WRM Bulletin Nº 96 - Africa / March2005

Issue Number 96 - July 2005

Index - Viewpoint - Asia - South America - Oceania - FSC Plantation Certification Review

AFRICA

Cameroon: Will new support to forest sector enhance benefits for local populations?
Liberia: An Update on its Forest Reformation Process (Post Mid Term Sanctions Review)
Mozambique: Forestry in Zambezia province, Chinese takeaway!
South Africa: Women forestry workers under outsourcing schemes

LOCAL STRUGGLES AND NEWS

Cameroon: Will new support to forest sector enhance benefits for local populations?

The story of the rapid destruction of Cameroon’s forests that has occurred since the 1980s, does not suffer from a lack of attention: many testimonies, analyses and recommendations have been written and many donor-led interventions to halt the deforestation have been simultaneously attempted. Between 1980 and 1995, it is estimated that close to 2 million hectares of forest were cut down in Cameroon. Industrial logging operations, often foreign companies whose raw logs left the port of Douala bound for European markets, were likely the primary source of this deforestation, acting in synergy with the concomitant encroachment of human settlements and agricultural clearing. The many programs and reforms pursued in the 1990s by the World Bank and the Cameroonian government (The Forestry Law of 1991, The Forestry Law of 1994, the New Forestry Policy of 1995 and the Law of 1996) to bring about sustainable and transparent management of Cameroon’s incredibly rich forests were largely unsuccessful in achieving their objectives, and, by some accounts, even served to promote greater deforestation.

As the World Bank and other agencies now gear up to provide new support to the forest sector in Cameroon, a review of what has happened in the last decade to both the forests and the forest-dependent peoples of Cameroon, and the lessons learned, is warranted. Of particular importance is the need to highlight the role of forest-dependent peoples in decision-making in the Cameroon forest sector. As rightly noted in a World Bank report: “… a key determinant of poverty is inequality in the distribution of social decision power.” And so, the questions must be asked: Has greater local participation in forest governance been achieved by the 1994 Community Forestry Law? Will the new Forest and Environment Sector Program (PSFE) promote equity and greater participation in forest governance by local people?

In 1991, the World Bank shifted their means of support to the forest sector, tying support to structural adjustment lending by the attachment of conditionalities to loans (rather than by providing direct loans to the sector, as they had previously done). These conditions were specific policy changes that the Bank insisted be made to the forest sector. While many of these policies appeared sound on paper, the translation to the implementation phase was fraught with difficulties. According to the World Bank’s own Operations Evaluation Department, the World Bank failed to achieve the desired reforms because, among other reasons, the Bank did not craft a strategy that was feasible to implement, given the particular social, political and economic realities of Cameroon. It was further noted that because the Bank failed to engage in a genuine participatory approach when designing the policies by neglecting to seek out the views of local communities, that the resulting laws were not equitable.

In line with the devolution trend in forest management seen around the world in recent years, Cameroon, at the behest of the World Bank, enacted a Community Forestry Law in 1994. The World Bank’s reasons for believing that Community Forestry would result in more sustainable forest management in Cameroon were not dissimilar to the rationale for promoting devolution in other cases:

(1) local people have more of a long-term interest in the natural resource than do outsiders, so local management will be more sustainable than that controlled by regional or national bodies (which, in the case of Cameroon, most often results in control by foreign logging companies);
(2) local representative bodies are more accountable to local populations than are regional or national bodies, so there will be less opportunity for corruption to guide forest management decisions; and
(3) given the chronic underfunding of natural resource management agencies around the world (particularly in developing countries), local management is more administratively and financially feasible, and therefore, more likely to be effective in meeting agency goals.

However, since the enactment of the Community Forestry Law in 1994, these “advantages” of local management have not been realized. Many of the local management committees have been hijacked by village elites (socially powerful outside actors that may trace their lineage to the village but often reside elsewhere). These elites have seen the Community Forests as an opportunity for personal financial gain and very little of the financial benefits from logging these forests have trickled down to the local populations. There is, to date, no evidence that this type of Bank/government-driven Community Forestry have resulted in more sustainable management than centralized, “command and control” management by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MINEF).

