THE ROLE OF COMMUNITY INSTITUTIONS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF NON-TIMBER FOREST PRODUCTS IN THE BIPINDI-AKOM II REGION OF SOUTH CAMEROON internal report (not for citation without prior consent of the publisher) Ntenwu Te rence Noah Mugwachu September, 2000 i DEDICATION This report is dedicated to my spiritual father Mr. Awemo Cornelius (RIP). He inspired me most. “We are dust and on to dust we shall return”. “God gave, God has taken back, Blessed be the name of the Lord”. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The present report is the result of a study on exploitation and management of a selected set of six Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) in the tropical rain forest of South Cameroon. It was part of the research project “The role of community institutions in the management of NTFPs in Cameroon” and carried out within the framework of the Central African Regional Program for the Environment (CARPE) with support of the Biodiversity Support program (BSP), a consortium of World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy and World Resources Institute, with funding of the United State Agency for International Development (USAID). The project was implemented by the Tropenbos Foundation with logistical assistance of the Tropenbos Cameroon Programme (TCP) in collaboration with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the ECOFAC project. None of the above mentioned organizations bear responsibility for the research findings, which are the authors’ own. Before presenting this report, I would first like to express my profound gratitude to those who have contributed in one way or the other towards its realisation. It is also to this people that this work is dedicated. I am very grateful for the constant encouragement given by my field supervisors Drs. Jolanda van den Berg and Ir. Han van Dijk, my fellow researchers in the different research sites of the study; Mr. Guy Patrice Dkamela, and Miss. Yvette Ebene for their collaboration. Thanks also to Mrs. Nguedje Nicole for her unceasing collaboration especially during the workshops. Also, sincere thanks to my field assistants Mr. Caesar Mbetti, Mr. Mba Manivel Michel, and Miss Ndo’o Natalie Rose Beko’o. Special thanks also go to Ir. Dick Legger, Drs. Tineke de Boer, Mrs. Ankie Lamberts, Ir. Kris van Koppen, Prof. Franz Von Benda Beckman, Prof. Pieter Schmidt, Mr. Johan Verhoef, and Mrs. Lida Menckman for their administrative and academic assistance. Without the financial support of CARPE, the managerial support of the staff of Tropenbos Cameroon program of the Tropenbos Foundation, the Department of Agrarian Law of the Wageningen University and Research Centre, this study would not have been conducted. I equally extend my gratitude to my guardians; , Mr. & Mrs Bujung, Dr. and Mrs. Funwi Ayuninjam Mr. Anthony A. Ayuninjam, Dr. and Mrs. Abety A. Peter, Mr. Abety Linus, Hon. Mr & Mrs Nji, Mr. And Mrs. Afungchwi, Mrs. Fru Agnes and Mrs. Asangna Rita. Also, thanks to the Mugwachu’s, Ayuninjam’s, Ndofor’s, Bekeny’s, Gwandi’s, Tamambang’s, Tangwa’s, Awemu’s, Anuafors, Amungwa’s, Folengs’s, Asanga’s Nji’s, and Asangna’s. Mr. Martin Chungong , , Rev. Fr. Nkong David Formanka, Mr. & Mrs. Afungchwi, Mr. & Mrs. Tankoh, for their untiring effort in putting me through in my academic struggle. My profound gratitude to Mr. And Mrs. Ngalla (for their moral and academic inspiratio n during my study and stay in the Nehterlands), Humphrey Mbelli, Mbi Theophilus Akoh, Mugwachu Marie, Mugwachu Mabel, Mugwachu Consolata, Mr. Bujung Christopher, Mr. Ndi Romanus Neba, and Miss Gillian Ndi for her last minute support. Also, special thanks to all my brothers, sisters, and friends (whose names I actually remember but due to official limitations an exhaustive list cannot be established), for their ever friendly collaboration. Finally, I thank all past researchers of this study site. Without their works, it would have been quite difficult for me to get an insight. Thanks be to God. iii ABBREVIATIONS CARPE Central African Regional Program for the Environment CGIAR Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research CIFOR Centre for International Forestry Research DGIS The Dutch Directorate-General for International Co-operation FAO Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations HFEC The Humid Forest Eco-regional Centre IAC International Agricultural Centre IDRC International Development Research Centre I I T A International Institute for Tropical Agriculture ITTO International Timber Trade Organisation IUCN International Union for the Conservation of Nature KNP Korup National Park NTFP Non-Timber Forest Products MINEF Ministry of Forests and the Environment (Cameroon) ONADEF National Bureau for the Development of Forests (Cameroon). SIDA Swedish International Development Authority TCP Tropenbos Cameroon Programme TFRIS Tropical Forestry Projects Information System UNEP United Nations Environmental Program UNDP United Nations Development Program. USAID United States Agency for International Development WUR Wageningen University and Research Centre WWF World Wide Fund for Nature iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION .....................................................................................................................................II ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ................................................................................................................III ABBREVIATIONS............................................................................................................................ IV TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................................................V LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................................. VI LIST OF FIGURES........................................................................................................................... VI 1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Background of the study.................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Aim of the study................................................................................................................ 1 1.3 Research questions ........................................................................................................... 2 1.4 Conceptual clarification................................................................................................... 2 1.5 Methodology..................................................................................................................... 3 1.5.1 Selection of research site...............................................................................................................................................3 1.5.2 Selection of research villages and respondents (including sampling and ranking exercise)..............................3 1.5.3 Set of selected NTFPs ....................................................................................................................................................4 1.5.4 Working plan...................................................................................................................................................................4 1.5.5 Methods of data collection ............................................................................................................................................4 1.5.6 Problems encountered....................................................................................................................................................5 2. SITE AND VILLAGE CHARACTERISATION.......................................................... 7 2.1 Research site .................................................................................................................... 7 2.1.1 Location ............................................................................................................................................................................7 2.1.2 The physical Environment .............................................................................................................................................7 2.1.3 The human environment ................................................................................................................................................9 2.1.4 Land use.......................................................................................................................................................................... 10 2.2 Village Characterisation................................................................................................ 10 2.2.1 Location of the research villages ................................................................................................................................ 11 2.2.2 Accessibility................................................................................................................................................................... 13 2.2.3 Demography - In and out migration........................................................................................................................... 14 2.2.4 Local economy ............................................................................................................................................................. 15 2.2.5