Land reform can 'breed' conflict if poorly handled

The Secretary General of the Centre for Environment and Development, CED, Samuel Nguiffo, has stated that if the ongoing revision of the 1974 and 1994 land and forestry laws respectively, are not properly handled, it could be a source of conflict in Cameroon.

He made the observation in Yaounde on September 29, 2014 while responding to questions from the press shortly after the start of a three-day conference dubbed: “The Week of [Land] Tenure of the Coalition of Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) Cameroon.”

Members of the RRI coalition include some 14 partner institutions that are working in various domains of competence. These partner organisations and collaborators participate directly in the land and forestry reform policy of close to 20 countries in Africa including Cameroon, Asia and in Latin America. Nguiffo who spoke on behalf of the coalition said the week on tenure in Cameroon was the first ever in the history of the country.

He presented member organisations of the coalition noting that they work in diverse fields, but are united in the promotion of the rights of access to land and resources by the local people.

He hailed the Ministry of State Property, Surveys and Land Tenure, MINDCAF, for their cover so far and hoped that an inclusive and participatory approach in the management of land and resources in the country would have priority in the ongoing land and forestry reform.

The CED Scribe said “land is the heart of everything we do. It has strong economic and cultural potential and as such if reform on access to land and resources is not correctly done; it is likely to generate conflicts.

Abrogating the 1974 land law in Cameroon that has been in existence for over 40 years must be done with care in order to properly handle challenges such as the increase in population and the consequent increase in demand for land.

“For food security to be guaranteed, more secured land must be given out for cultivation. International agro-industrial enterprises are in search of land to set up their companies and what we are advocating for as a coalition is that the reforms should cater for and protect the rights of access to land and resources by the local communities before portions of such pieces of land are granted to others,” Nguiffo maintained.

Meanwhile, in a terse presentation, the Chief Operating Officer of Rights and Resources Group at RRI Washington, Luis Gustav Colomer, hailed the coalition for their tenacity and dialogue on issues of land since 2008. He said inclusive and participatory approach in land reform is a well thought out initiative as he encouraged the Government. He said through such an approach, set objectives are likely to be met.

Representing the Minister at the event, the Secretary General at MINDCAF, Fritz Gerald Nasako, expressed Government gratitude to the coalition for their useful and significant contributions to the land reform process.

He disclosed that it was not the first time that the RRI coalition in Cameroon was involved in initiatives aimed at improving the governance and management of land tenure in the country. He mentioned the government/parliament dialogue on the issue of land reform in June 2013 where members of the RRI coalition took active part alongside experts from the administration and members of parliament.

Nasako used the occasion to outline the objectives of the week of land tenure to include: advocating within the rank of government and other policy and public actors the need to properly take into account the rights and interests of local communities and indigenous people in the ongoing land and forestry reform in Cameroon.

He also talked of mobilising the media, the civil society and other proponents of the reform of the land and forestry laws as elaborated by members of the RRI in Cameroon; and the sharing of results of work conducted by the coalition with the public as some of the objectives set by the organisers of the conference.

According to Nasako, the land reform process in Cameroon is out to update the legislative and regulatory text dating more than 40 years ago; filling the existing judicial lope holes in some cases; simplifying and shortening deadlines in land procedures; and facilitating access to land with particular focus on some vulnerable groups such as women, the youth and indigenous people.

Other aspects to cater for would include reinforcing the judicial security of titles and land transactions; fight against land speculation and buying of large expanses for monopolistic interests; making land a real factor of production and supporting the re-launch and growth of the economy, amongst others.

CED used the occasion to present work accomplished on participative mapping of land in some localities in the South of Cameroon. The presentation of the study which was followed by debates revealed that through the process, it is possible to develop land use patterns across the country.