Evaluating the Role of Governance in the Management of Prunus africana (Hook.f.) Kalkman in the Adamawa Region of Cameroon

One of the problems at the root of the poor management of forest resources in Cameroon is the lack of good governance. This study aims to evaluate the governance put in place by the government of Cameroon to ensure better management of Prunus africana. It takes a critical look at the three pillars of forest governance in relation to the management of the resource, which are: policy, legal, institutional and regulatory frameworks (1); planning and deci-sion-making process (2); and finally the implementation, enforcement and compliance of regulations (3). The assessment was conducted using the guide recommended by FAO-PROFOR. Individual and focus group interviews were conducted with stakeholders involved in the P. africana management process. The results in the form of assessment scores revealed poor governance in the management of the resource. This is due to non-compliance with Pillars 2 and 3 on the planning and decision-making process as well as the implementation and enforcement of regulations through weaknesses in the principles of transparency, accountability, the effectiveness of management measures and stakeholder participation. These are the points on which management strate-gies should be based for better management of P. africana in the production forests of the Adamawa region.

ternational Convention on Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) since 1995 (Betti et al., 2016). The interest at the origin of its exploitation lies in the medicinal properties of its bark which is used in the manufacture of medicines sold on the European and American markets (Cunningham et al., 2002). These drugs are used for the treatment of prostatic hypertrophy, benign prostatic hyperplasia, glandular disorders and senescence, and hirsutism in women (Tasse, 2006). In 2008, the global male population suffering from prostate cancer was estimated to be 14%, thus impacting the need for the active ingredient and, therefore, the demand for Prunus africana bark (World Agroforestry Centre, 2012).
Cameroon, one of the producers and exporters of Prunus africana, has been affected by this demand due to an increased need for the resource, which has caused unsustainable exploitation (Awono et al., 2008;Ingram et al., 2009;Betti et al., 2016). Faced with the extent of this major threat, the European Union, through CITES, suspended exports of the species' bark from Cameroon in 2007. In 2010, the ban on the export of Prunus bark was lifted following the implementation of resource management mechanisms. These include the delimitation of production areas for the species, the production of Non-Prejudicial Trade Notices (NPTNs), the development of simple management plans for the resource, the definition of exploitation quotas in the three main production basins of Adamawa, the North-West and the South-West, and finally the training of forestry and customs agents on exploitation control mechanisms (Betti et al., 2016). It should be recalled that the development of NPTNs has since been supported by the joint programme of the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), known as the ITTO-CITES Programme (Akoa et al., 2010(Akoa et al., , 2011a(Akoa et al., , 2011bNkongmeneck et al., 2014).
Despite these management measures, many organizations such as the German Prunus africana, a tree species listed in Appendix II of CITES in Cameroon".
This project is part of the CITES programme on threatened tree species and conservation of the African elephant, the "CTSP" programme. It aims to lay the foundations for transparent and sustainable management of Prunus africana in relation to the decisions adopted at CoP17 on this species. Specifically, it aims to gather information on research, management, exploitation and processing of the species, with a view to providing clear answers to the recommendations made by the CITES Standing Committee to Cameroon at its 70th meeting (Betti, 2021).
In Cameroon, Law 94/01 of 20 January 1994 established the regime of forests, wildlife and fisheries (Articles 9 and 56, paragraph 2); through its implementing Decree No. 95/531/PM of 23 August 1995 classifies Prunus africana as a special product in the same way as Ebony (Awono et al., 2008;Ingram et al., 2009). Its Despite the measures taken at the international and national levels to regulate the exploitation of the resource and to guarantee its sustainable exploitation, several observations were made that call into question the mode of governance related to the management of the resource in Cameroon (Awono et al., 2016;Betti et al., 2016). The aspects highlighted include the lack of good governance in the mechanism for allocating titles and quotas, the failure to respect defined exploitation norms; problems with the control of exploitation; problems with the mechanism for sharing the benefits arising from the exploitation of the resource, etc.
The present study focuses on the Adamaoua region as the only major production basin where exploitation of the resource is actually possible. Indeed, in the other main basins (South West and North West regions), Prunus africana bark exploitation activities have stopped due to conflicts. In order to lift the suspension of the export of bark from Cameroon, the remaining production basins must have simple management plans for the species and a new NPTN specific to them. This is only possible on the basis of studies on the PAUs linked to the resource. Hence the presence of such a study on governance.
This study aims to investigate existing governance mechanisms in the management of Prunus africana and contribute to the development of possible proposals for improving them. Specifically, it aims to evaluate the three pillars of governance of Prunus africana in the Adamawa region that are: policy, legal, institutional and regulatory frameworks (1); the planning and decision-making proc-

