Context and background:Land is a source of wealth in terms of the economic and socio-cultural value it represents. Land resources are the basis of any economic activity or development project, which is why they are at the centre of multiple covetousness. However, social exclusion leads to numerous land conflicts observed in Cameroon.Goal and objectives:This study therefore aims to show how social exclusion can cause and sustain land disputes in Cameroon.

Context and background Land grabbing has been in the news in Africa in recent years. Fertile land is increasingly falling into the hands of national or international private investors. Farmers with rudimentary means, youth, women, indigenous people, and pastoralists are the actors most affected by large-scale land grabs. Fertile land is becoming increasingly scarce and the public authorities do not seem to be determined to put in place safeguards to regulate this situation.

In Cameroon, the pressure on wetlands, which cover nearly 70% of the national territory, appears to be increasing, whether for subsistence needs, firewood, grazing, logging or expansion of development projects. Currently, in terms of land use, forest has decreased by 619 km² and cultivated land has increased by 321 km². The surface area of degraded forests and land is estimated at around 12 million hectares, with a general trend towards an increase in the phenomenon due to both natural and anthropogenic factors.

This chapter explores the interface between land tenure rights and soil security and screens through the Cameroonian land tenure legislation in order to identify relevant provisions that guarantee soil security.

Land Observatories (LOs) monitor how large-scale land deals impact the environment, culture, and traditional ways of life of local and indigenous communities.

They try to understand how local, regional, national and transnational land transactions in agriculture, forestry, mining, ranching, and livestock keeping impact livelihoods.

Le Cameroun ambitionne d’atteindre l’émergence à l’horizon 2035. Et pour cela, le pays entend s’appuyer sur l’exploitation de ses ressources naturelles et la multiplication des investissements. S’il est vrai que cette option d’ailleurs

La décision du gouvernement camerounais de réformer le cadre juridique du foncier est une opportunité d’assurer une réelle protection des droits fonciers ruraux, dans un contexte où les investissements et les projets à grande échelle augmentent l’insécurité foncière à travers le pays. En réponse à une invitation de l’administration à contribuer à la conception de ce nouveau cadre législatif, les acteurs de la société civile ont énoncé ces dernières années de nombreuses propositions sur les sujets à intégrer dans la nouvelle législation foncière.

Dans le cadre du Suivi du Couvert des forêts du Cameroun, le Ministère des Forêts et de la Faune (MINFOF) et le Ministère de l’Environnement, de la Protection de la Nature et du Développement Durable (MINEPDED) par le biais de l’Unité Opérationnelle de Suivi du Couvert Forestier (UOSCF) en collaboration avec son partenaire technique et financier World Resources Institute (WRI) ont éla- boré le rapport annuel sur les évènements majeurs de déforestation (EMD). 

The Cameroonian government’s decision to reform the land legal framework is an opportunity to provide real protection for rural land tenure rights, in a context where major investments and projects are increasing tenure insecurity across the country. Responding to an invitation from the administration to help design this new framework, civil society stakeholders have issued multiple proposals over the years on the topics they think should be included in the new land law. The LandCam project has documented, analysed and consolidated these proposals.

Includes overview;the problem: Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) finance a destructive model;current situation: DFIs write off loans;impacted communities face repression;human rights abuses;the role of European DFIs;recommendations. The negative outcomes experienced in the case of Feronia Inc.

New research by CCSI and the Centre pour l’Environnement et le Développement (CED) on transparency of land-based investment in Cameroon. 

In the report, CCSI and CED find that:

• Communities continue to be excluded from decision-making around investments.
• The government pursues a top-down approach to concession allocation and remains reluctant to recognize all legitimate tenure rights.

Bien que des informations sur certains projets d’investissements soient rendues publiques, et malgré une loi récente sur la transparence, la gestion des investissements fonciers au Cameroun n’est, de toute évidence, pas véritablement transparente dans l’ensemble.

Dans un nouveau rapport se concentrant sur les projets d’agrobusiness au Cameroun, le Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI) et le Centre pour l’Environnement et le Développement (CED) constatent que :