SUMMARY: Decentralization of forest management has become a common policy globally which has allowed communities to regain rights removed through colonization and central state management of forests. However, socioeconomic and environmental outcomes of such community-based forest management schemes have been mixed. Studies have shown the importance of institutions in influencing the success of these new governance arrangements. Based on an extensive literature review supplemented by qualitative research, using focus groups and semi-structured interviews, conducted in nine villages in the humid forest zone comprising three community forests, this research investigated the successes and challenges from decentralization of forest management in Cameroon. A key constraint on success was the inappropriate institutional structure at the local level with responsibility to manage community forests. Community forest management committees with no internally recognized legitimacy and dominated by local elites had replaced roles once played by traditional authorities. Qualitative research showed that in the humid forest zone of Cameroon, the system of accountability for forest resources, prior to the enactment of community forest legislation, included those with historical traditional cultural authority, in the form of clan or lineage heads, as well as the village chief, a legacy of colonial power. Village chiefs or other members of the village council are also selected on the basis of their good moral character. Community forest management committees that are a hybrid of customary authorities and other representatives of the population chosen following the criteria for local legitimacy may capture the best of historical social regulation and build on it so that the local committee may be seen as being accountable to the local population. Since such hybrid institutions are not without their risks, it is important that these institutions be accountable to a local democratic government to further increase their transparency and accountability. Models of community-based natural resource management that incorporate culturally appropriate requirements of legitimacy and accountability in crafting local institutions may have more success in accomplishing both socioeconomic and environmental goals.

Brown, H. C. P., and D. J. Sonwa. 2015. Rural local institutions and climate change adaptation in forest communities in Cameroon. Ecology and Society 20(2): 6.http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-07327-200206

Forming 16 percent of the global population and growing, the large numbers of youth particularly in the developing world presents both a challenge and an opportunity. Although better educated than their parents, young men and women are chronically unemployed or in vulnerable work positions. While the majority of young people live in rural areas, these issues have sometimes resulted in large scale migration from rural to urban areas. In forested areas, those who remain are often highly dependent on forests for goods and services for their livelihood. Community forestry has been shown to be an effective strategy for sustainable forest management and livelihoods. Unfortunately, youth have often been marginalized in benefiting from or participating in decision-making about community forests. This is frequently attributed to local, cultural, and traditional norms that give priority to older generations in decision-making. Given their stake in sustainable forest management in a post-pandemic world, as well as their large numbers, it is important to utilize new approaches to bring young men and women together with older generations to address challenges and foster opportunities. This will then capitalize on the knowledge, energy, enthusiasm, innovative ideas, leadership ability, technological literacy, and resilience that youth can contribute to community forest management and rural communities.

The Central African Republic (CAR) faces increased vulnerability to climate change because it is a low-income country with low adaptive capacity; a situation that is exacerbated by recent civil conflict. This research analysed the perceptions of decision-makers within, and the response of diverse national, regional and international institutions to the complex challenges of climate change. Results indicate that while awareness of climate change is high, a concrete response is only in the beginning stages. There was a widespread recognition that the poor who depend on subsistence agriculture, and who constitute the majority of the population, would be most affected. Although CAR has low adaptive capacity, networking and connectivity among different institutions increased through the development of its National Adaptation Programme of Action and the REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) documents. In order to mitigate climate change and adapt agriculture and natural resource management to long-term trends in climate variability, such linkages need to be strengthened to build capacity within government institutions, within local communities and within non-governmental organizations that work with those communities. Building adaptive capacity to climate change can also contribute to the process of reconstruction, reconciliation and peace building in the country.

Soil chemical properties can be improved by incorporating crop residues in soil and letting it decompose. This study explored the use of incorporating residues of cover crops for improvements in soil chemical properties including soil organic matter (SOM), soil pH, and the selected soil macro- and micronutrients in greenhouse and field trials. Factors of interest included (i) cover crops and their combinations and (ii) methods of crop termination and incorporation in soil (disc, mow + disc, glyphosate, roller crimper). The greenhouse trial showed up to a 20% higher amount of SOM accumulated in soils incorporated with crop residues. Buckwheat (3.12%) and phacelia (3.12%) produced significantly different and larger SOM than that of the control treatment that received no crop residues (p ≤ 0.05). The soil pH of the brown mustard treatment was also significantly affected by the experimental treatments (p ≤ 0.05). The incorporation of crop residues did not affect soil phosphorous (P) or potassium (K) concentrations, except for brown mustard, with significantly higher values of P and K than the control treatment. Calcium (Ca) was significantly higher in the soil of phacelia + pea treatment (p ≤ 0.05). Buckwheat + pea produced a higher concentration of Ca (1028 mg/kg) followed by buckwheat alone (1006 mg/kg). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) calculated on the results of the field trial showed that the mix treatment that had a mixture of four cover crops significantly increased the SOM content. Buckwheat produced the highest (2.95%) SOM, then brown mustard and timothy. This study concludes that, irrespective of the tillage incorporation methods, the residues from cover crops are a potential source of improvement in soil health, and this practice may promote sustainable agriculture in conditions similar to those in this study.