The vision of Cameroon for 2035 and the Strategy Document for Growth and Employment (DSCE) assign, among other objectives, to the Ministry of Forests and Wildlife, to increase its contribution to the national economy.

In addition, forest policy recommends to the Government of Cameroon the consideration and active participation of local populations in the sustainable management of forest and wildlife resources. This is why coastal communities are increasingly preferred partners in the various forms of management of these resources.

In line with these hierarchical levels of planning, in 2012, Cameroon adopted a national plan for the development of NTFPs (PND/NTFP), revised in 2017.The second action of this plan aims at “controlling the management and increasing the production of NTFPs”.

In accordance with the guidelines mentioned above, MINFOF and development partners, in particular, the Programme to Support the Implementation of the Rural Sector Development Strategy (ProPFE) of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, have carried out pilot initiatives in the field for the co-management of NTFPs, in particular in forest concessions and certain protected areas. On analysis, these experiences proved to be win-win partnerships. It is therefore important to popularize them, wherever technical, social and environmental conditions are favorable, throughout the national territory.

This is the purpose of this manual, which is a real tool for awareness-raising and training during the process of developing co-management/NFP frameworks in Cameroon. This is an opportunity to thank development partners, economic operators and supervisory organizations for their contributions not only to the experimentation of the co-management/NFP concept, but also to its publication.