Valentina Robiglio, Paolo Omar Cerutti, Guillaume Lescuyer. Presentation for the conference on Taking stock of smallholders and community forestry Montpellier France March 24-26, 2010

1. Feeding the domestic market: is small-scale timber harvesting sustainable in Cameroon? Taking Stock of Small holder and Community Forestry 24-26 March 2010, Montpellier, France. Valentina Robiglio, Paolo Omar Cerutti, Guillaume Lescuyer.

2. Rationale: The existence of a flourishing timber domestic sector (DS): sales reached about 600,000 m3(sawnwood); Most of the timber marketed in the DS is “illegally” sourced from the Non Permanent Forest Domain (NPFD); General conclusion is that the Non Permanent Forest Domain (NPFD) works as a buffer to supplytimber to the DS and reduce the pressure on the Permanent Domain Question: How far the timberharvested in the rural mosaicdoesrepresent a valuable option to control the pressure on forest resources in the Permanent Forest Domain and can guarantee provision to the DS Analysis: Identification of the speciestraded, the agricultural unitswithinwhichthey are integrated and more frequentlyharvested Characterization of management and harvesting practices in rural areas Assessment of the current volume of supply of timber from farm land

4. The 70% of that timber comes from the rural mosaic;

6. The humid forest zone: the agricultural mosaic Centre Region: agricultural land use units and timber supply Mosaïque agricole: Fields Young Fallow/Oldfallow Cocoa agroforest Small «domestic »forest (degradedforest )

7. Data: Urban market data about timber -species, products and origin- sold in the 24 markets of Yaoundé; Recording of 150 small-scale forestry operations (in 18 Councils) in 8 departments; Data on small-holders timber trees management and harvesting practices (in 6 Councils); Public data from FAO –FNMA and spatial data from GFW Atlas and ProPsfe+ data about agricultural production surfaces from the MINADER .

8. Results 1: market and supplying departments About 75% of total sales in the Market of Yaoundeis made of 5 species. The rest of sales includes about 30 species. Ayous 45%, Iroko 10%, Bilinga 8%, Movingui 7%, Sapelli 5%; About 50% of the sales comes from one single department (Mefou et Afamba).

9. Results 2: harvesting operations species/LU difference species /land unit (species that are marketed in urban markets)

12. Logging is operated by sawyers, coming from the village or from Yaounde.

13. In one village the sale is contracted individually, by offer to a sawyers crew operating in the zone or by demand.

14. Farmers sell the standing tree or they contract for the transformation and sell the sawn products. In this way they usually get a higher return and are paid cash. €

15. Results 3: on-farm timber harvesting & management 71.4% of the farmers protect naturally regenerated trees from fire and from competing weeds from the young fallow phase onward throughout several fallow-crop sequences. In the cocoa agro-forests tree species with a known positive effect on the micro-environmental conditions are allowed to grow. Their position in the farm counts in deciding about maintaining them or not. The 88% of the farmers perceive that natural regeneration is declining and the species that are logged are disappearing. Only a 17% of farmers indicate re-planting as a measure to maintain the timber stock, however only very few farmers do that. There is no strategy to maintain a stable stock of commercial timber on the land.

17. Species typical of dense high forest are rare if not absent from farmland whereas other species included Ayous and Iroko but in particular Frake, Dabema, regenerate also in degraded land;

18. Among the most important harvested species, Ayous and Iroko present small individuals indicating the presence of natural regeneration and recruitment processes also in disturbed conditions;

20. Research directions: 1. Type of field into which the forest is converted (and of cycle)

21. Research directions: 1. Type of field into which the forest is converted (and of cycle)

22. CONCLUSIONS In customarily managed forest land a strong relationship exists between agricultural land use and small-holder timber exploitation; In the customarily managed forest land land use decision making is done at the household/individual level also for what concerns the timber exploitation; However timber exploitation is “opportunistic” both when clearing for field preparation and harvesting of single trees standing in the agricultural units; Timberharvested in the rural mosaicdoesnot represent a long term option to sustainably provide timber to the DS and control the pressure on forest resources in the Permanent Forest Domain.

23. THANK YOU ! Taking Stock of Small holder and Community Forestry 24-26 March 2010, Montpellier, France. Valentina Robiglio, Paolo Omar Cerutti, Guillaume Lescuyer.