WORLD BANK OPERATIONS EVALUATION DEPARTMENT Public Disclosure Authorized CCaammeerroooonn FFoorreesstt SSeecctotorr DDeevveeloloppmmeenntt iinn aa DDififfificcuultlt PPoolilititiccaall EEccoonnoommyy Public Disclosure Authorized EvaluationEvaluation CountryCountry CaseCase StudyStudy SeriesSeries Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized WORLD BANK OPERATIONS EVALUATION DEPARTMENT Cameroon Forest Sector Development in a Difficult Political Economy Evaluation Country Case Study Series B. Essama-Nssah James J. Gockowski 2000 The World Bank www.worldbank.org/html/oed Washington, D.C. Copyright © 2000 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/THE WORLD BANK 1818 H Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America The opinions expressed in this report do not necessarily represent the views of the World Bank or its member governments. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any consequence of their use. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this volume do not imply on the part of the World Bank Group any judgment on the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. The material in this publication is copyrighted. The World Bank encourages dissemination of its work and will normally grant permission promptly. Permission to photocopy items for internal or personal use, for the internal or personal use of specific clients, or for educational classroom use is granted by the World Bank, provided that the appropriate fee is paid directly to the Copyright Clear- ance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, U.S.A., telephone 978-750-8400, fax 978-730-4470. Please contact the Copyright Clearance Center before photocopying items. For per- mission to reprint individual articles or chapters, please fax your request with complete information to the Republication Department, Copyright Clearance Center, fax 978-750-4470. All other queries on rights and licenses should be addressed to the Office of the Publisher, World Bank, at the address above, or faxed to 202-522-2422. ISBN 0-8213-4760-8 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Essama-Nssah, B. (Boniface), 1949- Cameroon : forest sector development in a difficult political economy / Boniface Essama Nssah, James Gockowski. p. cm. -- (Operations evaluation study) Includes bibliographical references (p. ). ISBN 0-8213-4760-8 1. Forest management--Cameroon. 2. Forest policy--Cameroon. I. Gockowski, James Jerome. II. Title. III. World Bank operations evaluation study. SD352.C17 E88 2000 333.75’096711--dc21 00-032516 Printed on recycled paper. Table of Contents Foreword vii Acknowledgments xi Acronyms xv Summary xix PART I: THE FORESTS AND FOREST SECTOR IN CAMEROON 1. An Overview of the Forest Sector in Cameroon in the Context of the 1991 World Bank Strategy 1 The Nature of the Challenge 4 Deforestation and Degradation of Moist Tropical Forests in Cameroon 4 Causes of Deforestation and Degradation 6 Incentives 9 The Importance of Forests in the Economy of Cameroon 13 PART II: THE WORLD BANK AND CAMEROON 2. Impact of Bank Interventions on the Management of Forest Resources 19 Direct Bank Interventions in the Forest Sector 19 Interventions by the World Bank in the Agricultural Sector 35 Interventions in the Transport Sector 42 Overall Outcome Assessment 45 iii Cameroon: Forest Sector Development in a Difficult Political Economy 3. Toward a More Effective World Bank Strategy in Cameroon 57 Annexes 65 A. The 1991 Forest Strategy 65 B. Biodiversity Resources in the Forests of Cameroon 67 C. Estimates of Forest Cover and Deforestation 74 D. The Yaoundé Environmental Summit of Central African Countries 78 E. IITA Forest Margins Ecoregional Approach 81 F. ASB Evaluation of Land Use Systems in the Humid Forest Margins Benchmark of Southern Cameroon 86 G. The Political Economy of Agricultural Liberalization 95 H. Shift in World Bank Strategy in Cameroon 100 Endnotes 105 Bibliography 111 iv Contents Boxes Box 1.1. Bank Forest Strategy: The 1991 Forest Paper and the 1993 Operational Policy Directive 2 Box 1.2. The Operations Evaluation Department Review of the 1991 Forest Strategy and Its Implementation 3 Box 1.3. The Bushmeat Trade in Cameroon 8 Box 2.1. A Simple Framework for Assessing the Treatment of Forest Sector Issues in a CAS 31 Box 2.2. Incredible Conditionality and Government Commitment 51 Tables Table 1.1. Percentage of Population Using Fuelwood and Charcoal as Principal Cooking Fuel in 1987 9 Table 1.2. Population Across Agro-Ecological Zones in Cameroon, 1987 10 Table 1.3. Evolution in Ownership Patterns in the Cameroon Forest Sector 15 Table 1.4. Wood Exports and Export Value Added in Wood Processing, 1996 16 Table 2.1. Main Forest Taxes in Cameroon 23 Table 2.2. Rating the 1994 CAS for Cameroon 32 Table 2.3. Summary Evaluation of the Implementation of the 1991 Forest Strategy in Cameroon, 1991–99 53 Figures Figure 1.1. Indices of