Description of the Study Area
The study took place in all the Prunus Allocation Units (PAUs) of the Adamawa region ( Figure 1)

Conceptual Framework
Forest governance can be described as the modus operandi by which officials and institutions, together with other stakeholders exercise their authority in the management of forest resources to sustain and improve the well-being and quality of life of people whose livelihoods depend on these resources (Rotillon, 2010).
Good forest governance can be assessed against the assessment framework de- According to this framework, a pillar forms the basis of good forest governance.
Thus, good forest governance rests on three pillars, namely: policy, legal, institutional and regulatory frameworks, the planning and decision-making process, and finally the implementation, enforcement and compliance of regulations.
According to the framework, good forest governance is based on six principles: participation, accountability, equity, effectiveness, efficiency and transparency ( Figure 2; Table 1).

Principles Definitions
Accountability duty of political actors to answer for their actions and decisions to all members of society.
Effectiveness production of results that meet needs, producing desired outcomes.
Efficiency optimal use of human, financial and other resources, without unnecessary waste or delay.
Equity equal opportunities for all members of society to improve or maintain their well-being, including through the impartial application of regulations.
Participation involvement of citizens and stakeholders in decision-making, either directly or through legitimate intermediaries representing their interests.
Transparency Clarity and free flow of information allowing all members of society to access, understand and follow processes, institutions and data.
The evaluation of governance in the management of Prunus africana was carried out according to the FAO-PROFOR evaluation framework. Specifically, it involved: • Identifying the roles/responsibilities of the different actors involved in the governance of resource management in Adamawa; • Analysing the policy, legal, institutional and regulatory framework related to Pygeum management in order to assess its relevance to the sustainable management of the species (forestry policies and laws on the resource; legal framework to support and protect land tenure, ownership and use rights; concordance of general development policies with forestry policies; financial incentives, economic instruments and benefit sharing); • Analysing the planning and decision-making process (stakeholder participation; transparency and accountability; stakeholder capacity and empowerment); • Analysing the implementation, enforcement and compliance with regulations (completion of inventories, existence of a benefit-sharing mechanism, stakeholders' perception of how the resource is managed, significant contribution of the resource to the development of beneficiary communities, etc.).  The accepted score validating the hypothesis of good governance is the one that is greater than or equal to 10/20. It results from the average of the scores of the three pillars. The evaluation score of a pillar is therefore equal to the average of the scores of its sub-components. For an in-depth analysis, the analysis was based on these sub-components in order to better justify the results obtained for each of the pillars of forest governance. Pygeum production sites, the low variation in information from one group of villages to another, and the reluctance of riparian communities due to cultural constraints (Foulbé, Nyem-Nyem and Hausa), the cluster sampling technique was adopted (Dufour & Larivière, 2012). Within each cluster, villages accessible by road were surveyed. Table 2 summarises the villages surveyed per cluster. For the interviews, the sampling method was non-probability, based on the availability of respondents, as these communities are very reluctant to provide information.

Data Collection
For the economic operators (private sector) to whom these PAUs are allocated, namely Société Africaine des Médicaments (AFRIMED S.A), Société Générale des Produits (SGP) and Pharmacy Africaine (PharmAfric), the interviews took place with the General Managers of these companies, as well as the workers involved in the exploitation process (barkers, transporters, etc.). For the AFRIMED S.A and SGP groups, the interviews took place in their factories based in Bafoussam in the western region of the country.
For the riparian communities, who could only respond to the second and third pillars on aspects related to participation in the management process as well as the sharing of benefits from the exploitation of Prunus, the interviews and focus groups were held in the presence of the Djaouro. These are the local chiefs of the villages in these regions.
The interview guide was designed using Sphinx version 5.0 software ( Figure  4). In order to highlight the roles and responsibilities of the actors, secondary data were obtained through existing documentation on the management of Prunus africana, namely the Prunus Non Prejudicial Trade document produced by ANAFOR, the scientific authority designated by CITES to conduct research on the species.
In order to validate the perception of the various stakeholders, the preliminary results of the governance assessment obtained were presented to the various stakeholders during a workshop in Ebolowa (South Cameroon) on March 3, 2022. This workshop brought together: the administration in charge of forests

Analysis
The data were analysed using Excel 2013 spreadsheet in order to extract descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations and charts). The data were imported into R software for inferential statistics. At this level, the Wilcoxon test which is a non-parametric test to the Student test was used to test the evaluation score of each pillar as well as the final or average evaluation score. The choice of this test is justified by the fact that the data collected are qualitative variables which were quantified by point scales or ranks (ordinal scale). This test, also known as the rank test, aims to compare the average evaluation obtained with the median (which is a position parameter).
For the mean and standard deviation of the sub-components, the formulas used were as follows: The latter formula was also used to determine the average for each pillar, following the same approach as for the components.

