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Revised edition, May 2021. This publication is part of the Sentinel Landscape network initiative established in eight sites around the world representative of widely different biophysical and socioeconomic contexts. Here we present and summarize the results of the research and baseline studies carried out in the Central Africa Humid Tropics Transect sentinel landscape, four sites in Cameroon indicative of the African humid forest ecological zone.

This study assesses vulnerability to climate change and local adaption strategies in the Kribi-Campo coastal area. Variables of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity are described and assessed based on the community's perception and biophysical evidence. Historical changes in rainfall and temperature variables, mangrove cover and occurrence of extreme climatic events are taken as indicators of exposure. Losses of property and income structure are used as indicators of sensitivity. Human, natural, social, financial and physical assets are used as elements of adaptive capacity. Focus group discussions were held with key informants in 12 settlements, and a survey was conducted with 150 household representatives (14 Bagyeli pygmies and 136 Bantou) to gather perceptions on climate change and adaptation strategies. Results show evidence of increased -vulnerability due to decreasing rainfall and irregular rainfall patterns, increasing occurrences of extreme climatic events and increased levels of coastal erosion. These have resulted in several effects, most significantly in the decline of agricultural production, reported by 57% of respondents, and damages to housing reported by 30% of respondents. Adaptive capacities are low. > 60% of respondents do not use any adaptation strategy. All sectors considered, the identified responses to climate related phenomena include early harvesting of crop, farm abandonment, change of productive activity, change of farm location, house reinforcement. The study concludes that households living here are susceptible to the possible impacts of climate change. Income diversification, mangrove afforestation and climate education should be considered as priorities for adaptation in this area.

In rural African settings, people maintain diversified livelihood strategies to reduce risks and garner income. Although youth are currently the dominant demographic and an important group within forest communities of Central Africa, little is known about their dependence on the forest for their livelihoods. Given that young people are underrepresented in research studies, this study aimed to understand whether young people (aged 19–30) gain a large proportion of their livelihood from forest resources (including agroforestry). Focus groups and surveys were conducted in six villages in Eastern Cameroon to identify subsistence and income-driven activities of young people. In the context of many changes, young people continue to derive a large proportion of their livelihood from forest resources, especially agroforestry. Changes in livelihood activities were noted in the gender division of work and access to resources. Environmental pressure is likely to impact the livelihoods of these forest communities into the future.

DRC has committed to reduce its emissions effectively, efficiently, and equitably from deforestation and degradation (REDD+). The country experiences complex relationships between drivers, agents, and institutions of deforestation nationally. The REDD+ policy arena is influenced by both governmental and non-governmental actors whose number have increased in the policy arena over the years; however, weak coordination among these actors remains an issue. Since 2009, the DRC has announced several reforms relating to land tenure, land-use planning and agricultural policy, to create an institutional environment that motivates the implementation of REDD+ in the DRC. By 2019, none of these reforms had materialized, due to both political changes and a lack of finance, capacity, and political will. Between 2013 and 2019, little progress has been made on REDD+ in the DRC, as a result of conflicting interests among actors both at national and decentralized levels; information asymmetry; elite capture and corruption; and the pre- and post-election situation. To date, the effectiveness of REDD+ activities in the DRC remain unclear, due to the absence of rigorous impact assessment. However, efforts can be observed on the field where there is increased number of participants to forest policy process compared to REDD+ early years; and several ongoing projects are testing policy options within and across levels. If these efforts are sustained, they can contribute in putting in place conditions to achieve REDD+ objectives.

Organic matter in soils (SOM) is represented by plant and animal residues in various stages of decomposition, containing typically 58% of Carbon. Carbon content of soils is considered as a major indicator of soil quality, including water retention capacity. However, only organic particles passing through the 2 mm sieve are considered. Moreover, soil litter is generally given less importance in the interpretation of soil quality. Under tropical forest conditions it is not rare to find soils with less than 1% carbon although soil litter is undergoing an active humification process, continuously supplied with litter fall. Several coefficients taking both annual litter fall and soil litter into account, provide more dynamic interpretation tools of soil quality under tropical conditions as illustrated with several examples from Latin-America and Africa.

The Congo Basin comprises Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. It covers close to 70% of the forestlands of Africa. Of the 530 million hectares in the Congo Basin, 300 million are composed of forests: 99% of these are primary or naturally regenerated forests, as opposed to plantations.This study is mainly a bibliography to be used in identifying the present and future causes of deforestation in the six countries of the Congo Basin, step one in overcoming the challenges facing REDD+.With a net deforestation rate of 0.09% between 1990 and 2000 and a 0.17% rate between 2000 and 2005, deforestation in this region seems small compared to other regions of the world. Slash-and-burn agriculture, commercial farming and the development of infrastructure to open up the forest zones together with the construction of secondary agricultural roads are the main causes of deforestation. Other reasons include urban expansion due to the rural exodus and population growth. Forestry operations and the harvesting of fuelwood are the main causes of forest degradation. But some countries do not depend on forestry (e.g. Congo, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea where oil revenue accounts for some 85–95% of State revenue).All the Basin countries are hoping for emergence, but their timelines are different: 2035 for DRC and Cameroon, 2025 for Gabon and 2020 for Equatorial Guinea. Their emergence programmes are largely dependent on the development of infrastructure and industry and may entail massive destruction of forestlands. There is a need for directives at the regional level to contain the effects of the emergence strategies on the forestlands. With this in mind, in-depth studies that are complementary to the traditional environmental and social impact studies would be very useful in reconciling economic development with environmental preoccupations.

