1. THINKING beyond the canopy
Can payments for carbon sequestration save logging
concessions from agro-business pressures in Cameroon?
Guillaume Lescuyer, Arthur Collin, Jonas Ngouhouo,
Christine Langevin, Samuel Assembe, Richard Eba’a

2. THINKING beyond the canopy
Historical background
 Paradigm of Sustainable Forest Management has been
fostered in Congo basin for 20 years
 Based on the model of logging concession:
• Vast area (average 80.000ha in Cameroon) in the Permanent Forest
domain
• Granted to private companies
• Used according to a Forest Management Plan (FMP)
• Aim at maintaining forest cover and resources (timber)
• Environmental and social measures
 Location of logging concessions proposed in 1995 by an
indicative Zoning Plan
 15% of country surface, 111 logging concessions in
Cameroon, 72% with validated FMP (Mertens et al., 2013)

3. THINKING beyond the canopy
New trends in forest areas
 Rise of mining and agro-industries that overlap SFM permits
• About 80% of logging concessions are covered with exploration or
exploitation mining licenses
• Development of agricultural activities, notably of large-scale
plantations of oilpalm and rubber
• Two pilars of the macro-economic long-term orientations of Central
African governments towards the « emergence »
 A broader recognition of PES, especially for carbon
sequestration
• US$550 million of REDD+ financing flows into the Congo Basin
since 2006 (Maniatis et al., 2013)
• National REDD+ strategies not yet applied
• Voluntary carbon markets for smaller scale projects, for instance to
reduce carbon footprint of logging concessions

4. THINKING beyond the canopy
Research question
 What is the performance of PES-carbon that would be implemented to
Cameroonian logging concessions in order to increase their financial
profitability and to better resist to competing agro–business
investments?
 Current state of agro-industrial (oilpalm and rubber) plantations in
Cameroon and their likely extension over forest areas of the permanent
forest domain
 Financial profitability of logging concession, oilpalm and rubber
plantations
 Additional benefits to logging revenues from 4 REDD+ scenarios:
• an increase in the Minimum Harvesting Diameters to ensure a 100%
regeneration in the second rotation;
• slowing down the extension of slash-and-burn areas in the concession;
• reducing the spatial footprint of logging roads;
• conservation concession.

5. THINKING beyond the canopy
Methods
 For the state of agro-industrial plantations and the estimated
rate of profit: (1) a general review of forest and agricultural policies
and a targeted literature search for the selected companies regarding
their turnover, financial margins, operating costs, taxes, and cultivated
areas; (2) anonymous individual interviews were conducted with
stakeholders to complete or refine figures:
• Rubber: surveys with 10 farmers located in and around one of the main sites
of production;
• Oil palm: information from the leader company for the years 2008 to 2012,
and literature
• Cocoa: literature survey
• Logging: financial data were derived from statements from a sample of 11-14
logging companies to the Ministry of Finance for the years 2007 to 2011
 For the REDD+ schemes
• Langevin et al. (2013) for Cameroon
• Hirsh et al. (2013) for DRC
• Collaboration with the logging companies

6. THINKING beyond the canopy
Current surface and possible
extension of oilpalm and rubber
plantations
 Oilpalm, six large companies, 59
000ha, 144 000 t/yr
 Rubber, three big companies, 105
000ha, 32 000 t/yr, but around 60 000
t/yr in 2 years
 An attempt to secure a total area
of ​​about 1 million hectares in the forest
zone of Southern Cameroon (Levang
& Hoyle, 2012)
 Many « informal » explorative surveys
to assess agricultural potential of other
forest areas

7. THINKING beyond the canopy
Possible extension of oilpalm and
rubber plantations

8. THINKING beyond the canopy
Financial analysis of REDD+
schemes in a logging concession
(sources: Langevin et al., 2013; Hirsh et al., 2013)
DRC Cameroon
Decrease of
the extent of
the shifting
cultivation
areas
Decrease of the
road footprint
Conversion of
logging areas
into
conservation
Increase of
minimum
harvesting
diameters
Avoided carbon
emissions
7,5 tCO2e/ha 3,7 tCO2e/ha 6,8 tCO2e/ha 6,1 tCO2e/ha
Sale on voluntary
markets
33 €/ha 16.3 €/ha 30 €/ha 26,8€/ha
Costs of REDD scheme 28 €/ha 8 €/ha 29 €/ha 49 €/ha
Financial benefit 5 €/ha 8,3 €/ha 1 €/ha -22 €/ha

9. THINKING beyond the canopy
Annual net benefits of land-use
options in Cameroon (over 15 years)
-1,300,000
-800,000
-300,000
200,000
700,000
1,200,000
1,700,000
2,200,000
F.CFA/ha/yr
Years
Hévéa - Plantation
industrielle
Hévéa - Plantation
artisanale
Palmier - Plantation
industrielle
Palmier - Plantation
artisanale
Cacao - Exploitation
artisanale
Exploitation forestière

10. THINKING beyond the canopy
Financial profitability of alternative
land-uses in forest areas (/exploited ha)
Type d'exploitation
Valeur Actualisée Nette
(FCFA/ha)
Hévéa - Plantation industrielle 4 245 085
Hévéa - Plantation artisanale 1 983 583
Palmier - Plantation industrielle 1 579 924
Palmier - Plantation artisanale 3 007 000
Cacao - Exploitation artisanale 225 000
Exploitation forestière 742 489

11. THINKING beyond the canopy
Which FMU may be eligible for REDD
schemes ? A theoretical answer
Coût d’opportunité
de la conservation
Proportion de non-déforestation
ou de déforestation évitée
“trop coûteux”
“non additionnel?” 100%
“Bon marché”
“pas abordable”
La limite dépendra
des moyens financiers
mobilisables
FRONT AGRICOLE
INDUSTRIEL
Forêts éloignées
Forêts dégradées
0
> 0
< 0
Source: Karsenty, 2008

12. THINKING beyond the canopy
Which FMU may be eligible for REDD
schemes ? A practical answer
Source: Marien et al., 2012

13. THINKING beyond the canopy
Conclusion
 Where ecological and trade conditions are prone to oilpam
and rubber plantations, SFM is not the optimal financial
land-use, even when REDD+ benefits are included
 Methodological stake to develop or implement Verified
Carbon Standards based on (1) Avoided Planned
Deforestation or on (2) Avoided Unplanned Deforestation
 New forest management models that recognize and take
advantage of concession degradation and deforestation
 Innovative approaches to compensate the likely decrease in
timber production in the logging concessions:
• Silvicultural practices in/around logging concessions ?
• Better management of timber stock in the rural domain ?
• Large-scale plantations of fast-growing species?

14. THINKING beyond the canopy
Merci de votre attention
g.lescuyer@cgiar.org