Comparative assessment of forest revenue redistribution mechanisms in Cameroon: Lessons for REDD+ benefit sharing

Samuel Assembe-Mvondo · Grace Wong · Lasse Loft · Januarti Sinarra Tjajadi

Oct 2015 · CIFOR

About this ebook

 Cameroon has long established legal mechanisms for the redistribution of forest and wildlife revenues from economic operations in logging and wildlife extraction to forest communities. This paper draws on a legal review and field data to assess the distribution of these revenues, with an emphasis on the socio-distributional aspects, to draw lessons for the future design and implementation of REDD+ benefit sharing in the country. Central to our analysis are four benefit sharing mechanisms – Annual Forest Fees, Council Forest Revenues, Wildlife Royalties, and Community Forest Revenues – created by the Cameroon government for supporting poverty reduction and local development in the communities living near and around forests. This study focuses on the implementation and outcomes of these mechanisms in four council areas, and assessed them using a 3E (effectiveness, efficiency and equity) lens.