5.1 Perceptions and priorities
The fact that there is general awareness among the various institutional representatives interviewed of the problem of climate change is an opportunity for formulating a response. Since many said that they are already noticing some changes that may be explained by global climate change, this may influence decisions that are made in their respective institutions related to climate change. It is also important that many stated that the poor would be most affected by any environmental or policy change. However, how any of these perceptions would be translated into policy was not evident. While representatives of government and civil society institutions stated that climate change was a priority, any concrete response was clearly at an early stage for all institutions in Cameroon, as it is in many countries globally (Orindi and Murray
2005; Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
2007a; Koch et al.
2007). This may be a result of other pressing development issues of poverty reduction, sustainable development, education and economic growth or fiscal constraints. Adger et al. (
2003) conclude that in an African context, most countries’ priorities relate to poverty reduction and development and not to the risk of long-term climate change, although such issues cannot be divorced from one another.
At the time of the research, the only government institution, which was formulating a response to climate change, was the UNFCCC focal point in MINEP. Likely due to its limited resources, its action has been confined to the development of statements and policies at the national level. Other government institutions were not fully aware of what their roles should be in terms of climate change. While the parastatal, ANAFOR, was continuing to carry out its reforestation mandate, its action addresses only a specific aspect of climate change. Given the importance of the Congo Basin forest in biodiversity conservation, the economy, and the livelihoods of millions of local people, other parts of MINEP, as well as other government departments should have had climate change as a greater priority. Additionally, MINFOF and ANAFOR should have begun to implement recommended forest management practices that would enhance adaptation to the direct effects of climate change (Smith and Lenhart
1996; Robledo and Forner
2005; Seppälä et al.
2009). Institutional weakness has been identified in other studies as a source of forest mismanagement in Cameroon (Oyono
2005; Mbatu
2009).
However, the recent emphasis on the role of the Congo Basin Forests in mitigation of climate change through such policies as REDD is playing a role in building awareness of climate change for those institutions interviewed. This was particularly true for government and civil society institutions as they are interested in the opportunities presented by REDD, and also concerned about its challenges in terms of implementation. However, any action to take advantage of these opportunities or address apparent challenges is still at an early stage. This is not surprising given that discussions on how REDD should be implemented are still taking place at the international level. However, the global significance of the Congo Basin forest will likely continue to dominate the discourse on climate change in Cameroon in the near future.
The forestry companies were not as aware of the details of climate change policy discussions on forests but were aware that such policies might present opportunities for them to enhance their business. Since the companies interviewed were certified, or in the process of becoming certified as practitioners of sustainable forest management, they are already aware how international pressure on environmental issues can influence their business practices. Therefore, they could be expected to pursue opportunities from international climate change policies on mitigation or adaptation that will also make good business sense in the future. However, not all forestry companies are aware of such opportunities or choose to seek to leverage such benefits from sustainable forest management.
5.2 Enhancing adaptive capacity
Similarly to other parts of Africa, Cameroon is considered to have a high level of social vulnerability to the direct effects of climate change due to many factors, such as level of poverty and the level of corruption (Adger and Vincent
2005; Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
2007b). Therefore, it is not surprising that government officials and civil society organizations identified that the key constraint in responding to climate change was a lack of infrastructure and human, technical and financial capacity. According to Smit and Pilifosova (
2003) the lack of key determinants of adaptive capacity, such as economic wealth, technology, information, skills and infrastructure, increase the vulnerability of nations and communities to the various challenges of climate change. Lack of these key determinants limits Cameroon’s ability to reduce vulnerability and take advantage of opportunities.
In Cameroon challenges come, not only from potential bio-physical changes in its diverse landscape but also from the unknown implications of policies, such as REDD. Despite international discussions of the opportunities presented by various carbon trading systems, questions remain as to whether they can be effective solutions to multiple challenges when implemented in countries, such as Cameroon, with weak governance systems and monitoring mechanisms. Some feel that the scaling up of emissions trading is more of a reflection of the interests of rich countries as opposed to those of poorer countries (Gupta
2008). Concern has been raised globally about the impact of such policies on indigenous and other forest-dependent communities (Rights and Resources Initiative
2008; Streck et al.
