Poverty and poor education are key determinants of high household food insecurity among populations adjoining forest concessions in the Congo Basin

Background: The trees and non-timber forest products (NTFPs) of the Congo Basin play a key role in alleviating food insecurity among millions of people around the world. Although many studies have been conducted both nationally and regionally on issues of food insecurity in the Congo Basin, little is known on the effects of timber exploitation on household food insecurity statues of forest dependent communities in this region. This study focused on the determination of the principal indicators of household food security status of populations living around six selected forest concessions in the Congo Basin. Method: We randomly surveyed 724 households in thirty-four communities living in six popular forest concessions around the Congo Basin. Food consumption pattern data was collected using a validated food-frequency questionnaire in 2012. Household Food Insecurity Access Prevalence (HFIAP) was assessed using the HFIAP indicator and households were categorized into four levels of household food insecurity status as follows: Food secure (HFIAS = 0); mildly food insecure (HFIAS 1–8); moderately food insecure (HFIAS 9–13); and severely food insecure (HFIAS 14–27). Results: The majority of the households interviewed were headed by women (73.1 %, 76.6 %, and 58.6 % for Cameroon, DRC and Gabon respectively), most of them married (84.6 %, 100 %, 57.6 % for Cameroon, DRC and Gabon respectively) with an average age range of 30–49 years. Most of the household members were engaged in farming and/or illegal logging as the main revenue generating activities. Results of global household food insecurity categorized 63.8 % of households in Cameroon as fully food secure and 36 % as food insecure. In the DRC (92.9 %) and Gabon (92.7 %), almost all the survey households were categorized as either moderately or severely food insecure; clearly elucidating the existence of severe insufficiency in the quantity and quality of food meant for human nutrition in these areas. The means of household food insecurity scores for the DRC (17.40 ± 4.15) and Gabon (14.9 ± 5.87) were significantly higher when compared to the average score for Cameroon ((7.55 ± 6.62) at p < 0.0001. This literally means that many of the households especially in DRC and Gabon face enormous difficulties in obtaining an adequate dietary energy supply. Gender (female), educational level (illiterate), and age (young) were positively correlated to food insecurity levels. Conclusion: Our results revealed that, despite the potential contribution of the Congo Basin forests, through enhancing access to different forms of quality foods such as bush meat, wild foods, and medicine, not forgetting the provision of agricultural land, local construction material, and income generation resources, the prevalence of food insecurity among the population adjoining forest concessions in the region is severe. This prevalence is alarming around forest concessions of the DRC and Gabon and in one concession of Cameroon. Given that poverty and poor education were positively correlated to household food insecurity, they were considered the paramount determinants of household food insecurity in this region

Safeguarding villagers’ access to foods from timber trees: Insights for policy from an inhabited logging concession in Gabon

This study assessed the abundance of and access to tree species (Ozigo, Dacryodes buettneri; and Abam, Gambeya lacourtiana) that yield edible fruits to villagers and timber to the logging industry in and around a logging concession in Gabon. Participatory mapping combining GPS coordinates and interviews was carried out with 5 female and 5 male collectors in each of two villages within or adjacent to the logging concession. Precommercial and harvestable (>70 cm dbh) Ozigo and Abam trees, as well as their stumps, were also quantified on 20 five ha plots in the 2012 cutting area of the concession and on 21 five ha plots on 10 km transects from each village. Distances to 59 Abam and 75 Ozigo from which fruits were collected ranged from 0.7 to 4.46 Km from the village centres. Most collections were by mixed groups made up of men, women and children (54%) at an average of 1.21 ± 0.09 km; or by men and women (18%) at 2.21 ± 0.15 km; or women and children (14%) at 4.03 ± 0.22 km from the village. Almost 28% of all of the collection trees were inside the logging concession boundaries but outside the village agricultural zone, 43% were inside the village agricultural zone, and 29% were outside the logging concession. Only 33% of Ozigo collection trees had reached commercial size while 75% of Abam trees had. No stumps were found on any sample plots, probably reflecting the ban on felling Ozigo which was in effect at the time; and the relatively low commercial value of Abam. Densities of precommercial Ozigo trees in the cutting area were more than double their densities around the villages (236.0 ± 20.3100 ha−1and 96.6 ± 17.2100 ha−1, respectively), while densities of harvestable Ozigo trees were 7 times higher in the cutting area than around villages (120 ± 20.2100 ha−1and 17.1 ± 3.4100 ha−1respectively). This probably reflects past and current anthropogenic pressures around the villages, including logging and land clearance for agricultural fields. Densities of precommercial Abam were almost four times higher around the village (22.3 ± 5.6 and 6.0 ± 2.9) than on the cutting area. Villagers did not record a decline in availability of or access to these fruits over the past 5 years, suggesting little or no immediate conflict between timber production and access to fruits from these trees

UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Bars to jars: bamboo value chains in Cameroon Bars to Jars: Bamboo Value Chains in Cameroon

Abstract Bamboo is a well know and versatile material, which is a common sight across Cameroon&apos;s diverse ecosystems, from dry to humid tropical and Afromontane forests. Its numerous uses range from storage jars to decorating restaurant-bars, beehives to knives, fences, fodder, and fuel. Responding to the paucity of data on species and uses, the value chain for bamboo in Cameroon was analyzed. Based on 171 interviews and field observations, two African indigenous species (alpine Yushania alpina and savannah Oxytenanthera abyssinica) and exotic (Bambusa vulgaris spp.) bamboos were identified as most utilized. They were tracked from major production zones to final consumers. The ecological, socio-economic, institutional, and governance contexts and impacts are described and analyzed. Issues for research, conservation, and development are highlighted. These include the ambiguous regulatory status, the relationship between tenure and management, threats and conservation of African species and options to increase the sustainable livelihoods for stakeholders dependent upon bamboo