Contribution de l’exploitation forestière sur le développement local de la commune de Mvangan.

Abstract

Since the reform in the forestry sector in 1994, the problem of logging and the power that local residents have over this activity has surfaced in public space in Cameroon. This debate is maintained and nourished by politicians, civil society, actors in public life and interdisciplinary researchers. Despite the implementation of law 94, the results of studies carried out by: BIGOMBÉ, 2004, and OYONO, 2004 and 2006, show that the impact of logging activities development on local development remains very weak. This study was carried out in the Municipality of Mvangan, located in the Department of Mvila, Region of South Cameroon, with the aim of making an additional contribution to the work already carried out on this issue. It aimed to assess the contribution of logging to the local development of this Commune in order to integrate the management of forest resources into its development plan. Based on the interviews, certain data useful for this work were gleaned from around two hundred people, other information was supplemented by field observations. It follows that logging has generated local populations and the Municipality in the amount of 290,718,885 FCFA in the period from 2015 to 2019. This money will have been used, among other things: to build 20 classrooms for primary and nursery schools; build 06 emergency accommodation for teachers; build 02 standby huts for medical personnel; drill 19 works to supply drinking water; the payment of salaries for teachers recruited from primary schools and many others. In the end, it was found that the level of access of the populations of the study area to basic social services is very low on all fronts, except that of education. Through these aforementioned results, it would be necessary for the Municipality of Mvangan to plan to exploit its communal forest under direct management, which will allow it to no longer share the benefits of this with a partner and to increase its revenue to better ensure its develop and improve the living conditions of its populations. Political actors, in particular parliamentarians, are suggested to be more involved in the management of forestry revenue intended for the development of the Communes and a lobbying action to raise to 10% the share of local residents resulting from the exploitation of UFAs and VC. The local employment sector may experience a boom with the establishment of sawmills in the locality. The projects financed with forestry revenues must first of all be those recommended in joint decree n ° 0076 / MINEFI / MINATD / MINFOF of June 26, 2012 setting the terms of use of revenues from forestry and intended to neighboring village communities.