It appears that the World Bank is now returning to the practice of direct loans to the forest sector: On June 16, 2005, a World Bank Forestry expert announced in Cameroon that the Bank will be assisting Cameroon to implement their forest management program by contributing $30 million to the total project budget outlined by the Cameroonian government of $115 million. The Canadian, German and British governments are also expected to contribute funds to the program. The new Forest & Environment Sector Program to be supported by the donors will consist of five target areas:

1) regulation and environment information management
2) production forests management
3) protected area and wildlife management
4) community forest resources management
5) institutional strengthening, training and research

Since the community forest resources management component, as outlined in World Bank documents, will include a “review of the legal & institutional framework,” as well as socioeconomic studies and support for the implementation of Community Forests, it is worth highlighting some of the key recommendations made by Cameroonian analysts. These recommended reforms to the laws and implementation practices could best be described as calls for true democratic decentralization to occur in Cameroon’s Community Forests.

(1) Remove the administrative hurdles currently facing communities who wish to establish Community Forests by decentralizing the application process to MINEF’s Provincial offices.

Between April 1998 and November 2001, 136 applications for Community Forests were received by MINEF. By the year 2004, only 30 Simple Management Plans had been approved. The fact that communities must travel to the national capital, pay expensive fees, and hire a consultant to create the Simplified Management Plan in order to complete an application for a Community Forest is viewed by some as a cause of non-sustainable management. In some cases, communities end up having to borrow money from logging companies to finance these start-up costs and then are beholden to let these companies log their forests.

(2) Remove the technical hurdles currently facing these communities by simplifying, even further, the required components of the “Simplified Management Plan.”

The technical complexities posed to communities by the existing requirements of the Simple Management Plan exacerbates the conditions described above by making communities dependent on external actors not just for the sunk costs, but for all phases of implementation as well. In these scenarios, the external actors often have more ownership of the Community Forest projects than do the local populations, thus undermining democratic decision-making and the very concept of “local management.”

(3) Make the local forest management committees more downwardly accountable to local populations by requiring that traditional and moral authorities, such as chiefs and priests, be included in the management committees.

The management committees formed by MINEF, to date, have ignored the traditional authorities present in these villages. MINEF has instead, reportedly, facilitated inclusion of external village elites that are often not respected by, nor accountable to, the local populations. This has resulted in some instances of corrupt individuals hijacking the management committees and using the Community Forests for their own personal financial gain: specifically, undertaking rapid clear-cutting projects and then embezzling the profits.

(4) Facilitate the establishment of Community Forests by the Baka, Kola and Aka peoples (‘pygmies’) by considering their social and cultural realities and adjusting the application requirements accordingly.

Community Forests may currently only be established in the Non-Permanent Forest Domain of Cameroon, however, most “pygmy” groups reside in the Permanent Forest Domain. There is also uncertainty as to how the laws define “community,” “village,” and “chiefdoms,” and how the realities of “pygmy” lifestyles, including the traditional nomadic lifestyle and the current settlement near Bantu villages, fit in with these definitions. There are approximately 30,000 “pygmies” residing in Cameroon, yet they hold little decision-making power. The World Bank’s Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Summary rightly notes that “Without special steps, Baka, Kola and Aka will not be able to benefit from the PSFE that is national in scope and in principle and by intention open to everyone.”

By Kathleen Lawlor, Friends of the Earth, E-mail: klawlor@duke.edu

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Liberia: An Update on its Forest Reformation Process (Post Mid Term Sanctions Review)

As reported in past WRM bulletins, Liberia’s forests have long been exploited to fuel conflict in this small West African country. Liberia houses the last two blocks of the upper Guinea Forest, which is known to be home to over 2,000 flowering plants, some 240 of which are timber species, and 60 of which have been commercially harvested.

Since the 1990’s Liberia’s forests have been plundered by rebels and dubious logging companies, and even used by the former president to fund war not only in Liberia, but also in Cote d’Ivoire and Sierra Leone. In recognition of the role of timber in Liberia’s civil war, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) imposed timber sanctions on Liberia in December 2003 and in December 2004. Upon reviewing the National Transitional Government of Liberia’s (NTGL) progress on achieving forest reforms, the UNSC extended sanctions on Liberian timber for another year which were upheld during the mid term review in June 2005.

