Community forestry timber destined for export to the EU could become a serious threat to FLEGT due to a lack of operational standards for timber exploitation in community forests, and limited independent control of logging inventories, exploitation certificates and waybills.
The basic idea of community forestry in Cameroon is to grant small-scale logging rights to forest-adjacent communities in order to improve the livelihoods of local people. The main principle is to keep it simple: applying for, implementing and documenting forestry activities should be feasible and practical for communities. This simplicity, however, has started to compromise community forestry in Cameroon. This policy brief gives an overview of the community forestry situation in Cameroon and advises how regulations and procedures for community forestry could be reformed in order to develop and increase transparency in the timber sector.