Agricultural Terms of Trade 11 v Foreword This case study is one of six evaluations of the implementation of the World Bank’s 1991 Forest Strategy. This and the other cases (Brazil, China, Costa Rica, India, and Indonesia) complement a review of the entire set of lending and nonlending activities of the World Bank Group (IBRD, IDA, IFC, and MIGA) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) that are pertinent to the Bank Group’s implementation of the forest strategy. Together these constitute inputs into a World Bank Opera- tions Evaluation Department (OED) synthesis report entitled A Review of the World Bank’s 1991 Forest Strategy and Its Implementation. This forest strategy evaluation was carried out under the overall direction of Uma Lele. The purpose of each of the six country studies has been to under- stand the implementation of the 1991 Forest Strategy in Bank opera- tions and to obtain the views of the various stakeholders in the country about the involvement of the Bank. In doing so, the study team has not only examined the Bank’s forest program, but also endeavored to place the Bank’s activities in the broader context of what the country and other donors have been doing in the forest sector. Therefore, each coun- try study examined the overall development of the country’s forest sec- tor. While this naturally includes environmental impacts on forests, such as degradation, biodiversity loss, and deforestation, it also encompasses the economic uses of forests, including the management of forest re- sources for production, the role of forest development in poverty alle- viation, and the impacts of forest research and development. vii Cameroon: Forest Sector Development in a Difficult Political Economy The evaluation of the Bank’s performance in these studies, as always in OED studies, seeks to judge whether the Bank has “done the right things” and “done things right.” Here, OED also seeks to judge whether the Bank has lived up to the commitments made in its 1991 Forest Strat- egy. The case studies do this by examining how the Bank, using the various lending and nonlending instruments at its command, has inter- acted with the sector’s development processes, with other donors, and with the broader government objectives of economic growth, poverty alleviation, and environmental sustainability. Thus, the studies focus on policy in the post-1991 period, but they also recognize that the Bank does not operate in isolation from its historical interactions with a coun- try and its needs. These interactions include the Country Assistance Strategies or their predecessors, economic and sector work, as well as all investments in all sectors and all policy dialogue that is pertinent to the Bank’s actions and their outcomes in the forest sector. Together, these activities constitute the Bank’s implementation of its forest strategy in a country. The important questions these country studies address are as follows: • How have the forces of development effected change in the country’s forest sector? • Did the Bank’s 1991 Forest Strategy make a difference to its forest strategy in the country, or was this strategy largely a result of the Bank’s historical relationship with the country, the needs articu- lated by the government, or a combination of both? • Regardless of how the Bank’s forest sector strategy evolved, how consistent was it with the Bank’s 1991 Forest Strategy? • How consistent was the country’s own forest policy/strategy with the Bank’s 1991 Forest Strategy? • Was the Bank’s overall and forest sector strategy in the country relevant to the country’s needs in the forest sector, as identified by the country? • Were the Bank’s overall and forest sector activities effective from the viewpoint of the intentions of its 1991 Forest Strategy? • Were the Bank’s activities efficient? • Did the Bank’s activities achieve policy and institutional develop- ment pertinent to forest sector management? viii Foreword • Are the Bank’s impacts likely to be sustainable? • What impact has the Bank’s overall and forest sector strategy for the country had on forest cover and quality, poverty alleviation, and other key issues? What are the prospects for future Bank- country interactions in the forest sector, and for outcomes in the sector? Gregory Ingram Director Operations Evaluation Department The World Bank Director-General, Operations Evaluation Department: Mr. Robert Picciotto Director, Operations Evaluation Department: Mr. Gregory Ingram Task Manager: Ms. Uma Lele ix Acknowledgments OED’s A Review of the World Bank’s 1991 Forest Strategy and its Implementation, of which this study is a part, was conducted under the direction of Uma Lele. This report is a collaborative effort between B. Essama-Nssah of the Operations Evaluation Department (OED) of the World Bank and James J. Gockowski of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Cameroon (IITA-Cameroon).