The Rainforests of Cameroon - PROFOR

20 The Rainforests of CameroonAs this passage indicates, it would have been extremely counterproductiveto reinforce such institutions without reforming the rules bywhich they operated. Cameroon’s forest institutions were weak, but thisweakness was simply the manifestation of deeper political and institutionalflaws in the forest sector. 4The core of the current forest development program is an effort torevitalize the human resources responsible for managing the green environment.No new staff members have been recruited to the nation’s forestinstitutions since the late 1980s, leaving these institutions vulnerableto an array of new challenges in the forest sector. Under the NationalForest and Environment Sector Program, forest institutions sought governmentsupport for a detailed strategy to recruit 1,550 new staff withspecific qualifications between 2006 and 2009. Two-thirds of MINFOFand MINEP employees are expected to retire between 2005 and 2011;the new recruits will bolster staff quality and motivation without significantlyincreasing salary costs. A new capacity-building program willcomplement the recruiting strategy.Notes1. By December 1993, real GDP had declined by about 30 percent andreal per capita income had dropped by 50 percent compared with themid-1980s. The government faced severe liquidity constraints andwas unable to meet its internal and external financial obligations.2. This network includes 15 national parks (2,679,607 hectares), 6 forestreserves (702,995 hectares), 2 wildlife sanctuaries (67,000 hectares),3 zoological and botanical gardens (4.07 hectares), 44 huntingzones (3,778,016 hectares), and 17 community hunting zones(1,163,724 hectares), which together occupy approximately8,391,346 hectares.3. Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy and CIESIN (2005).4. As chapter 3 indicates, little political will existed to support MINEFeven after the economy began to recover. In 1995, the governmentsupplied only about 19 percent of MINEF’s small and externallysupplemented budget (totaling $12.4 million). By 2007, the governmentwas supplying Delivered by 64 The percent World Bank of e-library the total to: budget—which atThe World Bank$30.3 million was more than IP : 192.86.100.34 double the 1995 level.Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:06:18(c) The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank