Transparency of Land-based Investments: Cameroon Country Snapshot

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.
• The government faces threats to its legitimacy as the grievances of citizens and investors alike lead to the barring of roads by communities and investor withdrawals.
• Investors are aware of the challenges of current legislation and are also in favor of inclusive land reform.

CCSI and CED therefore call for:

• A new law concerning the governance of land and land-based investment in Cameroon, to be developed in close consultation and collaboration with communities, Indigenous groups, and other actors. The law should respond to the transparency needs of affected communities, enable increased funding for technical support to communities, and facilitate the recognition of all legitimate customary land rights, with specific attention to Indigenous communities and women and girls.
• A national moratorium on any new approvals for large-scale agribusiness and other land-based investment projects until Cameroon’s legal and policy landscape has been reformed.

Read the Report (20 pages), Briefing (6 pages), and Community briefing (1 page)