One company’s experience in Cameroon

Becoming the first company to achieve FSC certification in the Congo Basin in 2006, Wijma Cameroun SA has operated in the country since 1968 and now employs 650 people, managing four certified concessions. Two chain of custody certified sawmills and factories process the local trees azobé, okan and tali into finished and semi-finished products, mostly for markets in the Netherlands. Wijma Cameroun has long experience in putting into practice principles and criteria of responsible forest management in Cameroon.

After five years of FSC forest management certification in Cameroon, the application of a holistic monitoring system, which is constantly applied and enforced, has yielded visible improvements for forest workers, local communities and the forests themselves. In the five years since Wijma Cameroun SA achieved FSC certification, positive impacts have become increasingly evident, and today are visible in all the different levels of activity of the company.

Constant monitoring yields environmental and social improvements

To meet the demanding standards of FSC certification, Wijma Cameroun has developed a unique monitoring system for its four forest concessions and timber processing plants. This allows the company to apply and continuously maintain responsible forest management, and to ensure it always complies with the requirements of its FSC forest management and chain of custody certification. The monitoring system covers all activities that could potentially have negative environmental or social impacts, and gathers vital information from the field to further improve control over forest management activities.

If a gap is identified between the requirements of the FSC principles and criteria and actual practice, it is analyzed and the relevant managers can respond with appropriate preventive or corrective measures. The surveillance system also includes mechanisms to ensure that the recommendations are actually applied, guaranteeing that the gaps identified are properly dealt with.

The Monitoring Officer at Wijma Cameroun SA, Mr Central Awe, explains: “Closely watching forest exploitation allows us to directly measure the impacts of the different activities, identify specific problems created, question them, and develop means to ensure that they are followed up.”

Benefits for all under the canopy

Improved living and working conditions are promoted, as well as better environmental management, through good planning, alongside continuous monitoring, evaluation and feedback. Forest managers at Wijma Cameroun focus on the protection of water courses, future timber trees, rare and underrepresented species, and on responsible waste management. One important breakthrough has been the decline in poaching in the certified concessions, thanks to an open and sustained campaign of public awareness and enforcement. Random searches of vehicles for game animals or hunting weapons, and regular checks within the protected area for traps and other signs of poaching have proved particularly rewarding.

Equally, working and living conditions of employees and people living in the forest have improved. This is due to policies to promote healthy living and the enforcement of strict health and safety standards, but also voluntary social codes and the involvement of local people in forest management decision-making. The system of surveillance also helps to prevent conflicts between the company and local communities, due to the rigorous recording of all claims and counterclaims, as well as the social benefits that the company brings.

Looking forward, seeking synergies

Real advances have been made on the ground, but it is still difficult for an FSC certified company to maintain this high level of performance over time. One way of doing this is to seek synergies and coordination between internal monitoring and that undertaken by government bodies, as well as by using a range of internal and external audits.

By using a continuous improvement approach, the company aims to reduce negative social and environmental impacts even further and maintain them at an absolute minimum.