THE SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF PRUNUS AFRICANA IN THE MOUNT CAMEROON REGION

I took the case study of "THE SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF PRUNUS AFRICANA IN THE MOUNT <str...

Identification of the Case
Prunus africana is a pan-african montane tree species found through out the highlands of Cameroon. Mount Cameroon supports the most important population of prunus in Cameroon and probably in West Africa. It is the third most abundant canopy tree species in the upper montane forest of the mountain. The tree is of immense economic and social importance in the area and beyond, and is possibly the most well known tree on the mountain. The bark is used locally for traditional medicine, and it is also the raw material for Plantecam. MINEF, MCP, Plantecam, and the local inhabitants are therefore all stakeholders in the management of the species on Mount Cameroon.

About 3000 tons of bark are exploited per year in Cameroon and Madagascar, and the over-the-counter retail value of the trade in herbal prepartions is estimated to be US $220 million per year (Cunningham et al, 1997).

The Problem
In 1972 the economic importance of the tree became apparent with the start of commercial exploitation by Plantecam in the area. Until recently, harvesting of the bark was done solely by Plantecam employees (mostly non indigens), and benefits (paid only to the Village Traditional Councils) to local communities were very small.

From 1994 there was an outbreak of illegal exploitation on the mountain fuelled by unauthorised buyers who had exhausted prunus stocks in other parts of the country. These buyers encouraged villagers to harvest for them, giving the latter much greater rewards than thay had ever had before, but still significantly lower than Plantecam offers to its legal suppliers. These buyers either sell their produce to Plantecam or to other International agents.

By 1995 prunus harvesting had become a major source of cash income for young men and their households in the area. However harvesting in this context was mainly destructive and uncontrolled. Transactions with the illegal buyers were done at night, and there were frequent conflicts within the villages, and between the villagers and the Forestry service, MCP, and Plantecam. There were also conflicts in the field between Plantecam harvesters and the villagers. The trees were either felled or totally girdled by the villagers to supply barks to these illegal buyers. These methods of harvesting killed the trees and negatively affected the surrounding plant and animal habitat.

Main Part of the Change Process:
Despite attempts made by the local MINEF and Plantecam, the situation described above continued until November 1996. In response to the growing conflicts within the villages and between villagers and outside stakeholders, MCP facilitated a process of conflict management with regard to the harvesting and trading of Prunus africana. This work was piloted in one of our project villages. The premise of the work was that

a) by developing partnerships between local communities, Government, and business, sustainable harvesting of Prunus africana could be achieved and
b) in order for this to work in the long term, the benefits accruing from Prunus exploitation to the local communities needed to be increased and sustained.

In my opinion, is the quintessential realization of what was learned in this case is already listed:


One of the greatest lessons that has been learnt from this case study is the importance of supporting existing sustainable livelihoods based on forest resource use, instead of simply promoting alternative income generating activities (IGAs) designed to attract forest users away from unsustainable practices. While intended as some form of compensation for forgoing benefits from the forest, alternative IGAs such as rabbit keeping, provision of roads, schools, clinics, etc, are not directly linked to forest resource use and tend to encourage local communities to adopt a "take and take" behaviour, rather than developing "give and take" attitudes favouring sustainable resource management.