Rural Community Agency in Cameroon: Interactions with Forest Policies and the REDD+ Climate Change Regime
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Analytical Framework
3. Study Areas
4. Methodology
5. Results
5.1. Patterns of Diversity and Integration
5.2. Agency-Based Factors
5.3. Modes of Collective Action
6. Discussion
6.1. Perspectives on Integration, Collective Agency, and Decision-Making
6.2. Characterizing the KNP Project and the REDD+ Program
6.3. Implications for REDD+ and Existential Threats of Conflicts
6.3.1. The Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification Frame of Obstacles to REDD+
6.3.2. The Commodification (Finance) Frame of Obstacles to REDD+
7. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Village | Population Size | Clan | Major Occupation | Settlement Classification |
---|---|---|---|---|
Fabe | 300 | Bima | Farming | Roadside |
Mosongiseli | 450 | Balondo-Badiko | Farming/fishing | Creek/roadside |
Site | Surveys | In-Depth Standardized Interviews | Participant Observation | Field Notes and Unstandardized Interviews |
---|---|---|---|---|
Fabe | 45 | 4 villagers | Korup project meeting | ✓ |
Mosongiseli | 36 | 3 villagers | Apostolic church service | ✓ |
Yaoundé | N/A | 4 NGO workers | N/A | N/A |
Organization 1 | Organization 2 |
The organization works as a facilitator for partnerships between smallholders and the agro-industry. Activities are mainly focused in the South and East regions but have had some recent involvement in the Southwest. | Technically not an NGO but a state development bank and bilateral donor. The organization is responsible for funding its technical branch and NGOs involved in community forestry, as well as conservation and development projects. |
Organization 3 | Organization 4 |
The organization works as a facilitator for partnerships between smallholders and the agro-industry. Activities are mainly focused in the South and East regions but have had some recent involvement in the Southwest. | A Cameroonian NGO working on a range of issues concerning forests of the Congo Basin. |
Characteristic | Category | Fabe | Mosongiseli | Sample Total | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
n | % | n | % | n | % | ||
Village | Fabe | 45 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 55.6 |
Mosongiseli | 0 | 0 | 36 | 100 | 36 | 44.4 | |
Gender | Women | 21 | 47.7 | 9 | 25.0 | 30 | 37.5 |
Men | 23 | 52.3 | 27 | 75.0 | 50 | 62.5 | |
Age group | 18–30 | 14 | 31.1 | 13 | 36.1 | 27 | 33.3 |
>30 | 31 | 68.9 | 23 | 63.9 | 54 | 66.7 | |
Origin | Indigene | 24 | 53.3 | 23 | 63.9 | 47 | 58.0 |
Strangers | 21 | 46.7 | 13 | 36.1 | 34 | 42.0 | |
Occupation | Farmer | 34 | 79.1 | 18 | 50.0 | 52 | 65.8 |
Non-farmer | 9 | 20.9 | 18 | 50.0 | 27 | 34.2 | |
Education | Below FSLC | 13 | 30.2 | 14 | 38.9 | 27 | 37.2 |
FSLC or above | 30 | 69.8 | 22 | 61.1 | 52 | 65.8 | |
Land tenure | No land | 6 | 13.3 | 6 | 16.7 | 12 | 14.8 |
Formal or customary | 39 | 86.7 | 30 | 83.3 | 69 | 85.2 | |
Location | Inner village | 39 | 88.6 | 29 | 85.3 | 68 | 87.2 |
Other quarter | 5 | 11.4 | 5 | 14.7 | 10 | 12.8 | |
Religion | Christian | 38 | 86.4 | 35 | 97.2 | 73 | 91.3 |
Non-Christian | 6 | 13.6 | 1 | 2.8 | 7 | 8.8 | |
Clan | Majority clan | 31 | 68.9 | 24 | 66.7 | 55 | 67.9 |
Minority clan | 14 | 31.1 | 12 | 33.3 | 26 | 32.1 |
Policy | Fabe | Mosongiseli |
---|---|---|
Forest conservation | Passive acceptance
| Active rejection
|
Industrial agriculture | Mixed: Passive acceptance followed by active rejection
| Mixed: Active rejection followed by passive acceptance
|
Community forestry | Passive acceptance
| Active acceptance
|
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Flanery, A.; Mbatu, R.; Johns, R.; Stewart, D. Rural Community Agency in Cameroon: Interactions with Forest Policies and the REDD+ Climate Change Regime. Forests 2022, 13, 617. https://doi.org/10.3390/f13040617
Flanery A, Mbatu R, Johns R, Stewart D. Rural Community Agency in Cameroon: Interactions with Forest Policies and the REDD+ Climate Change Regime. Forests. 2022; 13(4):617. https://doi.org/10.3390/f13040617
Chicago/Turabian StyleFlanery, Adam, Richard Mbatu, Rebecca Johns, and Dona Stewart. 2022. "Rural Community Agency in Cameroon: Interactions with Forest Policies and the REDD+ Climate Change Regime" Forests 13, no. 4: 617. https://doi.org/10.3390/f13040617
APA StyleFlanery, A., Mbatu, R., Johns, R., & Stewart, D. (2022). Rural Community Agency in Cameroon: Interactions with Forest Policies and the REDD+ Climate Change Regime. Forests, 13(4), 617. https://doi.org/10.3390/f13040617