Cameroon’s forestry sector was the focus of a recent World Resources Institute (WRI) webinar that showcased the results of a project implemented by the Forest Governance and Policy team.
From 2021 to 2026, WRI, together with Centre pour l'Environnement et le Développement (CED) , Forêts et Développement Rural (FODER) and Field Legality Advisory Group (FLAG), implemented a project, supported by the European Union, to strengthen transparency in forest operations and improve forest legality in Cameroon through independent forest monitoring.
WRI held a webinar on June 4th, 2026, to allow partners to share learnings and insights from the project with practitioners in the forest space.
Key issues raised in the webinar included insufficient numbers of forest law enforcement agents in Cameroon, important loss of tax revenues linked to illegal logging, and timber companies operating outside of the legal framework. Panelists also discussed the need for cross-sector collaboration and trust-building efforts.
Watch the session in full at the end of this article.
Igerha Bampa, Technical Assistant for the Open Timber Portal at WRI, began by outlining the aims of the project, which focused on supporting independent forest monitoring in Cameroon and improve transparency in the country’s forest sector.
Supporting forest monitoring operations
Angeline Modjo-Kamdem, Senior Project Manager at FODER, highlighted the organization’s work under the project, which centered on supporting independent forest monitoring systems and activities, as well as enabling forest monitors to use tools such as the Open Timber Portal and Global Nature Watch.
FODER conducted a series of independent forest monitoring missions during the project, ranging from legality verifications to joint interventions with regional brigades. An important number of investigation reports were produced and acted upon by relevant authorities. Some of these reports have been uploaded on the Open Timber Portal and can be accessed here. As part of activities implemented during the project, FODER also identified illegal timber flows to Europe, China and other Asian countries.
Their findings were shared during a range of information exchange meetings supported by FODER, Angeline said, including four cross-sector workshops.
Challenges to mangrove protections
Achille Wankeu, Project Manager at CED, shared findings from their analysis of forest governance efforts, illuminating shortcomings in the protection of mangroves in the Douala-Edea national park. CED found that mangrove timber was being taken for cooking purposes, with 80% of local bakeries using timber sourced from mangroves to fuel their ovens. CED’s analysis also highlighted shortcomings in governance systems, with a complete absence of enforcement monitoring in many mangrove areas. They observed one agent per 16,434 hectares - much lower than the international standard of one agent per 500 hectares.
Lost tax revenues
Serge Moukouri, Development Director at FLAG, noted how an analysis of timber yards (parc à bois in French) revealed a massive gap in tax revenues compared to observed logging activities. FLAG calculated around 18 billion francs FCFA (approx. $31 million USD) were missing from tax revenues between 2020-2024, highlighting the real harm illegal logging is inflicting in Cameroon. This is likely an underestimate, Serge added.
Stronger cooperation among forest finance administrations would help address this shortfall, Serge said, alongside a review of existing processes to track timber exports and the companies involved. A key issue he raised is companies that apparently cease trading, only to reappear a few years later, suggesting potential illegality.
Chaired by Teodyl Nkuintchua, Congo Basin Strategy and Engagement Lead at WRI, the session demonstrated the success of the project in identifying key issues threatening transparency in Cameroon’s forestry sector, and underlined the value of independent forest monitoring to protect tropical forests.
Watch the session in full
Use the YouTube settings icon to change audio track (French and English available).