Cameroon: Forestry and Wildlife Minister Discusses CITES,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 YAOUNDE 000087

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV PGOV EFIN KSCA AORC UNEP CM
SUBJECT: Cameroon: Forestry and Wildlife Minister Discusses CITES,
Forests

REF: STATE 6668


1. (U) Summary: On February 3, Ambassador met with Minister
of Forests and Wildlife Elvis Ngolle Ngolle for a wide-ranging
discussion of developments in his ministry, CITES and the
Copenhagen Accord. The Minister was pleased with the outcome of
Copenhagen and noted that COMIFAC has yet to schedule a meeting of
Finance Ministers to discuss funding issues. Ngolle Ngolle saw
the need for closer scrutiny of how planned mining projects might
impact forests and argued that illegal logging has declined. End
summary.

CITES


2. (U) Ambassador delivered ref A demarche on U.S. species
proposals under CITES. The Minister had no substantive response.
However, he confirmed that the Government of Cameroon (GRC) will be
represented at the March COP15 meeting in Doha.

Copenhagen


3. (U) Ngolle Ngolle, who attended the Copenhagen summit,
praised the event outcome as "good enough to move the issue
forward," with almost every party committed to doing something
about climate change. He was particularly pleased that forest
interests were taken into account, which should benefit Cameroon.


COMIFAC and other Financing


4. (SBU) The long anticipated meeting of Ministers of
Finance to discuss a proposed autonomous financing mechanism for
the Central African Forest Commission, COMIFAC (ref B) has been
postponed, with no new date set, Ngolle Ngolle said. He complained
that it is difficult to even get the Ministry of Finance to release
the existing funds allotted to the ministry - "it's as if the
Ministry of Finance doubts we actually do our projects," he
remarked. Much of the money levied for conservation never makes
it to the ministry, either because it is held up at Finance or
disappears during collection, Ngolle Ngolle said. He thought the
2012 finance law would put the national budget on the Internet to
promote greater transparency.

Meetings On the Horizon


5. (U) Ngolle Ngolle hopes to host a Forum on Forests in
March in Cameroon. He also plans to organize an extraordinary
session of COMIFAC in Yaounde to seek a common position in Central
Africa toward Copenhagen prior to the Bonn meeting. COMIFAC
members are discussing an event to celebrate the declaration of the
Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) in March but there is a
disagreement between Cameroon and the DRC about who will host it.

Managing the Forests


6. (U) Ambassador asked about the balance between forest
conservation and mining interests. (Note: American company Geovic
hopes to begin cobalt mining in Eastern Region by the end of 2010.
Australian company Sundance is preparing to mine iron in the same
region, while Cameroon Alumina Ltd. (CAL),a consortium including
American company Hydromine, is exploring for bauxite in Adamaoua
Region. World Wildlife Fund and some Western Embassies based in
Yaounde have recently raised concerns about how proposed mining
might undermine forest reserves, especially since the Eastern
Region is heavily forested. End note.) Ngolle Ngolle acknowledged
this could become a problem for Cameroon and that there was a need
for closer GRC coordination and discussion on the issue. He
opined that mining companies too often ignore forestry regulations
and that forests are undervalued compared to mining resources.




7. (U) The GRC has reduced illegal logging over the past
year to about one percent of all timber production, he said. The
number of small permits (which facilitate illegal logging) was cut
from 54 to less than 20 from 2009 to 2010. He hoped to strengthen
internal controls with the help of an EU independent observer. He
wanted to empower local officials to take ownership of tree
planting.




8. (U) The timber sector has almost recovered after being
badly hurt by the global financial crisis, although prices are
still low, according to the Minister. He hoped a new tax law
favoring timber processing would encourage Cameroonians to use
legally cut lumber.

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Comment


9. (SBU) Ngolle Ngolle seems to be trying to improve
governance in the corruption-riddled forestry and wildlife sectors.
However, donors in the forestry sector paint a much grimmer picture
of illegal logging and tell us that senior officials in the
ministry and elsewhere in the government use the sector to fill
their pockets. Despite Ngolle Ngolle's stated appreciation for
another EU Independent Observer mission, the last Independent
Observer told a recent meeting of donor Ambassadors he judged his
work a complete failure due to obstruction in the government and
private logging companies. Ngolle Ngolle noted that a ban on the
roadside sale of bush meat since January 2010 is slowly taking
effect, although there is still a great need to educate local
officials. He appears committed to fighting illegal wildlife
trafficking - in the past month police apprehended 1,000 illegal
parrots being smuggled out of Douala - but this too is a continuous
fight against powerful, corrupt profiteers.
GARVEY