Summary of suggestions developed by the 3 working groups Working group 1: WWF internal reform needs Aspects and Issues Proposed Actions Stakeholders WWF Cameroon Strategic Plan 1. Integrate a strategic pillar on “CommunityBased Conservation” as the Strategic Plan currently focuses only on WWF Cameroon’s conservation targets. This helps potential donors see that the engagement with local and indigenous communities is institutionally enshrined in core documents. WWF Cameroon IP-related Knowledge/ Information Manageme nt 1. Develop an online database to document community work, which is updated on a regular basis by project staff and contains key words for easy access of information. The same database should also record all activities related to communities’ involvement in conservation. Integrate past issues of the “Jengi Newsletter”. The database should serve to document community activities, provide evidence in case of accusations, and inform the development of specific funding proposals for community activities. WWF Int. 2. Review WWF Cameroon’s integration in WWF’s SD4C (Social Development for Conservation Network). Aim to recruit a fulltime coordinator who can also serve as Cameroon’s focal point for SD4C and facilitates sharing of experiences in the network and with field staff. Impact Monitoring 1. Establish a simple annual socio-economic monitoring system (qualitative and quantitative) to record trends on different livelihood topics of local communities. Identify one focus group which will be interviewed over several years, and one group of a random sample. Volunteer/ Community Coordinator SD4C Focal Point/ Community Coordinator WWF Cameroon; preferably regional/global system for WWF projects worldwide 2. Re-establish the simple integrated model used for GIZ projects before to monitor conservation trends versus local development trends. 3. Monitor civil society capacity development as requested for the current SIDA project in coastal areas, and expand it to other project sites. Communica 1. Review WWF CCPO Communication WWF CCPO tion strategy to integrate indigenous issues into the communication plan. 2. Identify Baka working in the media, reinforce their capacities and collaborate with them on media strategies. 3. Support local radio stations and “community radio initiatives” to showcase community conservation work. 4. Provide hooks to generate media interest in indigenous peoples issues related to conservation, and showcase their effective contribution to conservation activities as a basis for future legal advocacy work. Heightened media attention on conservation issues can also lead to increased scrutiny of conservation actors and hopefully improve their performance on the ground. 5. Liaise with WWF Int. media office for capacity building of local offices in news production and dissemination. Communication team Baka journalists Civil society Local radio stations Media WWF Int. 6. Interim work with WWF Int. on online responses to “Survival International” campaign - this can later be developed into a SD4C online indigenous peoples/CBNRM Database. Complaints Mechanism and Collaborati on with the Governmen t 1. Awareness-raising campaigns in the villages on existing complaints/redress mechanisms put in place by the government (MINFOF). Review shortcomings of this system, such as problems with trust/anonymity, phone access etc. and suggest improvements to the government, including establishing a written register of these complaints. 2. Clarification of WWF’s and MINFOF’s roles and responsibilities, e.g. introduce designated car and office stickers for different institutions, segregation of vehicle/driver on anti-poaching operations, etc. 3. Support independent actors and local NGOs such as “CEFAID” in establishing a written register to document complaints. Explore the role of “RACOPY” in this process. WWF Cameroon project staff; MINFOF MINFOF CSOs (e.g. CEFAID) Churches 4. Investigate options to involve the church in receiving and processing complaints. Policy advocacy and Coordinatio 1. IP advocacy support for SD4C. WWF 2. Increase level of funding for communitybased conservation initiatives; seek internal agreement to devote more funding to WWF n with other NGOs indigenous peoples’ issues. 3. Establish formal thematic partnerships with other NGOs working in Cameroon (NGO network) for joint policy advocacy on legal reforms regarding community conservation and indigenous rights; and coordination of funding interests. 4. Develop a mechanism on how best support civil society organizations working on conservation and indigenous/social issues to become effective partners on the ground for community-based conservation. WWF capacity needs 1. Recruit expert/coordinator for communitybased conservation at national level (in cooperation with Patricia Skyer), which could also serve as a SD4C Focal Point for Cameroon. This position should establish close working relationships with indigenous peoples’ and civil society organizations. 