The current study was conducted in Cameroon from July 1996 to June 1997. In general, it aims to describe the current structure of the Cameroon logging industry, assess its importance within Cameroon's economy, and analyse recent developement which the industry has experienced since the devaluation of the CFA franc in January 1994.

The trade in illegally harvested timber provides a living for more than 45,000 people, a major source of income for corrupt officials and not a cent for the state.

Projects implemented as part of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol will have the dual mandate of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and contributing to sustainable development. It is not yet clear what, if any, forestry activities will be eligible for CDM. Nor is it known what rules will guide the implementation of CDM projects. These decisions have important implications for poor people who live in and around forests in developing countries.

Projects implemented as part of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol will have the dual mandate of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and contributing to sustainable development. It is not yet clear what, if any, forestry activities will be eligible for CDM. Nor is it known what rules will guide the implementation of CDM projects. These decisions have important implications for poor people who live in and around forests in developing countries.

In four separate studies undertaken in the northern highlands of Ethiopia, changes in regulating ecosystem services, economic viability, and the perception of local communities following establishing exclosures on communal grazing lands were investigated. Replicated ( = 3) 5-, 10-, 15-, and 20-year-old exclosures were selected and paired each exclosure with an adjacent grazing land. All exclosures displayed higher ecosystem services than communal grazing lands.

The brief illustrates two communities’ efforts through collective action to secure property rights over their land. As conflict over natural resources and the need for sufficient farm land continue to increase, both men’s and women’s groups tried to negotiate their rights to manage natural resources to maintain their livelihoods. The groups also tried various governmental schemes and other approaches to secure their rights over land.

Criteria and indicators (C&I) are tools to define, communicate and evaluate the sustainability of forest management. Since the Rio summit in 1992, numerous initiatives developed a various C&I sets as multifunctional tools to be applied for monitoring, auditing, science and decisions makers. The existing diversity of C&I sets is a cause for uncertainty and confusion, and thereby diminishes the acceptance and efficiency of the tool.