Le Bassin du Congo couvre le Cameroun, la Republique centrafricaine, la Republique democratique du Congo, la Republique du Congo, la Guinee equatoriale et le Gabon. Il comprend environ 70 % de la couverture forestiere de l’Afrique. Sur les 530 millions d’hectares du Bassin du Congo, 300 millions sont couverts par la foret constituee a plus de 99 % de forets primaires ou naturellement regenerees, par opposition aux plantations.La presente etude, essentiellement bibliographique, a pour but d’identifier les causes actuelles et futures de la deforestation dans les six pays du Bassin du Congo, premier pas pour surmonter les defis auxquels REDD+ devra repondre.Avec un taux net de 0,09 % entre 1990 et 2000 et de 0,17 % entre 2000 et 2005, la deforestation semble faible comparee aux autres regions du monde. L’agriculture itinerante, l’agriculture commerciale et le developpement des infrastructures de desenclavement des zones forestieres et des dessertes agricoles constituent des causes principales de la deforestation, auxquelles s’ajoute l’expansion urbaine due a l’exode rural et la croissance demographique. L’exploitation forestiere et l’extraction du bois energie representent les principales causes de la degradation forestiere. Certains pays pourraient bien s’en passer : c’est le cas pour le Congo, le Gabon ou la Guinee equatoriale ou le petrole represente a lui seul entre 85 et 95 % des recettes de l’etat.Tous les pays du Bassin aspirent a l’emergence a des horizons divers ; en 2035 pour le Cameroun et la RDC, en 2025 au Gabon et en 2020 pour la Guinee equatoriale. Leurs programmes d’emergences, fondes essentiellement sur le developpement des infrastructures et du tissu industriel, pourraient s’accompagner de la destruction massive de la foret. Des directives devraient etre edictees au niveau regional afin limiter les consequences des strategies d’emergence sur la foret. Dans cette perspective, des etudes approfondies, complementaires aux traditionnelles etudes d’impacts environnementaux et sociaux, visant la conciliation du developpement economique avec les preoccupations environnementales seraient d’une grande utilite.

Governing Congo Basin Forests in a Changing Climate: Actors, Discourses and Institutions for Adaptation and Mitigation OA Somorin Abstract The thesis deals with the central question of the governance processes of making tropical forests deliver climate change adaptation and mitigation outcomes of sustainable livelihoods, biodiversity conservation and enhanced carbon stocks. Using the case of the Congo Basin forests, it analyzes the nexus between forest and climate change, particularly on the governance processes of using the forests to respond to climate change. The thesis questions the dominant frames and discourses shaping the policymaking processes of adaptation and mitigation strategies in the Congo Basin. The research is informed by past (and still current) debates among different actors on the forms of institutional and policy frameworks required for policy making on adaptation and mitigation in the Congo, given the region’s context of weak human and governance capacities. Drawing from the theoretical perspective of discursive institutionalism which takes into account the institutional context in which discourses emerge and the way in which they are institutionalized in social practices. Conceptually, the thesis employs the analytical elements of discursive institutionalism: discourses, actors and institutions in terms of their consequences for governance process analysis. The focus is to understand the types of actors involved along with their capacity and competence to contribute to the policy processes; the overarching global to local discourses on the issues; and the institutional structures considered relevant for adaptation and mitigation in the Congo Basin. Despite the framing of adaptation as a priority for the Congo Basin region due to the high vulnerability (and low adaptive capacity) of the population to climate risks, the thesis finds more significant policy attention is rather given to mitigation. The dominance of the mitigation discourses is largely due to elements of financial resources, knowledge and influence employed by their actor coalitions to advance the policymaking process. While mitigation policy debates among state and non-state actors on institutional and governance frameworks exist at the national level, adaptation strategies including sustaining food security, income generation and livelihood diversification, are already in practice at the local levels. Ultimately, policy actors’ interest to match the multiple opportunities that mitigation offers with the priorities of adaptation underlines the deliberate actions towards fostering synergy. The thesis concludes that the future of the Congo Basin forests under a changing climate lies in how the actors are able to develop policy frameworks and governance arrangements to foster mitigative adaptation and adaptive mitigation.