2. Assign one staff in each program site as CBC officer working with volunteers and local CSOs. 3. Review WWF’s hiring policy to include community experience, background in anthropology/sociology and indigenous peoples in future selection processes. NGO network Civil society WWF Cameroon WWF Int. with support from SD4C 4. Provide training for WWF staff on community-based conservation, participatory approaches and indigenous peoples’ issues. Working group 2: Community based conservation Collaborating with indigenous peoples and local communities protecting their territories Aspects and Issues Proposed Actions Stakeholders Community -based manageme nt of territories and natural resources 1. Facilitate/conduct a study with local and indigenous communities in selected sites on elements existing in the traditional culture that contribute to biodiversity conservation (e.g. taboos on hunting specific animals, noaccess zones such as sacred sites, traditional management rules and practices, etc.). Communities; civil society orgs. 2. Facilitate/conduct a mapping exercise to Communities; civil society orgs. identify traditional use zones, areas of cultural significance, historical occupation of the territory, etc.). Combine this with a scientific survey on the biodiversity of the mapped area. 3. Identify knowledgeable village elders and strengthen customary authorities and governance institutions traditionally in charge of the ancestral territory. They can form the basis for a management committee or other self-determined governance structures. 4. Support the community in developing a management and use plan for their territory, including as many community members as possible in these process to ensure inclusiveness and transparency. 5. Design a community-based monitoring system in collaboration with scientists and establish a regular mechanism for community members to conduct surveys (see below). 6. Explore the legal options available in the respective countries to gain official recognition for the community-conserved area and secure their rights over their land and resources. Scientists; Conservation actors Communities NGOs Communities; NGOs Conservation actors Knowledgeholders; scientists Government, Forest Ministries Government, Forest Ministries, NGOs 7. Advocate for national policy changes in collaboration with other civil society organizations based on these pilot experiences. Biomonitoring 1. Identify knowledge-holders that have extensive experience of the forest (e.g. village elders, hunters, skilled trackers, etc.). Explore how they generate biodiversityrelated knowledge and which evidence they use. Communities; NGOs 2. Organize exchanges between scientists and traditional knowledge-holders and develop a locally-adapted monitoring system, identifying which area and which natural resources to focus on. Put specific emphasis on species and resources that have cultural and livelihood importance for the communities. Decide whether to combine scientific and traditional methods or to implement parallel monitoring systems. Communities; Scientists 3. Provide logistic support to the monitoring activities. 4. Evaluate the results with the group of scientists and knowledge-holders which Civil society organizations Conservation actors Scientists and Knowledgeholders designed the system. Benefitsharing 5. Discuss the monitoring results with the communities, examining trends and causes for the decline of specific species, and adapt management (develop new rules, etc.). Communities; NGOs 1. Establish a transparent mechanism for the sharing of benefits generated by the protected area (park entries, tourism revenues, safari-hunting, logging concessions, etc.). Communities, civil society; WWF 2. Make sure benefits reach the communities directly without being mediated by political and economic elites, etc. Civil society orgs.; WWF 2. Support the formation of village committees which include different sectors of the population (BaAka and Bantu, women and men, elders and youth, with a specific emphasis on including traditional authorities) to make sure decisions on benefit use and distribution are fair and inclusive. Antipoaching efforts and environmen tal education Communities Civil society orgs.; WWF 3. To avoid mismanagement, communities can decide to ask conservation actors to help them carry out specific projects with the benefits. Options could include health and education facilities, scholarships, advocacy, legal support, capacity-building, etc. Civil society orgs.; WWF 1. Conduct awareness-raising campaigns in the villages to reduce collaboration with poachers. Work with respected community members. Communities, NGOs 2. Implement environmental education campaigns oriented to children and youth in the villages to generate pride in their natural heritage, encouraging them to engage in its protection. Organize school excursions to visit salient sights of the protected area, such as observing elephants and gorillas in the wild. Work with teachers as to how better include environmental education into the school curriculum, for example with creative activities such as drawing competitions. Use photo voice to help adult community members to communicate important issues to decision-makers and conservationists. 