In a recent report by a Panel of Experts (PoE) working on behalf of the UNSC, corruption within the NTGL was reported widespread. Reports from the ground paint a picture of the usual suspects making a final grab for resources prior to the upcoming government elections, to be held in October 2005. The PoE report indicates that the NTGL has done little to meet the criteria developed during an international reconstruction conference at the United Nations (UN), held in February 2004. This includes criteria necessary for the lifting of timber sanctions.

The Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Coalition of Liberia recently claimed, in a letter to the UNSC, that the NTGL has accomplished “virtually nothing as regards to reestablishing its authority over key natural resource producing areas”. Currently there are approximately 4,000 people now living inside the boundaries of Sapo National Park, one of the only two nationally protected forest areas. While many Internally Displaced People (IDP) have sought refuge in the forests, many former rebels have set up illegal mining camps within the boundaries of the park. Along with these illegal mining camps come small communities that set up “business” to earn what little money they can to survive. All too often these temporary communities increase the demand for bush meat, further deteriorating an already fragile ecosystem. IDP’s have recently raised their voices to the unfairness they have suffered as they see former rebels, who murdered and raped their neighbours, receive $300 to put down their arms and are given free education while the people who suffered at their hands receive nothing.

The NGO Coalition has also claimed that some of the UNMIL personnel, whose mandate is to “assist the transitional government to establish proper control and administration of natural resources in Liberia,” have not only failed to live up to this mandate but that some personnel even appear to be operating in cooperation with illegal timber operators. As an example, pit-sawing was banned by the FDA in 2000, but it continues to occur with permits of dubious origin; the Managing Director of the FDA claims his signature was forged on the permits issued in 2003-2004. The PoE, in collaboration with the local NGOs, reported that trucks with sawn timber passed through check-points, late at night, with the tacit support of some UNMIL personnel. There are also allegations that UNMIL personnel have been involved in the trading of gold and diamonds coming from illegal mining sites.

The good news is that a recent review of Liberia’s timber concession system concluded that a clean slate is needed and that all existing forest concessions agreements should be revoked. According to the NGO Coalition, the review committee worked against formidable odds, conducting the investigations with the highest of standards and delivering the results on time. The results must now be approved and forwarded on to NTGL President Bryant for approval. Many of the concessions were allocated by former president Taylor with no regard to any national forest laws.

While this is certainly good news to the people working on forest reform in Liberia much remains to be done prior to beginning any type of concession allocation system. An ecological survey conducted in 1978 recommended protection for Lofa-Mano National Park, Sapo National Park, Cestos-Senkwehn National Park, Nimba Nature Reserve, Wonegizi Mountain Nature Reserve, Cape Mount and Coastal Forest nature Reserve and Cavally Nature Reserve. At that time only one of these areas was offered protection, and since the cease fire another one was agreed due to pressure on the transitional government. It is critical that the forests of Liberia are audited to better understand the state of the ecosystems, and the people that depend on them, prior to creating any type of sustainable forest management plan.

The World Bank and the IMF have been actively involved in Liberia’s reconstruction process; however Liberia has arrears of over $3 billion dollars, which prohibits the country from receiving any further Bank loans. In May of 2005, the IMF published a report stressing that Liberia urgently needs external assistance and private investment and that any new assistance would be dependant on actions to strengthen institutions, reduce corruption and improve governance. The IMF noted that Liberia’s economy grew by 122% within two years of the 1996 peace treaty and that during this same period logging increased by a startling 1300%. The Banks’ Country Re-engagement Note (CRN) points out that forestry, since 1977, has attracted much of the foreign direct investment and logging has been the largest provider of foreign currency. Furthermore, in the proposed re-engagement strategy key issues in Liberia’s recovery are identified as economic management, forest management infrastructure rehabilitation and community development and the bank also claims that these are areas that the Bank has gained significant experience in other post-conflict contexts. This information signals the vast interest of Liberia’s forest by the World Bank and sounds the warning bell to those working on forest reform that the Bank must be watched. It is critical that the Bank does not “cut and paste” policies they have used in other African countries aimed at helping corporate interests and making life worse for forest dependant communities.

