Decentralization of natural resources management and improvement of rural livelihoods: empirical evidence from the Dimako Council Forest experiment in eastern Cameroon

摘要

Since the mid-1980s, throughout the world, decentralized experiments in natural resources management are being promoted under the major assumption that through the inclusion of those who were formerly excluded - rural communities and governments - themanagement of those resources as well as local and rural living conditions will be improved. In Cameroon, following the 1994 landmark Forest Law which transferred significant powers, resources and responsibilities to local actors, three primary modes ofinvolving local communities and rural governments in the forestry sector were created: community forests; the annual forestry fee (AFF) and (local) council forests. While the literature has focused on the governance of community forests and the AFF, thestudy of council forests has lagged behind until recently. This paper investigates the impact of the forest management decentralization on rural livelihoods in the local council of Dimako, the first local government to benefit from this particular typeof transfer of powers in Central Africa. Overall, the empirical data reveals that the whole experiment has turned awry as the benefits have essentially bypassed local villagers amidst stories of incomplete projects, overestimations and alleged misappropriation of funds by the local mayor.