Description of the Mode of Governance of Prunus africana: Roles and Responsibilities of Actors Involved in the Management of the Resource in the PAUs of Adamawa
Interviews with the various actors in the management process of Prunus africana in Adamawa made it possible to characterise the stakeholders involved. This consisted in identifying them and highlighting their roles and degree of influence in the governance mode put in place by MINFOF to manage the resource.
Six (6)    • Approves survey devices; • Approves inventories; • Approves management plans; • Prepares and signs the development/operating agreement; • Prepares and approves the technical standards for exploitation and inventory; • Approves the annual quota; • Issues the annual operating permit; • Controls the exploitation activities unannounced and annually; • Ensures the payment of taxes related to the exploitation; • Ensures the traceability of bark and derived products; • Ensures that all stakeholders are involved in the management and that they receive the shares as defined in the specifications; • Issues the operating and transport documents; • Takes sanctions.

Regional Delegation of MINFOF for the Adamawa
• Controls the execution of delimitation and inventory work in the field; • Approves the inventory and delimitation results; • Issues certificates of conformity of inventory and delimitation work; • Ensures the regular control and monitoring of exploitation activities; • Reports to the Minister in charge of forests on the evolution of exploitation activities; • Technically supports the operator and the populations through advice; • Ensures the traceability of bark and derived products; • Ensures routine control and quarterly exploitation activities; • Facilitates collaboration between the operator, the populations and the communes of Banyo (Mayo Banyo) and Kontcha (Faro and Déo); • Raises awareness of the economic and scientific importance of P. africana.

Divisional Delegations of MINFOF for Mayo Banyo and Faro and Déo
• Initial consignment notes and site books; • Ensure the involvement of all stakeholders in the development and sharing of the benefits of the operation; • Play an arbitration role between stakeholders; • Provide technical support and advice to stakeholders; • Periodically monitor operating activities; • Ensure the traceability of bark and derived products.

Economic operators
• Carry out inventory and demarcation work; • Harvest bark according to the techniques in force; • Ensure the proper maintenance of transport and exploitation documents; • Ensure the traceability of bark and derived products; • Pay the taxes due to the State and the royalties to the populations and the Communes as defined in the specifications; • Support the communes and the populations in the regeneration of Prunus and the realisation of basic infrastructures; • Finance research activities; • Involve local populations in exploitation activities.
Councils (Banyo, Tignère, Kontcha) • Facilitate collaboration between the operator and local populations; • Maintain the road and socio-economic infrastructures with the support of the operator; • Participate in the regeneration of P.africana through the supply of seedlings to the populations; • Receive a share from the exploitation activities. • Intervene in the framework of the COGESPA project (project to support the conservation and participatory management of the Tchabal Mbabo forest massif); • Build the capacity of communities on Prunus exploitation methods.

ANAFOR
• Conducts research activities in collaboration with the economic operator to define parameters such as bark recovery rate, survival rate; • Supports the populations and the communes in the establishment of P. africana plantations by providing quality seeds and training on the establishment of nurseries.
mode of governance related to the management of the resource.
In addition to these direct actors, there are several other actors at the admin-   Table 4 shows that three sub-components (S.C) have low scores (below 10), namely S.C1, S.C2 and S.C3. Thus, according to the majority of respondents: • The policy, legal and regulatory framework governing the use and management of P. africana is not clear or consistent; • There are difficulties in the feasibility of regulatory instruments; • Finally, the legal and regulatory instruments put in place are rather global and do not take into account the specificities of the areas to which PAU belongs. There is therefore a problem with the adaptability of this framework in the Adamawa region.
However, the legal and regulatory framework for Prunus has some strong points, including the existence of a mechanism for sharing the benefits arising from the exploitation of the resource and the consideration of development projects resulting from the exploitation of the resource in the three PAUs studied.
The • The consideration of property rights related to forests in which Prunus africana is found; • The coherence between formal and informal rights to the Prunus africana resource. Figure 5 presents the assessment of the components of the first pillar of governance of Prunus africana in relation to its sub-components.
The figure shows that the first component of this pillar on Prunus policies and laws is not positively assessed by respondents. This is due to the weaknesses observed previously in its sub-components S.C1, S.C2, S.C3, S.C4. However, three components of the governance of this resource are valued above 10: • Financial incentives, economic instruments and the benefit-sharing mechanism; • The concordance of general development policies with forestry policies on Prunus; • The consideration of land titles, ownership and use rights over the resource.

