Behind the Veil: Transparency, Access to Information and Community Rights in Cameroon's Forestry Sector

In 2010, Cameroon and the European Union signed a Voluntary Partnership Agreement on forest law enforcement, governance and trade in timber and derived products. One apparently positive element highlighted by the European Union and civil society organisations has been the inclusion of a 'transparency annex' in the document, which aimed to "make information available for public scrutiny to improve transparency and accountability".

This report describes work undertaken by Forest Peoples Programme, together with Association Okani, in the department of Océan in the southern region of Cameroon, principally over a period of 18 months between October 2014 and April 2016. As this account illustrates, transparency and access to information remain key challenges for communities in Cameroon.