3. Set up a community information system to warn conservation actors of the presence of poachers in specific areas. Make sure complaints can be given in an anonymous way and do not backfire on the local population. Communities, NGOs, Schools; Ministry of Education Conservation actors Conservation actors Landscape Manageme nt Approach 4. Combat corruption among eco-guards and establish harsh consequences. Implement human rights training and sensitize them regarding traditional culture and way of life. Conservation actors, Ecoguards, civil society orgs.; Judiciary 1. Develop a broader landscape approach composed of strict conservation areas, community-managed territories and other types of land use. WWF, communities, Ministry 2. Seek legal recognition and integration into management plans. Working Group 3: Community Issues: Culture, rights, leadership, health, education Some of the following objectives and activities go beyond the competences and direct mandate of WWF. Nevertheless, recognizing their importance for conservation efforts, we should involve and support civil society organizations in finding ways to tackle these issues. Aspects and Issues Proposed Actions Stakeholders Strengtheni ng traditional culture 1. Facilitate transmission of knowledge and values, creating opportunities for village elders and youth to come together to reflect on the loss of their natural and cultural heritage and conceive ways to protect them; recover traditional spaces for cultural transmission. Youth, elders, facilitators, resource people 2. Identify knowledgeable elders and contribute in strengthening their authority in the community. 3. Document, safeguard and make available local environmental knowledge and Village elders Elders and local resource people (hunters, fishermen, healers, women); traditional practices, collect historical records, register cultural manifestations. scientific community (ethno-botanists, social scientists) 4. Sensitize conservation actors about customary forest use and traditional practices, including hunting, fishing, gathering, ceremonial and ritual use. WWF and other conservation actors, ecoguards, authorities 5. Foster and capacitate a new generation of self-confident and well-informed leaders anchored in their culture and committed to their communities. Rights Intercommunal relationshi ps / discriminati on 1. Legal support to attend, examine, and respond to instances of abuse against vulnerable groups (indigenous peoples, women, children, etc.); provide council and defense services. NGOs, Human Rights Orgs. 2. Information campaigns and education on indigenous and civil rights, as well as on prevailing national and international legislation. NGOs, communities, local and regional authorities, law enforcement institutions 1. Establish mediation mechanisms to solve conflicts between communities including disputes over land, money lending, etc. Committee of respected individuals 2. Create opportunities for members of different communities to focus on shared interests, encouraging their participation in joint initiatives that tackle common challenges and seize on opportunities that benefit all. 3. Include indigenous knowledge in conservation strategies and activities, highlighting its value in ways that encourage other population groups to acknowledge this contribution, learn about and apply traditional practices, a dynamic which will foster respect. Education Local youth, village elders, NGOs 1. Influence the school curriculum to be more appropriate to BaAka socio-cultural context, introducing learning units dealing with traditional knowledge and the local natural environment. 2. Foster the emergence of indigenous teachers; make possible for BaAka finishing school to be automatically admitted in teacher-training programs. Bantu and BaAka communities, NGOs WWF and other conservation actors Teachers and students; Ministry of Education; NGOs NGOs; Ministry of Education “ 3. Promote the introduction of bilingual early education. 4. Establish boarding houses to enable children from distant villages to continue secondary education. NGOs, religious institutions Teachers and students, NGOs 5. Combat discrimination in schools. Encourage organization of mixed group of students, dedicated to protecting and integrating new BaAka and village children. Health 1. Develop a mobile system of health care and counselling that makes regular visits to all villages. 2. Train village primary health care givers to promote preventative measures, hygiene, etc. 3. Include traditional medicine systems and local knowledge into a culturally sensitive health strategy. Educate population as to the appropriate use of traditional or modern medicine according to circumstance. Organizatio n 1. Reinforce traditional systems of participatory decision-making by consensus at the village level. 2. Strengthen existing conflict resolution mechanisms within the community. Restore and upgrade internal communication mechanisms to guarantee equal access to information and transparency. 3. Promote reflection and debate within the communities to develop an effective and representative system of delegation acceptable to all. Ministry of Health, NGOs “ Ministry of Health, local healers, NGOs Villagers, NGOs Villagers, NGOs Villagers, NGOs