2008; Cotula and Mayers
2009). Therefore, it is essential that Cameroon increase its capacity in all areas, particularly human and technical capacity, to respond. This will necessarily involve engagement with forest-dependent communities on the issue.
Some progress has been made, with international support, such as that from the UNDP and La Coopération Française, which have addressed a lack of capacity in some areas in government, the private sector and civil society institutions. Furthermore, international organizations, COMIFAC and NGOs have facilitated the preparation of the R-PIN so that Cameroon will have the support of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility in preparing for REDD. However, while awareness has been raised in the various government institutions and NGOs, and a climate observatory has been promised, huge gaps in information, skills and technology remain. This is particularly evident in the limited resources of the MINEP focal point to address climate change issues. There are also concerns as to whether or not Cameroon has the capacity to have an effective voice in future negotiations on climate change. A concern for an effective African voice in climate change negotiations has been echoed by other African countries (African Forest Forum
2009).
As identified earlier, the existence of institutions and strong networks that learn and store knowledge and experience, and plan for changing environmental and policy conditions and risks enhance adaptive capacity (Tompkins and Adger
2004). Good inter-sectoral coordination is also important since policies in other sectors such as agriculture, transportation and resource development will have significant impacts on forests (Seppälä et al.
2009). Furthermore, the recent integration of diverse actors in global forest governance has enhanced sustainable forest management (Visseren-Hamakers and Glasbergen
2007; Agrawal et al.
2008). Therefore, it is of concern that results show that overall current institutional linkages within government at the national level are weak, in particular on the issue of climate change. Such weak institutional linkages on climate change have also been noted in other African countries (Orindi and Murray
2005; Koch et al.
2007). The apparent lack of links with different levels of government and local communities in Cameroon regarding climate change constrains adaptive capacity and could increase the vulnerability of local populations (Smit and Wandel
2006). However, the moderate linkages of international organizations and international NGOs with MINEP are playing an important role in enhancing the capacity of Cameroon to respond. Additionally, the regional connection of Congo Basin countries through COMIFAC provides a network for sharing of resources and knowledge to coordinate a response to new policies like REDD. Other networks such as the African Forest Forum also have a role to play in capacity building (African Forest Forum
2009).
It has been shown that well-connected networks enhance communication, favour collaboration, build social capital and foster innovation which is essential in dealing with an issue such as climate change (Carlsson and Sandstrom
2008). Therefore, it is essential that networks of stakeholders in government, civil society and the private sector be strengthened in order to increase Cameroon’s overall adaptive capacity. However, it is also critical that government institutions engage with the local population whose livelihoods are most at risk from changing environmental and policy conditions. Such engagement will increase adaptive capacity as it will provide opportunity for sharing of knowledge and concerns and build social capital (Tompkins and Adger
2004; Walker et al.
2006; Pahl-Wostl
2009). Government respondents felt that this may be most effectively done through international and national NGOs who already have close relations in working with communities. NGOs already play a key role in linking with communities in decentralized forest management in Cameroon (Brown et al.
2008b).
However, since the complexity of the climate change problem requires a coordinated, multilevel response from many institutions and other actors it is important to design appropriate institutions that can facilitate such linkages. In tackling such ‘wicked problems’ Weber and Khademian (
2008) identify that a collaborative capacity builder, from either inside or outside government, is often helpful in fostering the transfer, receipt and integration of knowledge across the networks and ultimately building long-term collaborative problem-solving capacity. While the UNFCCC focal point in MINEP has potential to play such a role, it is severely limited by a lack of resources. Therefore, while Cameroon’s institutional capacity needs to be reinforced in many areas, building human and technical capacity in this office may be one way to enhance the country’s overall adaptive capacity. However, a collaborative capacity-builder could also be located within civil society.
The weak networks among institutions, in general, and on climate change in particular, has serious implications for the effectiveness of national response to climate change and to new international policies on forests. Therefore, networks need to be strengthened at the level of policy making, as well as at the level of implementation of adaptation strategies. While constraints on capacity need to be overcome, according to one government official “there are still some institutional arrangements that need to be put into place in order to adequately respond to climate change.” The development of institutional arrangements could be facilitated by the presence of a collaborative capacity builder, that could strengthen networks so that the transfer and receipt of knowledge could be fostered and ultimately build long-term collaborative problem-solving capacity.