The Rainforests of Cameroon - PROFOR

In-Depth Analysis of Impacts 11120. Artisanal timber is exempt from most taxes, such as the area tax andsawmill entry tax.21. To this end, the 2005 Finance Law (Article 247 bis) mandated thatall sawn wood arriving at the port with insufficient proof of legalorigin be submitted to a penalty of 400 percent of the equivalent ofall taxes, including area fees, felling tax, and sawmill entry tax.22. The “cost of doing business” is not necessarily the burden imposedby corruption but also refers to more or less legal levies on economicactivity, such as costly cahiers des charges, social responsibility contractsobligating companies to in-kind and cash transfers to localcommunities, and (at times) transport, per diem, or other expensesfor local civil servants.23. “People living within or near Cameroon’s forests have traditionallyused the forest for hunting, fishing, gathering, agriculture, and evenfor raising small livestock—activities that are central to food security.The forest is also a spiritual resource, because it serves as thelink between the living and the dead and is the place where ritualsand traditions are enacted. These two dimensions—the material andspiritual—transform the forest into a space that is far more than astorehouse for timber” (Bigombe Logo 2008).24. With the notable exception of the Moangue–Le Bosquet communityforest, located near Lomié and run by sedentarized Baka Pygmies.25. The government showed little interest in the results of the audit; anofficial version of the document has never been published.26. Arrêté 122 would have to be revised to permit such institutions tobe created, a suggestion that has been received favorably by the Ministryof Finance and the Ministry of Territorial Administration.27. “Appropriation du processus : (...) dans la plupart des FC (...) lepromoteur s’en arroge la paternité ou (...) les opérations techniquesd’exploitation et de commercialisation du bois sont monopolisées par lesopérateurs économiques ayant signé des conventions de partenariat avecles communautés; la conséquence en est que les membres de la communautéconcernée sont mis à l’écart du processus. Aussi, toutes les opérationsà effectuer dans la forêt deviennent payantes.”Delivered by The World Bank e-library to:The World BankIP : 192.86.100.34Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:06:18(c) The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank