Journal of Natural Science Research and Review (JNSRR) · Research article · Open access

Integrating Forest Resources, Community Livelihoods and Local Governance for Sustainable Community Forest Management: Evidence from the Woteva Community Forest, Southwest-Cameroon

Paul Ekonde Nganje, Longonje Simon Ngomba, Kamah Pascal Bumtu, Ndumbe Ekema Stephen

11 July 2026 · Vol. 2, Issue 7, pp. 218-227

DOI: 10.65150/EP-jnsrr/V2E7/2026-02

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Abstract

While community forestry has been widely promoted across the tropics as a means of reconciling conservation with rural livelihoods, how resource allocation, livelihood benefits, and local governance interact within individual community forests remains poorly understood, with evidence scattered across disparate studies. This study addresses that gap through a case analysis of the Woteva Community Forest (WCF), a 1,845-hectare, tripartite-zoned forest on the eastern slope of Mount Cameroon, established in 1997 under Cameroon's 1994 Forestry Law. Drawing on structured and open-ended household questionnaires administered through rapid random sampling, key-informant interviews, and documentary review, the study examined the WCF's sectoral resource base, its livelihood contributions from timber, non-timber forest products (NTFPs), apiculture, and eco-tourism, and its customary–statutory governance arrangements. Results show that the WCF comprises a 1,204-hectare forest/NTFP sector, a 462-hectare grassland sector supporting apiculture and Prunus africana enrichment planting, and a 180-hectare volcanic sector for eco-tourism, managed under a 25-year rotational plan. Formal timber exploitation is currently non-operational: thirty-seven felled logs remain unextracted, as the forest's rugged, high-slope terrain renders transport prohibitively costly, a finding consistent with global evidence linking harvesting costs to slope and accessibility. Prunus africana bark remains the principal commercial NTFP. Governance is anchored in a matrilineal chieftaincy, a Traditional Council, and statutory committees, an arrangement associated with markedly lower reported inequity (4%) than in two neighboring forests (38–54%), although environmental awareness remains low (19%). These findings are interpreted against Cameroonian, African, and global tropical literature on elite capture, terrain-constrained logging economics, and cross-regional governance comparisons. The study concludes that zoning, livelihood diversification, and the integration of customary authority into governance structures constitute a transferable model for community forest management in terrain-constrained tropical settings.

Keywords: Community forestry, forest governance, livelihood, non-timber forest products, terrain-constrained logging, sustainable forest management.

Paul Ekonde Nganje, Longonje Simon Ngomba, Kamah Pascal Bumtu, & Ndumbe Ekema Stephen (2026). Integrating Forest Resources, Community Livelihoods and Local Governance for Sustainable Community Forest Management: Evidence from the Woteva Community Forest, Southwest-Cameroon. Journal of Natural Science Research and Review, 2(7), 218-227. https://doi.org/10.65150/EP-jnsrr/V2E7/2026-02

@article{Paul2026,
  title   = {Integrating Forest Resources, Community Livelihoods and Local Governance for Sustainable Community Forest Management: Evidence from the Woteva Community Forest, Southwest-Cameroon},
  author  = {Paul Ekonde Nganje and Longonje Simon Ngomba and Kamah Pascal Bumtu and Ndumbe Ekema Stephen},
  journal = {Journal of Natural Science Research and Review},
  year    = {2026},
  volume  = {2},
  number  = {7},
  pages   = {218-227},
  doi     = {10.65150/EP-jnsrr/V2E7/2026-02},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.65150/EP-jnsrr/V2E7/2026-02}
}

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