Ripples from a single stone: Indigenous mobilization for community tenure-led conservation in Cameroon

• Published in: Oryx Vol. 57; no. 3; pp. 288 - 297
• Main Authors: Emini, Timothée, Clarke, Catherine, Long, Cath
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01-05-2023
• Subjects: Baka; Cameroon; Community; community-led conservation; Congo Basin; Conservation; Conservation organizations; Conservation practices; Forest conservation; Forests; Human rights; Human rights and conservation; Indigenous Peoples; International law; National parks; Native peoples; Native rights; Parks & recreation areas; Protected areas; Redevelopment; Wildlife; Wildlife conservation; Congo Basin; Cameroon; community-led conservation; Congo Basin; Cameroon; Baka; protected areas; Indigenous Peoples
• ISSN: 0030-6053; 1365-3008
• DOI: 10.1017/S0030605323000157

We document a process initiated by Indigenous Peoples in Cameroon that seeks to open a dialogue with key conservation actors to work towards community-led, rights-based alternatives to so-called fortress conservation. In June 2021, Gbabandi, a platform of forest Indigenous Peoples, invited key conservation actors to a 1-day listening event. This represented an important precedent, reversing the usual approach to dialogue in which Indigenous Peoples are invited to participate at various levels in externally directed processes. In this case the space for engagement was opened by Indigenous Peoples on their own terms based on Indigenous ways of organizing, and conservation organizations were invited to participate. Indigenous Peoples gave testimonies of physical violence and abuse in various protected areas across Cameroon. Conservation actors acknowledged there had been violations of human rights and there was substantial discussion about threats to wildlife and the need for more inclusive approaches to conservation, redevelopment of management plans and renegotiation of access for Indigenous communities based on community consent. The long-term impact remains to be seen but the immediate effect of an Indigenous-led process was that key decision makers in conservation in Cameroon heard directly from the people affected by their decisions and, since the event, have been more active than previously in contacting and consulting Indigenous Peoples about how protected areas are managed. Gbabandi is hopeful that this type of initiative will change the dialogue between communities and protected area managers and will lead to real changes in conservation practice.