Since 2000 and the implementation of China’s ‘going abroad’ policy, mainland Chinese state-owned and private companies have significantly increased their interests in the resources and investment opportunities of the Congo Basin, bringing new opportunities as well as potential social and environmental costs. This report is a synthesis of some main findings of preliminary scoping studies conducted by CIFOR and partners in Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon. It focuses on how Chinese trade and investment in the forestry, mining and agricultural sectors might relate to effects on forests and forest-dependent communities in the region. All studies were conducted under the CIFOR project ‘Chinese trade and investment in Africa: Assessing and governing trade-offs to national economies, local livelihoods and forest ecosystems’, initiated in 2010. The scoping studies yielded useful results, including an increased understanding of the main trends in natural resources trade between the target countries and China, and the major land-based productive sectors targeted by Chinese investors. The studies also considered the role of national agencies tasked with promoting investment and overseeing corporate adherence to environmental and social requirements, and provided a better understanding of the informal processes surrounding investment and acquisition of land and other resources.

DRC has committed to reduce its emissions effectively, efficiently, and equitably from deforestation and degradation (REDD+). The country experiences complex relationships between drivers, agents, and institutions of deforestation nationally. The REDD+ policy arena is influenced by both governmental and non-governmental actors whose number have increased in the policy arena over the years; however, weak coordination among these actors remains an issue. Since 2009, the DRC has announced several reforms relating to land tenure, land-use planning and agricultural policy, to create an institutional environment that motivates the implementation of REDD+ in the DRC. By 2019, none of these reforms had materialized, due to both political changes and a lack of finance, capacity, and political will. Between 2013 and 2019, little progress has been made on REDD+ in the DRC, as a result of conflicting interests among actors both at national and decentralized levels; information asymmetry; elite capture and corruption; and the pre- and post-election situation. To date, the effectiveness of REDD+ activities in the DRC remain unclear, due to the absence of rigorous impact assessment. However, efforts can be observed on the field where there is increased number of participants to forest policy process compared to REDD+ early years; and several ongoing projects are testing policy options within and across levels. If these efforts are sustained, they can contribute in putting in place conditions to achieve REDD+ objectives.

Many countries around the world are engaged in decentralization processes, and most African countries face serious problems with forest governance, from benefits sharing to illegality and sustainable forest management. This book summarizes experiences to date on the extent and nature of decentralization and its outcomes - most of which suggest an underperformance of governance reforms - and explores the viability of different governance instruments in the context of weak governance and expanding commercial pressures over forests. Findings are grouped into two thematic areas: decentralization, livelihoods and sustainable forest management; and international trade, finance and forest sector governance reforms. The authors examine diverse forces shaping the forest sector, including the theory and practice of decentralization, usurpation of authority, corruption and illegality, inequitable patterns of benefits capture and expansion of international trade in timber and carbon credits, and discuss related outcomes on livelihoods, forest condition and equity. The book builds on earlier volumes exploring different dimensions of decentralization and perspectives from other world regions, and distills dimensions of forest governance that are both unique to Africa and representative of broader global patterns. The authors ground their analysis in relevant theory while drawing out implications of their findings for policy and practice.

The African Convention on the conservation of nature and natural resources was adopted in 1968 in Algiers. Considered the most forward looking regional agreement of the time, it influenced significantly the development of environmental law in Africa. Two and a half decades of intense developments in international environmental law made it necessary to revise this treaty, update its provisions and enlarge its scope. This was undertaken under the auspices of the African Union (previously OAU), and the revision was adopted by its Heads of State and Government in July 2003 in Maputo. The introduction provides an overview of this new international treaty, as well as a commentary to each of its provisions.

This bilingual publication results from a four-day symposium aimed at capturing the general directions and analytical issues that characterize approaches to sustainable use in Africa. The papers included in this work are organized under four major headings: modes of use, devolution, scale issues and external issues. Authors explore these themes through the use of case studies and the description of specific regional experiences. External issues are further explored in a series of commissioned policy papers which have also been included.

Protected areas are at the base of the most national and international conservation strategies. Due to the many unpredictable elements in ecology matters, each protected area requires a case-specific set of guidelines but a common issue is how to cope with human interaction. The management of protected areas is replete with challenges and the only way to gain understanding and achieve greater management possibilities is to exchange experiences and knowledge. Environmental managers are aware of that and together with scientists are looking for more modern and better solutions, both with respect to natural resources and human interactions in many issues regarding nature protection. This publication presents reviews and research results on protected areas management, as well as 12 case studies derived from around the world with the aim of improving management effectiveness of the protected areas.

The purpose of this study is to identify new synergistic pathways between climate change mitigation and adaptation policies in Cameroon using an approach based on a literature review of the political processes that led to the introduction of the two strategies. The common feature of the two political processes is the absence of strategy in Cameroon. The country is finding it difficult to assimilate and coordinate these processes at the national level. More attention is being given to mitigation than to adaptation. In any case, it is difficult to formulate any political options without complete studies on the responses to the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation and on the vulnerability of the forest populations and their capacity to absorb climate shocks.