Story, Louvier Kindo Tombe
The inclusive multi-stakeholder workshop was opened by the Minister of State Property, Surveys, and Land Tenure, Henri Eyebe Ayissi, who said it is a follow up of the Sub-regional workshop to launch the project to “Improve land governance and reduce conflicts related to cross-border transhumance in the Republic of Chad, the Republic of Cameroon and the Central African Republic”, which held in Douala from 4 to 5 July 2024, and that ended with the drafting of a roadmap for each country.
According to the Minister, the objective of the workshop is to build the capacity of national and local stakeholders on voluntary guidelines on the responsible governance of tenure of land, fisheries and forests in the context of national food security.
“Challenges related to the main theme of land are numerous and critical and require more than ever before that we act fast, but in a concerted and efficient manner, in order to preserve peace, food security, environmental protection as well as inclusive and sustainable socio-economic development of our beloved and beautiful country,” says Minister Henri Eyebe Ayissi, at the end of the opening ceremony.
The present project is timely for it comes when the government of Cameroon is already working on some priority land projects such as;
– the drafting of the National Land Tenure Policy Document, to which will associate the completion of the land tenure and State land reform process,
– the speeding up of the project to digitise land registries and modernise other land tenure related services and documents, with a view to facilitate access to land ownership, securing real estate transactions and limiting the resulting conflicts,
– the strengthening of measures and tools for the recognition of customary land rights through circulars signed on 9 February 2024.
Partner’s input
The Present multi-stakeholder workshop to build capacity on the voluntary guidelines of land tenure systems and inclusive land reform is technically and financially facilitated by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Deutsche-Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the National Land Coalition (NLC) and the Centre for Environment and Development (CED).
“FAO is supporting governments around the world who want to make use of available resources to grow land tenure governance at national levels,” says Ingerberg Gaarde, Coordinator of land issues for Central Africa at FAO.
”Indeed, we are in a multi-stakeholder framework.”
During the workshop, FAO will contribute in reinforcing the capacities of participants on the use of Voluntary Guidelines on Land Systems. The UN organization will equally contribute in drafting and validating a road map on inclusive land reform in Cameroon and set up a multi-actor platform on land governance in the country as well as come up with recommendations for the National Land Tenure Week in Cameroon.
Partners have truly assisted Cameroon in Drafting measures and tools to control and manage lane tenure issues like those drafted as part of the Project for the Promotion of a Responsible Land Tenure Policy (ProPFR) implemented with the support of GIZ. The aim of the project is to: “improve access to land as an essential prerequisite for restoring and preserving forest landscapes and fighting against poverty and hunger in rural areas for certain populations, in particular women and marginalised groups in the selected partner countries”.
(Photo credit: FAO)
