Land Rights and the Forest Peoples of Africa
Land Rights and the Forest Peoples of Africa
Land Rights and the Forest Peoples of Africa
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<strong>L<strong>and</strong></strong> rights <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> forest peoples <strong>of</strong> <strong>Africa</strong> – Part I<br />
The Bagyéli in south-west Cameroon live mainly in <strong>the</strong> forest at some distance from roads,<br />
<strong>and</strong> form a small minority amongst <strong>the</strong>ir Bantu farming neighbours, <strong>the</strong> Bulu, Ngoumba <strong>and</strong><br />
Fang villagers, who live along <strong>the</strong> roads that run through <strong>the</strong> forest. 50 The anthropologist<br />
Karen Biesbrouck sometimes appears to describe <strong>the</strong> Bagyéli as incorporated within Bantu<br />
l<strong>and</strong> tenure arrangements, <strong>and</strong> sometimes describes <strong>the</strong> Bagyéli as having a very different<br />
system <strong>of</strong> tenure. 51 In principle, villagers <strong>and</strong> Bagyéli may use <strong>the</strong> same forest space <strong>and</strong><br />
resources, although in practice <strong>the</strong> Bantu tend to use secondary forest, fallow l<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> cacao<br />
plantations more, ra<strong>the</strong>r than <strong>the</strong> high [primary] forest that Bagyéli tend to use. For <strong>the</strong><br />
Bantu <strong>the</strong> whole <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> non-forest cultivated area is considered common property to which<br />
native villagers have priority <strong>of</strong> access. Again, from a Bantu perspective, each <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> different<br />
Bagyéli base camps associated with one village has rights only to specific areas <strong>of</strong> high forest<br />
associated with that base camp, not to <strong>the</strong> whole forest area, <strong>and</strong> all Bagyéli are incorporated<br />
into <strong>the</strong> clans <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir Bantu ‘patrons’.<br />
In practice, <strong>the</strong> Bagyéli operate a completely different but parallel system <strong>of</strong> l<strong>and</strong> tenure. In<br />
situations where <strong>the</strong> Bantu are enabled to dominate – for example, through <strong>the</strong> imposition <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> World-Bank-backed <strong>and</strong> Exxon-funded Chad–Cameroon oil pipeline – <strong>the</strong>n <strong>the</strong> Bantu<br />
system prevails, o<strong>the</strong>rwise <strong>the</strong> Bagyéli retain <strong>the</strong>ir own system. Interestingly, <strong>the</strong> Bagyéli<br />
system <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> Bantu system appear not to be in conflict, because to <strong>the</strong> Bantu <strong>the</strong> explicit<br />
Bagyéli system can appear to conform to <strong>the</strong> Bantu system <strong>of</strong> residence <strong>and</strong> lineage; in<br />
everyday practice, however, <strong>the</strong> Bagyéli retain a freedom <strong>of</strong> movement <strong>and</strong> access that is very<br />
different from <strong>the</strong> Bantu system.<br />
This is because for <strong>the</strong> Bagyéli <strong>the</strong> basic principles governing access to natural resources in<br />
<strong>the</strong> high forest are ‘residence, kinship <strong>and</strong> “good relations”.’ 52 Bagyéli customary law allocates<br />
collective access to forest resources through residential units (<strong>the</strong> base camp or village) <strong>and</strong><br />
kinship relations (being a blood relative, or a friend, client or o<strong>the</strong>r follower <strong>of</strong> a particular<br />
lineage clan). These two entities overlap, but not completely, resulting in a complex network<br />
<strong>of</strong> mutual rights stretching over considerable distances. 53 It will appear that being part <strong>of</strong> a<br />
Bagyéli residential unit will mean that you have rights only to a particular area – a system<br />
mirroring <strong>the</strong> Bantu emphasis on exclusive rights – but in fact Bagyéli rely on kinship<br />
relations <strong>and</strong> ‘good relations’ to enable <strong>the</strong>m to move to very distant areas <strong>of</strong> forest. So<br />
although in <strong>the</strong>ory Bagyéli can appear to conform to Bantu ideas <strong>of</strong> having rights only to<br />
forest associated with <strong>the</strong>ir base-camp, which is itself associated with a particular Bantu<br />
village, in practice <strong>the</strong>y have ways <strong>of</strong> establishing rights wherever <strong>the</strong>y are on good terms with<br />
o<strong>the</strong>r Bagyéli . Thus <strong>the</strong>ir rights are not based on exclusively owned property but flow from<br />
good relations; <strong>the</strong>ir focus is on maintaining good relations ra<strong>the</strong>r than firm boundaries.<br />
It is possible for <strong>the</strong> Bagyéli to have access to all <strong>the</strong> high forest, as long as <strong>the</strong>y are able to ‘be<br />
on good terms’ with o<strong>the</strong>rs, <strong>and</strong> so maintain <strong>the</strong>ir right to use neighbouring areas <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
forest. Boundaries in <strong>the</strong> high forest enable rights-holders to exclude people belonging to<br />
50 J Berg <strong>and</strong> K Biesbrouck (2000) The social dimension <strong>of</strong> rainforest management in Cameroon: Issues for<br />
co-management., Tropenbos–Cameroon Programme, Kribi, Cameroon, p 5.<br />
51 Ibid., p 29.<br />
52 Ibid., p 25.<br />
53 Ibid.<br />
Kidd & Kenrick 17<br />
March 2009