implement the action plan developed and submitted to ITTO for funding. EXECUTING AGENCY The Fritz Jakob Foundation (FONJAK) COOPERATING MINEFIDCP GOVERNMENTS DURATION: 6 MONTHS APPROXIMATE TO BE DETERMINED STARTING DATE BUDGET AND PROPOSED: Contribution Equivalent SOURCES OF FUNDING in US$ in Local Currency ITTO: 61,452 Cameroon (FONJAK) 15,000 TOTAL: 76,452 1 j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j CONTENTS PART I : CONTEXT 2 1. ORIGIN 2 2. SECTORIAL POLICIES 2 PART 11 : THE PRE-PROJECT 5 1. OBJECTIVES OF THE PRE-PROJEGT. ... , .... 5 1.1 Development Objective 1.2 Specific Objective 5 5 2. JUSTIFICATION 5 2.2 Reasons for a pre-project 5 2.3 Targeted beneficiaries 5 2.4 Other relevant aspects 5 3. OUTPUTS 6 4. ACTIVITIES AND INPUTS 7 5. WORK PLAN 10 6. BUDGET 11 6.1 Overall pre-project budget byactiviti~{$US) 11 6.2 Pre-project budget by sources: ITIO($US) 13 6.3 Pre-project budget by sources: National Counterpart Budget 15 PART III : TROPICAL TIMBER FRAMEWORK 16 1. Compliance with the objectives of ITTA, 1994 2. Compliance with ITIO Action Plan . 16 16 ANNEXES. ANNEX 1: EXECUTING AGENCYPROFILE 19 ANNEX 2 : TERMS OF REFERENCES 21 ANNEX 3: CVs OF KEY EXECUTING AGENCY STAFF 22 ANNEX 4: TERMS OF REFERENCE OF THE CONSULTANTS 43 ANNEX 5: MAP 44 ABBREVIATIONS CDM Clean Development Mechanisms FONJAK Fritz Jakob Foundation GDP Gross Domestic Product IRAD Institut de recherche agronomique pour le developpement (Agronomic Research Institute for Development) ITTA International Tropical Timber Agreement IITO International Tropical Timber Organization MINAGRI Ministry of Agriculture (Government of Cameroon) MINUH Ministry of Town-Planning and Habitat MINEF Ministry of Environment and Forests (Government of Cameroon) m.m Man-month NGO Non Governmental Organization PNVRA Programme national de vulgarisation et de recherche agricole (National Programme for Agricultural Extension and Research) PSFE Programme sectoriel Foret Environnement (under MINEF) [Sectorial Programme for Forests and Environment] UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change PART I : CONTEXT 1. Origin of the pre-project This pre-project stems from activities conducted by the NGO Fritz Jakob Foundation (FONJAK) based in Ngoulemakong in the Mvila Department, Southern Province, Cameroon. FONJAK undertook a review of the problematic situation caused by the natural forest areas progressively receding under the combined pressure of human activities, including the overexploitation of forest areas and extensive slash-and-burn and associated agricultural practices. From this point of view, FONJAK has endeavoured to support the improvement of agricultural production systems and the processing and marketing of agricultural produces in order to reduce these pressures. However, the impacts of these interventions have remained limited and the need to plan activities to rehabilitate secondary forests appears increasingly pressing. The review of options to preserve the forest ecosystem through sustainable forest management activities with community involvement has led FONJAK to focus on the Mvila Forest potentials for the implementation of a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project. However, the development of a CD M-oriented project requires baseline information data relating to physical, ecological, socio-economic, cultural and institutional aspects that are presently non-existent. In particular, there is a lack of knowledge on the Mvila secondary forest with regard to its current status, ecosystem, socio­ economic potentials, and the constraints on SFM. This pre-project has been developed in order to bridge this knowledge gap. The Mvila Department covers 11,625 km 2 and contains 158,000 inhabitants. It is located in 2 the Southern Province which covers 47,190 km • The Department is subdivided into five districts: Mvila, Biwong Bane, Ebolowa, Mengong, Mvangane and Ngoulemakong. Its population density is 13.5 inhabitants per square-kilometre. The Ebolowa district is the most populated with 78,241 inhabitants. 2. Sectorial pOlicies The activities of the Cameroonese forest sector are guided by the national forest policy framework, adopted by the Government in November 1995. This policy is consistent with the national land-use plan which defines the Permanent Forest Estate, including State forests and community forests. State forests are classified into various categories according to their main functions - parks, wildlife reserves, timber production, etc .. The national forest policy aims to achieve the sustainability of economic, ecological and social functions of forests under an integrated and participatory framework in order to secure sustainable use of natural resources and ecosystem conservation. It focuses on the five following main thrusts: 1. To ensure the protection of the Permanent Forest Estate and contribute to environmental protection and biodiversity conservation objectives. 2. To increase the participation of communities in the conservation and management of forest resources so that the latter could contribute to improve community livelihoods. 3. Forest resources should contribute to GDP enhancement while retaining their production potentials. 4. To ensure the renewal and maintenance of forest potentials through regeneration and reforestation activities. 5 5. To stimulate the forest sector through the establishment of an efficient institutional system to allow for community participation in forest and environmental resource management actions. The project to be developed as a result of this pre-project will be consistent with the afore­ mentioned five focuses of Cameroon forest policy: It will i) contribute to the improvement and protection of forest resources; ii) establish participatory management over a portion of these resources; and iii) allow the establishment of a type of management that would improve economic development in the targeted area. 6 PART 11 - THE PRE-PROJECT 1. Objectives of the Pre-Project 1.1 Development Objective The objective of the Pre-project is to contribute to the rehabilitation and sustainable management of the secondary forests of the Mvila Department by restoring their ecological and socio-economic functions through a Clean Development Mechanism strategy to provide benefits to the surrounding communities and secure environmental protection. 1.2 Specific Objective To develop a project proposal to be submitted to ITIO in support of the sustainable management of secondary Mvila forests and for the promotion of CDM. 2. Justification 2.1 Problem to address The Mvila forests, after having been subjected to past logging activities - both intensive and unregulated and not followed by any forest management activities - are now under multiple pressures from surrounding communities and timber loggers, and their degradation is becoming increasingly severe. In their current state, they can no longer fulfil their ecological and socio-economic functions. The main factors responsible for this situation are as follows (see Fig 1):- • Agricultural production systems based on slash-and-burn practices that are not adapted to the present population context, and can protect neither soils nor forests. • The increasing poverty and vulnerability of communities surrounding the Mvila forests lead to the further deforestation and degradation of residual forests. • The lack of sustainable management plans for the natural resources of Mvila forests. Thus the FONJAK contribution will initially be geared towards improving the biodiversity status of Mvi/a forests. The goal will be to ensure the conservation of remaining species still occurring in the area, and to reintroduce those most severely threatened species. FONJAK's action will focus on combatting poverty and promoting the well-being of the local communities through a community-based participatory approach. Thus, the Project will provide support to the target communities through the development and conduct of income-generating activities in compliance with CDM standards and requirements. A present, one major hurdle to finding solutions to the Mvila forest degradation problem is the lack of baseline data that could help develop an integrated action plan. Knowledge levels on local wildlife resources are inadequate.