Capacity Building of Indigenous Peoples on the REDD+ Process in Cameroon
Period: 2019–2020
Lead Organisation: AIWO-CAN
Institutional Framework: REDD+ Platform of Indigenous Peoples of Cameroon (PREPAC)
Supervisory Authority: Ministry of Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development (MINEPDED)
Indigenous Peoples Targeted: Baka, Bagyéli and Mbororo
Areas of Intervention: East and South Regions, Cameroon
This project aimed to strengthen the effective, informed and equitable participation of Indigenous Peoples in the REDD+ process in Cameroon, enabling them to understand the technical, institutional and decision-making mechanisms involved, and to defend their rights, knowledge and interests within these frameworks.
As the lead organisation of PREPAC, AIWO-CAN worked in close collaboration with member organisations of the platform to support indigenous communities in a context where limited access to information and decision-making spaces represented a major barrier to their inclusion in national forest and climate policies.
The project focused on community capacity building through the organisation of several training workshops in the East and South Regions. These sessions enabled indigenous communities to better understand:
• the REDD+ mechanism and its implications,
• consultation and consent processes,
• benefit-sharing systems,
• the Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) framework for forest carbon.
At the same time, Indigenous Peoples were actively involved in national consultations, the establishment of the MRV system, and the operationalisation of the Environmental, Social and Strategic Management Framework (EESS). This participatory approach made it possible to integrate their collective rights, traditional knowledge and priorities into the REDD+ policies under development.
Through this project, Baka, Bagyéli and Mbororo communities strengthened their technical and institutional capacities, improved their understanding of forest governance issues, and consolidated their role as legitimate actors in REDD+ initiatives. They are now better equipped to defend their rights, participate in decision-making processes, and claim equitable access to benefits derived from sustainable forest management.
Through this initiative, AIWO-CAN contributed to promoting more inclusive forest governance, respectful of Indigenous Peoples’ rights, and aligned with Cameroon’s commitments on climate, biodiversity and social justice