As the NGO Coalition and the PoE point out, little progress has been made towards the NTGL establishing control over Liberia’s natural resources and business as usual continues. The PoE suggested a private management organization should be contracted to implement the forest sector reforms that have been outlined by the NTGL and the UNSC prior to any sanctions lifting. It is unclear what the next steps will be and whether this recommendation will be implemented. This suggestion obviously raises serious concerns from civil society and discussions are underway to determine how best to deal with the latest recommendations. The situation on the ground is difficult at best. If this recommendation is implemented, it will be critical that the selection process for hiring any such private organization is completely transparent and includes civil society and local communities at every step of the process.

While Liberia is not unique in its use of natural resources to fuel war, it is in a unique position to ensure the adequate protection of this biodiversity hotspot and the creation of a truly sustainable forest management plan that includes community participation throughout the rebuilding of this shattered country. Let us hope that the UNSC and the international community provide the space for this unique opportunity.

By Michelle Medeiros, Friends of the Earth US, E-mail: MMedeiros@foe.org

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Mozambique: Forestry in Zambezia province, Chinese takeaway!

While accounts of illegal logging in southeast Asia’s and central Africa’s tropical forests, to supply the booming Chinese economy are increasingly common, this report is one of the first to document the “Chinese takeaway” from the semi-arid forests of Southern Africa. A four-months study of forestry in Zambezia province of Mozambique was conducted between November 2003 and October 2004. It found Chinese traders, local business people, and members of the Government and forest services are colluding to strip precious tropical hardwoods from these slow-growing forests at a rate that will exhaust the resource in 5-10 years. The timber is exported as unprocessed logs, undermining local industry, and transferring all its potential benefits from one of the poorest countries in the world, to what is becoming one of the richest.

The volumes involved in this trade are small compared with those from humid tropical producing countries, and this has led to the relative neglect of this issue internationally. However, while the volumes are small, the impact on the economy of this poor country is great, in terms of loss of employment, loss of revenues, abuse of community rights and degradation of a valuable resource and governance systems. Rather than calling for a ban on logging, this report calls for a ban on log export, to reduce cutting, promote sustainable management and industrial development, and perhaps most importantly, that would fulfil a government’s promises to its people.

The Government of Mozambique, its donors and the International Financial Institutions have subscribed to many policies and programmes to support the country’s main goal of poverty alleviation. The Action Plan for the Reduction of Absolute Poverty (PARPA), the National Agricultural Programme (PROAGRI, phases I and II), and the recent forestry policy, law and regulations all cite sustainable forest management and the development of forest industries for combating rural poverty. In 2003 the government signed the African Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (AFLEG) initiative committing itself, internationally, to fight illegal logging, trade and corruption, and to promote sound forest governance.

This report demonstrates how the Government –and by association– the IFIs and donors who support it, have failed to deliver on these commitments. This is not because of a lack of technical capacity or resources, or simply a lack of political will, but because of a direct conflict of interest between the public responsibilities and private interests of government officials –notably the National and Provincial Services for Forestry and Wildlife (DN/SPFFB)- and others, including senior political party (FRELIMO) members. Together with local business interests and Asian traders these public servants constitute a “timber mafia”. Rather than combating illegal logging, they are, by manipulating forest regulations and information, taking bribes and personal involvement in logging, facilitating and personally benefiting from this “Chinese takeaway”. The report calls the government and donors to account –for the sake of the poor of Mozambique, and the donor’s own domestic tax-payers– and to bring the forests under proper governance.

Three cornerstones of sound forest management, should be a system for limiting the annual cut to levels that can be sustained in the long-term, forest concessions with management plans, and industrial capacity, in balance with forest productivity. Following a major scandal in 2000, the forest services were obliged to organise production around sustainable annual quotas. The last published inventory, sets the annual allowable cut of currently marketable species in Zambezia to 18,000 m3. However, for the last 5 years, SPFFB has authorised over 28,000 m3 per year, and the quota for 2004 was nearly 50,000 m3. New inventory data is cited to justify the new quota, but has never been published.

