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 />
peoples in Central <strong>Africa</strong> we need to underst<strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir societies as nei<strong>the</strong>r essentially isolated<br />
from <strong>the</strong>ir neighbours nor as essentially dominated by <strong>the</strong>m. Their relational approach to<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir social, political <strong>and</strong> physical environment means that to support <strong>the</strong>m in making <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
own futures we have to support <strong>the</strong>ir processes <strong>of</strong> inclusivity, ra<strong>the</strong>r than set <strong>the</strong>m up as<br />
people who primarily wish to exclude o<strong>the</strong>rs from <strong>the</strong>ir territory. However, while forest<br />
peoples are guided by complex <strong>and</strong> dynamic customary l<strong>and</strong> tenure systems, <strong>and</strong> while <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
culture is, in general, excellent at undermining <strong>and</strong> resisting attempts to dominate it, <strong>the</strong>y are<br />
none <strong>the</strong> less politically weak when it comes to direct conflict with outsiders, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
egalitarian strategies can only deal with assault only up to a certain level. The final section <strong>of</strong><br />
this chapter will focus on <strong>the</strong> current situation <strong>of</strong> Central <strong>Africa</strong>’s forest peoples <strong>and</strong> will attest<br />
to <strong>the</strong> severe conditions some forest peoples are living in as a result <strong>of</strong> such sustained attacks<br />
on <strong>the</strong>ir livelihoods <strong>and</strong> ways <strong>of</strong> living.<br />
3 Current situation <strong>of</strong> forest peoples in Central <strong>Africa</strong> 60<br />
The forest provides <strong>the</strong> environmental, social, economic <strong>and</strong> political resource base that gives<br />
forest peoples room for manoeuvre, enabling <strong>the</strong>m to negotiate with o<strong>the</strong>rs <strong>and</strong>, to a great<br />
extent, determine <strong>the</strong>ir own future. The immediate threat to <strong>the</strong>m comes from <strong>the</strong> destruction<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> forest itself. After first examining <strong>the</strong> predicament <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> different peoples who<br />
maintain livelihoods based inside <strong>the</strong> forests, we will look at <strong>the</strong> predicament <strong>of</strong> those whose<br />
forest has been destroyed or who have been excluded from it.<br />
A<br />
<strong>Forest</strong> peoples still living in <strong>the</strong> forest<br />
To varying degrees, groups such as <strong>the</strong> Mbuti (Bambuti) <strong>and</strong> Efe, <strong>the</strong> Aka (Ba-Aka), <strong>the</strong> Baka,<br />
<strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> Bakola continue as hunter–ga<strong>the</strong>rers. The Mbuti <strong>and</strong> Efe <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Ituri <strong>Forest</strong>, DRC, are<br />
thought to number 35–40,000; <strong>the</strong> Aka <strong>of</strong> nor<strong>the</strong>rn Congo (including <strong>the</strong> Mbendjelle) <strong>and</strong><br />
sou<strong>the</strong>rn CAR 25–30,000; <strong>the</strong> Baka <strong>of</strong> south-eastern Cameroon 35–50,000; <strong>the</strong> Bagyéli <strong>of</strong><br />
south-western Cameroon 3–4,000. While <strong>the</strong>re is tremendous variation within each group –<br />
with some people mostly sedentarised <strong>and</strong> engaged in agriculture, <strong>and</strong> many working for long<br />
or short periods for outsiders such as logging companies, meat traders <strong>and</strong> conservationists –<br />
most <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se people spend some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> year moving through <strong>the</strong> forest between hunting<br />
camps <strong>and</strong> some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> year living close to <strong>the</strong>ir farming neighbours <strong>and</strong> working in <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
fields.<br />
As Bantu cultivators <strong>and</strong> fishers moved into <strong>the</strong> forest from central Cameroon (from 5,000<br />
years ago onwards), ancestors <strong>of</strong> present-day hunter–ga<strong>the</strong>rers exchanged forest produce<br />
with <strong>the</strong> farming peoples in exchange for iron <strong>and</strong> pottery artefacts, as well as for agricultural<br />
produce. This evolved into a system <strong>of</strong> economic <strong>and</strong> cultural exchange which continues to<br />
this day: in some places more in <strong>the</strong> form <strong>of</strong> exchange relations freely entered into, in o<strong>the</strong>rs<br />
more in <strong>the</strong> form <strong>of</strong> domination by <strong>the</strong> farmers.<br />
Where <strong>the</strong> forest is not destroyed <strong>and</strong> where hunter–ga<strong>the</strong>rers to varying degrees maintain<br />
traditional exchange relations with <strong>the</strong>ir farming neighbours, <strong>the</strong> Baka, <strong>the</strong> Aka, <strong>the</strong> Efe <strong>and</strong><br />
60 The following section has relied heavily upon <strong>the</strong> 2006, 2007 <strong>and</strong> 2008 editions <strong>of</strong> The Indigenous World,<br />
IWGIA, Copenhagen.<br />
Kidd & Kenrick 19<br />
March 2009