Ingram, ros tonen dietz a fine mess 2012

1. A fine mess:
Bricolaged forest
governance
in Cameroon
1 Sustainable Markets & Chains Group, Agricultural Economics Institute, Wageningen University and Research Centres, PO Box 29703, 2502 LS, Den Haag
verina.ingram@wur.nl
2 Department of Human Geography, Planning and International Development Studies, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam m.a.f.ros-tonen@uva.nl
3 African Studies Centre, Leiden dietzaj@ascleiden.nl
Verina Ingram1,2, Mirjam Ros Tonen2 & Ton Dietz2,3
Capturing Critical Institutionalism
18 – 19 April 2013, Kings College, London

2. Aims
• Disentangle the “fine mess” of institutional bricolage by
introducing and characterising different forest product
governance arrangements and institutions.
• Impacts of how they interact and their combined impacts on the
sustainable livelihoods of those involved in NTFP value chains.
• Challenges and opportunities for development and conservation
policy, using examples of successes and failures.

3. Silent chain “actors” with
little voice in formal
governance arrangements,
who act to create their
own ‘’messy’’
arrangements
Laurel & Hardy
Silver screen stars
c.1920-1940
Moses & Pa
Pygeum hoe handle
traders, c.1990-2009

4. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZLMc8eL
gG8
• From 36 onwards

5. Value chains
• Value chains of products – from the forest in Cameroon
that move through harvesters, processors, traders and
retailers to consumers worldwide - operate in very
dynamic, changing and complex settings.
• Alongside legal pluralism, messy with overlapping and
multiple layers of institutions, the configurations of which
have changed over time, there are voids where no
institutions govern certain practices of access to resources
and markets and the chains themselves. Some actors,
notably NGOs, project-related and market-based actors,
fulfil roles normally the reserve of the state. In other chains
the state performs it duties, in others not, and customary
authorities, projects, civil society and voluntary govern.

6. 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Statutory
regualtion
Voluntary/market
standards
Customary
regulation
Corruption
Involuntary
standards
Score
10 = strong governance
0 = weak governance
NTFP Chain
Apiculture
Gnetum
Irvingia
Prunus
Cola
Raphia
Bamboo
Gum arabic
The fine mess….
Governance arrangements of NTFP chains

7. Traditional &
customary laws Statutory law
‘bricolage’
Regulatory authorities
national and provincial
ministries, local
councils, implementing
agencies
Traditional authorities
Chiefs, customary
councils, courts
Community forest
management institutions
‘Project’ rules
NGOs & donors
‘Voluntary’ and ‘supplier’
rules
voids
voids
voids
voids
International organizations
Conventions
Who’s in the mess ?
Certification bodies & companies

9. Bricoleurs
for actors in forest product value chains, they are
forced to stay, and become even more adept
bricoleurs.
They make the best of the arrangements in which
they both find themselves, and creatively use
capitals available, building on natural capital to
construct new governance arrangements and/or
remould existing ones aiming to meet their current
objectives, circumstances and livelihoods. This
situation reflects notions of institutional bricolage:
the dynamic and multiple identities of the
bricoleurs and multi-purpose institutional
arrangements and the crafting arrangements which
advance livelihoods, individually and collectively.
Reflects productive bricolage with its focus on
livelihoods as the flexible and dynamic crafting of
livelihood options and associated impacts on
landscapes.

11. Successes and failures
• Prunus failure

12. A story about 18 community
forests in the mountains of
Cameroon, bark, old men's
disease and money…

13. A sweet, sticky, more sustainable story of
bricolage in the apiculture
(honey, wax, propolis etc.) chain in
Adamaoua, Cameroon

14. Policy challenges and opportunities
• Dealing with Pluralism
• Hybrids
• Time to show impacts and learning
• Hearing silent voices
• Dealing with conflicts
• Recognising customary institutions laws that
work
• development and conservation policy,

15. Biodiversity
ater the variety of plants and animals, the greater the genetic
diversity.

16. Thank you!