Started from the premise that the acquisition of large-scale land is increasingly growing in the world and specifically in the South, about sixty participants came together in a workshop around the commercial pressures Land and REDD+.

Workshop on "Land, commercial pressures on land and REDD +"
Yaounde, Merina Hotel 25th  and 26th November 2011.

 Started from the premise that the acquisition of large-scale land is increasingly growing in the world and specifically in the South, about sixty participants came together in a workshop around the commercial pressures Land and REDD+.

Under the patronage of the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Regional Planning (MINEPAT) of Cameroon, CIRAD and the Paul Ango Foundation with financial support of the French Cooperation (SCAC) and GIZ, has been initiated from 25th to 26th November 2011 a workshop on the issues of "Land, commercial pressures on land and REDD +" at the Merina Hotel in Yaounde.

A dual objective was chosen by the participants, namely: an update on the reality, the extent and nature of these phenomena of "commercial pressures on land" in Cameroon and in Central Africa, and stimulate a dynamic  of jointly research on issues of commercial pressures on land and REDD +, between research institutions and civil society organizations.

The institutional partners of the workshop expressed their opinion on the issue of regulation of land acquisitions.  

Then, Eric Force, representative of the French cooperation (SCAC) in Yaounde has encouraged the appropriation of land, only if the investments contribute to the development of the concerned country. He therefore encourages different actors to develop an effective framework to ensure the rights of land users that  can only be achieved by promoting transparency in contracts and an emphasis on open spaces land.

In the same vein, Ms. Kirsten Hegener, representative of the German Cooperation (GIZ) in Yaounde, Cameroon encouraged the Cameroonian Government to consider the requirements of the framework law for the management and sustainable development of the territory and to emplement  the  coordination in its policy development and environmental requirements.

To close this phase, Serge Tchounkoué Pierre, Director of Planning, representing the Minister of Economy, Planning and Regional Planning (MINEPAT) presented the ambition of Cameroon to become an emerging country on the horizon 2035.Then,, a set of arrangements are made to know the development of the strategic document for employment growth (GESP) and the framework law for the planning and development sustainable planning. It was also an opportunity to serve the full support of Cameroon to the  REDD + mechanism, in condition that this mechanism contributes to the implementation of the objectives of development. It finally ended his remarks by acknowledging the potential limitations of Cameroon and encouraging proposals for "innovative concrete tracks" for solving various problems related to land problems to which Cameroon is facing.

Based on several observations, a number of provisions have been listed for the establishment of an observatory of commercial pressures agricultural land and forest with well-defined missions.

Please download (only available in French) :

♦ Compte rendu final  de l’atelier sur le Foncier-Pressions commerciales sur les terres et REDD+, Yaoundé-25 et 26 novembre 2011

♦ African Business 2011 : Accaparement des terres

♦ Alain Karsenty (CIRAD) et Samuel Assembé (CIFOR) :  Les régimes fonciers et la mise en œuvre de REDD+ en Afrique Centrale