Land Rights and the Forest Peoples of Africa

Land rights and the forest peoples of Africa – Part I
the Mbuti, for example, spend long periods in the forest. They perceive their environment to
be plentiful and benevolent. They live in bands of 15–60, hunting for meat, gathering plant
foods, and collecting honey. Everything they own has to be carried when they move to a new
hunting camp, so there is advantage in having few possessions. What they do have in
abundance is an intimate knowledge of the forest: of animal tracks, of the flowering and
fruiting cycles of plants, of how to locate a bees’ nest from the flight of a bee. They know the
individual properties of thousands of plants and make use of them to eat, to make poisons, to
dull pain, to heal wounds, and to cure fever. Invariably these hunter–gatherers spend much of
the year near a village, where they work in the villagers’ gardens. Most of them engage in
rituals which involve asserting their relationship with the forest and with the spirits of the
forest. Song is central to these rituals, and may last all night with the intention of establishing
a peaceful state of mind and co-operation among the whole camp, and re-establishing a good
relationship with the forest, all of which is necessary for the hunt to be successful.
Mbuti and Efe of the Ituri Forest, DR Congo
While many of the Mbuti and Efe have managed to maintain forest-based livelihoods, the
biggest threat that they currently face is the continued appropriation of their lands by both
logging companies and conservation projects. In 2002, the government established a Forest
Code, with 40% being zoned for commercial exploitation and 15% zoned for conservation.
The remaining 45% is available for concessions. Forest peoples’ customary tenure has not
been included, however, and none of the forest is being zoned to reflect and protect forest
peoples’ own land tenure systems.
Despite a range of forest policies that have attempted to halt the exploitation of the DRC’s
forest resources, the government has admitted that logging continues in the country, with the
granting of 103 concessions since the 2002 moratorium was put in place (equivalent to
147,426 sq km of forest).
Baka and Bagyéli of southern Cameroon
The Bagyéli and Baka around Campo Ma’an National Park, Dja Reserve and Boumba Bek
National Park have benefited from the use of global positioning system mapping to create
land-use maps. These maps have been used to advocate for the rights of the Bagyéli to have
access to Campo Ma’an, and while it hasn’t brought about a recognition of their rights to own
and control their territories, it has enabled them to secure an agreement with protected area
authorities regarding continued access to the park.
Evidence collected during consultations with Bagyéli communities in south-western
Cameroon in 2001 showed that Exxon’s World-Bank-backed Chad–Cameroon oil pipeline
route was having severe impacts on Bagyéli communities. 61 For example, the pipeline crossed
Bagyéli land at least five times in the Bipindi area, required some Bagyéli to move their
camps, and threatened sacred sites. At the time, however, no Bagyéli had received individual
compensation since, it was claimed, they were not affected.
61 J Nelson, J Kenrick and D Jackson (2001) Report on a Consultation with Bagyeli Pygmy Communities
Impacted by the Chad–Cameroon Oil Pipeline Project, (accessed 14 September 2007)
http://www.forestpeoples.org/documents/ifi_igo/ccp_bagyeli_consult_may01_eng.shtml.
Kidd & Kenrick 20
March 2009