Most of the quota is allocated, not to existing industries, providing jobs and development, but to small operators, linked to Asian exporters based in Quelimane port who provide credit essential for paying licence fees. The small operators are all Mozambican nationals, but there are so many of them (over 150 in 2003), their activities so uncontrolled, and their reinvestment in the sector so low, that they have become part of the problem of forestry rather than part of the solution. They believe that exploiting forests is their right, rather than a privilege awarded to those who manage the forests wisely.

A forest concession system is required by policy and law, but is being established only very slowly. Over 40 concession applicants, including Asian buyers, foreign investors, local industries and fronts for members of the forest services or government, have applied for over 50% (1.5 million hectares) of the forest. Very few have prepared the management plans or established industries, required by law, but all are given licences to harvest in their areas, meanwhile. The few management plans that have been approved actually propose to strip all the commercial timber in 5-10 years!

Rural communities fought a long battle to gain rights to their land, but have no rights to their timber, except for subsistence. With few alternative sources of employment, they are reduced to working for licensed operators for less than the minimum wage, or supplying other dealers with logs they harvest illegally. Communities are supposed to receive 20% of licence fees, but have never received it, and the total would anyway, be small. More radical reform is needed, if forests are to benefit the communities.

Quotas and licences do not indicate how much timber is really being harvested or from where. There is only one real checkpoint, under-reporting is widespread and systematic, inspection is lax, bribes are common, and the computer-based control system of licensing and transport, introduced by SPFFB after the scandal is largely cosmetic. In 2002, the quota was set at 42,000 m3, and SPFFB only licensed 33,200 m3 and allowed export of 28,400 m3. But that year, 17 bulk carriers and 27 container ships loaded logs, and the port recorded export of 51,000 m3! None of the government departments reporting on forestry give the same figures. The situation must be investigated in detail.

The greatest problem -because it drives the whole system- is the continued export of logs. According to law, the main commercial species must be processed prior to export, and contrary to loggers’ account, industrial capacity in Zambezia is sufficient to process the whole annual quota. However, just as the law was coming into force, the Ministry, under pressure from Asian buyers, passed an internal decree reclassifying the commercial timbers to permit their export as logs. This decree may be illegal, but until it is declared as such, the “Chinese takeaway” will continue.

In short, too many operators, large and small, are being allowed to take too many logs, from too many places in a way that is rendering the resource unmanageable in the longer term. The system abuses the rights of local communities, denying them opportunities for vitally needed employment and skills development that would come from sustainable forest management, processing industries and community based enterprise. The effectively illegal export of logs is starving local industry and threatening local jobs. The government forest services are presiding over and colluding with these abuses, in a way that makes a mockery of the notion of “governance” and of their donors’ objectives. There can be no excuse for the personal enrichment and public loss on the scale that is taking place.

The purpose of the study is not only to document these problems and raise awareness, but also to propose solutions. The main report provides technical details of practices in the forest sector, to explain and justify five key reforms proposed, and to refute arguments put forward by the “timber mafia” to allow the “Chinese takeaway” to continue.

The proposed reforms include an immediate moratorium on log exports, a review of the Ministerial decree permitting this export, the suspension of logging by small operators, the suspension of further concession approvals and independent review of existing forest management plans. The rights of local communities to their forest resources should be guaranteed by law. Support should be given to communities to manage their own forests, and operators wishing to exploit forests should be obliged to enter into legal partnerships with communities. A series of other measures are proposed for each of the main stakeholder groups. In the meantime, those harvesting operations linked to industries should continue, subject to independent monitoring, in order to preserve jobs and supply domestic timber needs. It is vital that forest operations, not linked to permanent quality jobs, are stopped, to create the time and incentives needed to bring the sector under control. As problems are successfully addressed, moratoria can be lifted, until all activities are once again permitted. Donor-funded infrastructure schemes are proposed as compensation measures to minimise the impacts on the provincial economy during the transition to sound governance.

Importantly, the report calls for international action to put pressure on the Government of China to take responsibility to ensure that its own economic boom does not rob poor, vulnerable countries of the resources they need for their own development.

By Catherine Mackenzie, E-mail: camackenzie2002@yahoo.co.uk

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South Africa: Women forestry workers under outsourcing schemes

A recent study carried out in the South African tree plantation sector analyses the impacts of outsourcing on forestry --mostly women-- workers. The report points out that outsourcing in the forestry industry is in line with global business trends and serves to increase flexible employment terms for the benefit of the industry. Outsourcing also saves on cost of capital equipment and fixed costs associated with full-time employees, and avoids having to deal with labour legislation brought in by the Government.

