The Rainforests of Cameroon - PROFOR

42 The Rainforests of Cameroonto eliminate gaps and close loopholes that inevitably emerge as institutionsand bidders gain experience with the system. After five years ofrelatively good performance, signs of weakening were seen in the level ofconfidentiality and in the oversight of the independent observer, whoseappointment remained unchanged over several auction sessions, despiteregulations that mandate otherwise and are designed to prevent collusion.As a result, the auctions of 2005 and 2006 saw reduced offers(figure 3.4), suspicious numbers of bidders eliminated at the technicalevaluation stage, and harvesting rights awarded to the only remaining bidderat the floor price. This situation led the World Bank to ask the govern-Figure 3.4a. Evolution of the Area TaxCFAF per hectare5,0004,5004,0003,5003,0002,5002,0001,5001,000500030,00025,0001,500 1,5003,006UFAs3,8424,4962,6792,7743,3991996 1997 2000 2001 2002 2005(1) 2005(2) 2006Year of allocationVCs26,616CFAF per hectare20,00015,00010,0005,000021,9708,265Delivered by The World Bank e-library to:The World BankIP : 192.86.100.34Dec. 2000 Mon, 09 Nov Dec. 20092003 17:06:18 Jul. 2005Year of allocationSource: Authors.(c) The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank