YFF -What Makes Community Forestry a Success? Examining Tenure, Gender, and Community Entrepreneurship

The Yale Forest Forum (YFF) spring speaker series is The Promise and Practice of Community-Based Forest Management.

Cécile Ndjebet, Women’s Network for Community Management of Forests (REFACOF) 

Speaker Information: In addition to being a president of African Women’s Network for Community Management of Forests (REFACOF), Cécile is actively engaged in various areas such as:

• President of Cameroon CSO REDD&CC Platform
• Africa Trainer in Women Leadership
• Africa Focal Point for International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) Advisory Group (CSAG)
• Associate Member of WOCAN (Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and NRM) Team of Trainers/ Facilitators, Africa
• Focal Point of the Women Major Group of the United Nations Forest Forum (UNFF), and
• Woman Observer in the World Bank Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF)

Abstract: In the Congo Basin countries in Sub Sahara Africa, there is a growing recognition of the importance of Community Forests for their contribution to sustainable forest management and for livelihoods development, as well as for the tenure rights of the dependent local communities. Cameroon has been leading Community Forestry and their model and experiences have informed and inspired other countries in the region: Congo Republic, Central Africa Republic, and the DRC. In these countries, while there is specific adaptation to the national contexts, the main issues are almost the same: tenure rights, gender, and community-forestry entrepreneurship development.

Community-based forestry intends to create pathways for local people to have decision-making control of forest management. The key strategy of community-based forestry is to equitably empower all local stakeholders through a long-term, landscape-based and inclusive approach to supporting local communities to secure their land and resource rights, stop deforestation, find alternative livelihoods and foster gender equity. Key community stakeholders include historically marginalized groups such as indigenous people and ethnic minorities, as well as those who have geographic, economic, social and cultural relationships with their local forests.

Speakers will describe their personal and organizational experience with community forestry, the benefits of this inclusive approach, and address challenges to ensure equitable participation and sustainable forest management.