Chiefs present 1994 forestry law reform to senate president

The president of the Senate, Marcel Niat Njifenji, received on Thursday at the Yaounde Conference Palace, a group of traditional leaders representing the five agro-ecological regions of the country.

These heads are members of the network of the traditional chiefs for the conservation of the environment and sustainable management of the ecosystems of the Congo basin (RECTRAD). They requested the hearing to present to the president of the Senate the "consensus" of the traditional chiefs in the context of the reform of the forestry law of 1994.

The proposals from the guardians of tradition, aimed at expressing the importance they attached to the land, forests and mines, and their "desire to encourage the Government in the conduct of inclusive reform. They were particularly concerned about national development as well as local aspirations for the maintenance of cultures and the preservation of livelihood.

During the hearing, S.M. Robinson Tanyi, the RECTRAD national coordinator, introduced the genesis of this structure and the regional coordinator, S.M. Bruno Mvondo, presented a close-up on the proposals, based on the fact that the mechanisms provided by the Act of 1994 involved in local communities in forest management did not always work well.

After encouraging the participatory and inclusive approach that accompanies the current forestry law reform, the regional coordinator made four proposals: that each community of Cameroon has a vital area recognized and secured, not subject to private appropriation, and collectively owned by the village.

This measure is designed to preserve the standard of living of rural communities in Cameroon, the provision of living space for a collective land title granted by the State to the village free of charge for the beneficiary communities. The village will enjoy his vital space simply by the fact of its existence.

The third proposal relates to customary law which will be applied inside and thus defined area which will be managed by traditional institutions. Finally, traditional authorities and the villages will be involved in monitoring the exploitation of forests and thus will participate in the protection of these ecosystems on which their lives depend.

After these suggestions, the president of the Senate noted that he has taken note of these proposals. "We will look at the level of the Parliament the proposals that was made by traditional leaders with great attention", Marcel Niat Njifenji promised.