Forest Conservation in Central Africa

* Ir Simon Rietbergen, Forest Conservation Programme Officer, IUCN, Gland
* Drs Jolanda van den Berg, Chair Agrarian Law, Wageningen Agricultural University

Forest management and conservation in Central Africa continue to be a matter of concern both with specialized organizations and the general public. Although logging in the region is very selective, and the forest vegetation is therefore much less affected than by intensive timber harvesting operations in countries such as Canada and Indonesia, the social and environmental impact of logging is thought to be considerable.

Even if forest and other laws and regulations have provisions for mitigating such impacts, they are rarely applied - as government officials are unable or unwilling to enforce them. In reaction to this, and to the difficulty in establishing new forest protected areas and mobilising long-term funding for their management, some international conservation organizations such as WWF, the Wildlife Conservation Society and IUCN (the World Conservation Union) have started to work directly with logging companies. Whether these new partnerships will be able to reduce the negative impacts of the timber industry is still an open question. Some preliminary results in Cameroon, Congo and Gabon, and their implications for the rules of engagement for future partnerships, will be discussed.