In South Africa, the forestry sector employs thousands of contract workers, the majority of whom are poor black rural women with few alternative sources of income. A group of women working for forestry harvesting contractors on company owned plantations in KwaMbonambi were interviewed to assess the extent to which contract jobs in forestry contribute to poverty reduction.

The interview took place in the plantation company’s “forest” village, where they were accommodated. The village comprises solidly built brick houses and communal cooking and washing facilities, set in well maintained and attractive grounds. However, inside these houses you get a feeling that it is more of a sleeping than living space, as the only items you find inside is mattresses or pieces of cardboard on the floor with a blanket or cloth to cover them. It seems that home to these women is where their children are back in the rural village with their extended family. Children are allowed to visit but not live in the village. All the women are single, aged between 19-40 years, with an average of four children each. They are the sole breadwinners providing support for their children and other members of the extended family back in the rural areas.

The women are all “strippers”; their job is to strip the bark off felled trees. Stripping is physically demanding and carries a high risk of injury. They begin work at six in the morning, and return at around three or four in the afternoon. The daily wage rate currently is at R42.50, but from this R6.50 is deducted for housing, leaving a daily rate of R36.00. To earn the day wage, they must complete their task, which is to strip 35 trees. If they do not complete their task, it is carried over to the next day. Most of the women said they do not complete their tasks and they use the four Saturdays in the months to do so. At month end, their salary slips reflect the day-equivalent of work done, rather than the actual number of days worked. The women interviewed said they earn between R500 and R700 per month. After buying provisions for the family, there is very little left over to buy food or clothing for themselves. Most rely on credit from the local general dealer to feed themselves. They eat only one cooked meal a day, at night.

Monthly expenses include a basic food list, transport home at month end, transport to school for their children, other expenses are annual school fees and school uniforms. The women spend an average of 60% of their earnings on food, approximately R400 per month.

The women are not union members and there are no worker representation structures in place. They do not have access to pension funds, credit or medical care. If they fall ill, they need to produce a doctor’s certificate to access paid sick leave. A visit to the doctor costs R100, which most are unable to afford. If they are injured on duty the contractor pays a limited number of leave days and thereafter the injured worker must rely on payout from the Unemployment Insurance Fund. If a worker is consistently underperforming and falling considerably behind in tasks, or is absent from work for a week, s/he is dismissed. Dismissed workers are given 10 days to vacate their accommodation. With HIV/Aids infections rates running at an estimated 45% amongst forestry workers, a distressing picture emerges of scores of penniless, ill, and malnourished workers being sent back to die in rural areas, without any benefits from their years of employment.

Prior to outsourcing, the majority of forestry workers belonged to recognised trade unions which were responsible for taking up workers grievances’, ensuring compensation for injuries on duty, and engaged in annual wage negotiations. The shift to outsourcing effectively destroyed forestry trade unions. When workers were retrenched, unions lost members, membership fees declined, and unions became more and more cash strapped. Contract workers are much more difficult to organise than full- time employees, as they are scattered amongst many employees, many of whom have no fixed workplace.

Forestry labour today is disempowered and demoralised. Workers have no channels for raising concerns or for redress. They have no channels for collective bargaining regarding wage levels or conditions of service. The only power they have is their labour. They can work and be paid for the work they do, or they can leave and rejoin the pool of unemployed.

The study concluded that the forestry industry is not able to lift the vast majority of forestry workers, mainly women, out of chronic poverty, or prevent them from falling further into poverty. Incomes are insecure and inadequate, there are no financial safety nets in the form of health insurance or pensions, and workers are exposed to risk of permanent injury that could further impair their ability to secure a livelihood in future.

Excerpted and adapted from: “What role for forestry in reducing poverty in South Africa? Case studies of contractors in the forestry sector”, Jeanette Clarke and Moenieba Isaacs, May 2004, http://www.wrm.org.uy/countries/SouthAfrica/Final_Report.pdf
sent by Wally Menne, TimberWatch Coalition, E-mail: plantnet@iafrica.com

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