Whose land is it? The status of customary land tenure in Cameroon

Summary

This report sets out to identify the current legal status of customary land interests in Cameroon, and suggests ways for their improved recognition. This arises in the context of an ongoing review of forestry sector legislation. By customary law, forests are a major common property resource of rural communities, both settled and mobile. By statutory law most forests are the property of the government. How this conflicting tenure is resolved impacts upon human rights, how forests are managed, used and conserved, upon how democratic transition is or is not realized, upon the inclusiveness of development transformation, and upon social stability. This report analyses what the law says concerning customary land rights, focuses on the forestry legislation in force and compares the situation in Cameroon to that in other African States. The report also suggests ways forward by describing what an optimal legal status of customary land rights would look like and what possible avenues can be found in the existing law