In my community, since I was a child, natural resource management has always been at the centre of all debates. It pits society's organisations against the government on the rules that organise access to and sharing of benefits from the exploitation of natural resources. The problem is that the rules of the game defined by parliamentarians tend to suffocate the customary ways of life and habits of forest populations. The degree of severity of this damage varies from one community/group to another depending on the vulnerability of each. Amongst these populations living in the Cameroonian forest region are the indigenous Baka populations. This group is totally dependent on forest resources for food, health care and other subsistence needs. Yet the current configuration of natural resource management space leaves these communities off the table. how it manifests itself?

National forest legislation distinguishes between a permanent and a non-permanent forest estate. In the first category, some areas are under the private domain of the State and currently represent more than 30% of the country's surface area. The second category is made up of the so-called "community forests" (managed by communities) but also and above all of the forests of the national domain assigned to no use. Several other types of forest are also included in this breakdown but will not be considered here. As community forests are those whose management is devolved to local communities, they could be an ideal way for indigenous Baka peoples to perpetuate their way of life. Unfortunately this is not the case, as the process of gazetting such a forest requires material, technical and financial resources. It also requires time and a lot of patience because of the length of time it takes to complete. In the case of forests in the private domain of the state, local communities are generally informed during the planning of the management of such forests and to a lesser extent invited to the decision-making table with very little power. While it must be acknowledged that some experiments have been conducted in local Bantu communities, the case of the Baka is particularly alarming.

The Baka populations were nomadic, living from hunting, fishing and gathering. It is exceptional to find in a Baka community, 1% of the community members who can read and write. The only activity that earns them money is working in the fields for an even more deplorable sum. Their way of life is therefore totally dependent on natural resources. Unfortunately, the gazettement procedure requires that a legal entity be created within the community, that studies be conducted in the forest and the community, that a forest management document be drafted so that the community can hope to acquire the forest. How can they do this if none of them can read? How can they finance education if none of them has an income that can put them above the poverty line? How can they prosper in an environment where they are marginalised by all other social strata? The consequence of all these unanswered questions is that the Baka remain the big losers in the management of forest resources, the great absentees from the decision-making tables and the forgotten ones when it comes to sharing the benefits that are extracted from them. How can they be considered 'forest people' in this case? The situation becomes even more worrying when these communities are evicted from the forest areas in which they live to be resettled on the roadside where a toxic neighbourhood is imposed with the Bantu communities. Once out of the forests, they are classified as protected areas, production forests, an agro-industrial plot etc. and access to the Baka communities becomes prohibited or regulated.

The combination of these phenomena contributes to stressing the indigenous Baka people because of their way of life. Some Baka groups have been supported (often successfully) in acquiring community forests and participating in steering meetings for certain forestry activities. But once the support project is over, it is back to square one. There is an urgent need for action to enable these communities to adapt to a world that is changing far too quickly. The authorities have undertaken various works and revisions of certain laws to allow for greater participation of vulnerable populations like the Baka in East Cameroon. But a combined effort at a higher level is required, we must all mobilise for the most vulnerable. So how do you think we can help these communities adapt to this new environment without losing their unique way of life? your opinions will find me in the field for implementation attempts.