Community Empowerment Facility Profile

BACKGROUND

'Bagyéli' or 'Bakola' are indigenous communities which form a group of hunter-gatherers ('Pygmies') in Cameroon. The Ngovayang Massif Forest constitutes one of their natural environments and has provided the basis of their civilization giving them the resources they need. However, the forest is currently under severe threat as a result of exploitation (mainly for commercial logging) which seriously limits the access of the Bagyéli to the natural resources of the forest.

The Bagyéli have no legal and land tenure rights, which makes them particularly vulnerable to forest destruction, the most recent example of which being the construction of the Cameroon-Chad 'Kribi' pipeline (which cuts through Ngovayang). According to the 1974 Cameroon law on land tenure rights, land ownership can only be claimed through possession of a land title certificate. Moreover, according to Bantu (the rural communities living in the area) customary laws, land ownership can only be established if there has been an investment in the land, or if the land has been under cultivation for sometime. The Bagyéli people, whose livelihoods derive from hunting and gathering rather than farming, have no 'official' land claims based on documents or certificates. In addition, their limited means do no permit them to exploit or invest in land. As a result, their right to the land is not acknowledged by the Government of Cameroon or by the Bantu communities living in the area. Hence, the interests of the Bagyéli are not taken into account when decisions are made regarding the use of the forest and its resources.

With the loss of more and more of their forest resources, the Bagyéli people are increasingly marginalized and impoverished. Moreover, the Bagyéli are not currently participating in any of the decision-making processes relevant to them because of their weak social and economic position.

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GOAL AND OBJECTIVES

The project has a five-year duration and is implemented by CBCS - Cameroon Biodiversity Conservation Society - a local NGO affiliated to BIRDLIFE International. CEF is supporting some of the activities for the period 2004-2006. Other funding organizations include the Dutch Government and Comic Relief U.K.

The overall objective of the project is to contribute to the empowerment of the Bagyéli communities around Ngovayang forest to advocate and manage their natural resources (including land rights) and improve their livelihoods. A specific part of the overall project for which CEF funds are requested, will contribute towards the following project purpose: Promotion of sustainable, community-based natural resource management of the Ngovayang Forest by the local, indigenous communities, resolving issues related to land rights and supporting reconciliation between the Bantu and the Bagyéli.

The core of the project foresees the further development of the already-established community-based SSG - Site Support Groups, a relatively new concept implemented by BIRDLIFE Partners throughout Africa. They are local groups based on existing Bagyéli associations, which will form the vehicle for project training programmes, empowerment, advocacy, awareness-raising and sustainable alternative income-generating activities. Although SSG are community-based organizations, they differ from 'usual' CBOs in that these groups already have a vested interest in the area concerned.

In addition to the primary intervention of empowerment of the local communities through the strengthening of their organizations, specific interventions related to the portion of the project under consideration will include:

• Empowering the Bagyéli communities in decision-making affecting their own environment,  focusing on land rights issues.
• Developing local skills for appropriate, community-based participatory approaches to natural resource management. 
• Contributing to the resolution of conflicts between the Bagyéli and Bantu communities related to the use of forest resources.

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WHO WILL BENEFIT?

The main beneficiaries of this project are the 'Bagyéli' communities which live in and around the forest. The Bantu communities settled in the area will also benefit from the project.

The Bagyeli communities have used the forest for centuries, following their patterns of consumption. However, with increasing modernization in the Cameroonian society as a whole, together with population increases in neighbouring communities, pressures on the forest is increasing. The Bagyéli need new skills to cope with these changing circumstances, as well as effective lines of communication with representatives of external pressures. The project will contribute to the empowerment of the indigenous Bagyéli communities, by training in organization, communication, negotiation and advocacy. Most of them do not own identity cards, birth certificates or any other official papers. This makes it almost impossible to claim their rights.

The government showed a clear interest in putting in place a policy of assistance to the Bagyéli communities. The government's concern regarding the Bagyéli has mainly been focused on making them self-reliant, although with little success up to now. This is the reason why interest was shown in this project and a formal letter of support was signed.  

Empowerment activities will also include awareness in social development, not only with the Bagyéli, but also with the Bantus who are living around the Bagyéli villages. No other project in this area includes the Bantu population. This has led to feelings of resentment within the Bantu communities. By building partnerships between the Bagyéli and the Bantus, the project will have a major impact on the resolution of conflict between these two groups.

This intention was confirmed by an active participation of both community groups in the preparatory work. The approach is receiving approval from the different community leaders who indicate that it makes them work like "partners" rather than opponents", despite their diverging interests in natural resource ownership. Both the communities were willing to sign a letter supporting the project. They both recognized the degradation of the forest resources, on which they depend, and admitted the need for shared management of natural resources. A major contribution to conflict management and resolution will be access of local communities to legal documents. Sensitization campaigns on land rights acquisition, together with provision of civic documents, will strengthen Bagyéli ability to negotiate land tenure. One of the outputs of the negotiation between Bantu/Bagyéli is that a proposal will be put to the Government to amend the 1974 law on land rights acquisition. The amendment will reinforce Bagyéli access to land rights without neglecting Bantus standpoint.

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CONCLUSION

The International Land Coalition will contribute to the funding of BIRDLIFE/CBCS project together with two other major donors: UK Comic Relief and the Dutch Government. The attempt to promote conflict resolution with a collaborative and reconciliatory approach, leading to a joint management of common natural resources, makes the project innovative and interesting to CEF objectives. The project will be further developed with Site Support Groups - local groups who aim to manage their own environment in a sustainable way. Currently, more than 60 Site Groups are working in and around specific areas in ten African countries, leaving room for replication.

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