Pillar 2: Resource Management Planning and Decision-Making
Process The average score for the second pillar is 10.49 ± 4.81. This score is fair and shows that there are shortcomings in this pillar that need to be improved for better governance of the resource in the Adamawa production basin. Indeed, the sub-components with low scores (<10) in this pillar are S.C5, S.C7, S.C8 and S.C10 (Table 5). Figure 6 shows the assessment of the components of this second pillar. The figure shows that stakeholder participation is good, with a score of 13.56/20. Specifically, the stakeholders are informed about resource management activities in this production basin. However, many of them have little influence on the decision-making process like riparian communities. Thus, it is a

Pillar 3: Implementation, Enforcement and Compliance
Overall, the assessment score out of 20 for the third pillar of governance on the management of Prunus africana is 9.88 ± 5.27 (Table 6). It is below 10/20 and therefore the management of the resource in Adamawa is exposed to poor governance in the implementation and respect of the legal and regulatory framework.
More specifically certain issues/aspects are perceived by stakeholders as poor.
According to them, there are problems with the effectiveness of the incentives put in place by MINFOF to ensure that Pygeum bark harvesters respect the legal and regulatory instruments; the participation or involvement of local communities in work carried out in the PAUs of this region; the availability and accessibility to stakeholders of the results of inventory work carried out in the PAUs; the extent to which laws relating to human rights, labour, safety, the environment and other fundamental laws are applied to resource exploitation activities. for resource management is fair with a score of 10.55. Table 6 presents the assessment of the third pillar of forest governance related to the management of Prunus africana in the Adamawa PAU. Figure 7 presents the assessment of the components of the 3rd pillar of forest governance in relation to the management of Prunus africana.
This figure shows that the only component that is actually being implemented is the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the exploitation of the resource. The component relating to management measures is rated as fair. According to the respondents, particularly the heads of the post, there are difficulties related to the control of exploitation. This is due to the lack of logistical means as well as the absence of road infrastructure allowing control agents to carry out their tasks in the process. Another major fact is the low rating of the principles of transparency and accountability related to this pillar which are already equally mentioned in the second pillar. This is reflected in the absence of monitoring documents on resource exploitation inventory activities in MINFOF's decentralized services in the said region. The component on the participation of stakeholders in the exploitation process of the resource also presents a score of 09.5/20, below the accepted score. Figure 8 reports a diagram showing the assessment of governance related to the management of P. africana in the Adamawa UAPs.

Assessment Report of P. africana Governance
This figure clearly shows that the first and the second pillar has a score above 10, unlike the last pillar. This might suggest that only the third pillar of governance related to resource management (implementation, enforcement and compliance) is not respected. To clarify this, the inferential statistics through the one-sided Wilcoxon rank test reveal the following result at the significance level   (Table 7).
This statistical analysis shows that for Pillar 1, the P-value is 0.005 (below the significance level), which confirms that the governance of P. africana is perceived as acceptably good in terms of the political, legal, institutional and regulatory framework. As for the second pillar, the P-value is 0.722 (above the α threshold), which means that although the average is above 10/20 for this pillar, governance at the level of the planning and decision-making process for the resource is perceived as poor. As for the third pillar, the P-value is 0.922 (also above the significance level), which effectively confirms the average obtained in this pillar as being poor and therefore reflecting poor governance in the implementation, application and enforcement of regulations on resource management in the Adamawa region.
Overall, it appears that governance is not good in terms of the results obtained. Indeed, although the final evaluation score out of 20 is 11.043, the P-value is 0.057, higher than the threshold value. Thus, although there is a legal, institutional and regulatory framework for Prunus africana, there are problems with the planning and decision-making processes and the implementation of this framework. The governance principles that are not respected here include stakeholder participation, transparency in the allocation of PAU, accountability, and the effectiveness of incentives. Inter-sectoral coordination also needs to be

Discussions
There are several possible reasons for the scores obtained for the first three sub-components of the first pillar. The first element limiting the process of resource management in the area is the absence of simple management plans specific to each PAU, which specify the specific legal and regulatory framework for resource management in the area. According to the actors involved in the resource management process, the resource governance framework remains un- This argument goes hand in hand with the finding that collaboration between stakeholders involved in P. africana management is weak. According to FAO and COMIFAC, it is important to strengthen the role of government services.
Studies conducted by Piabuo et al. (2018) in 36 community forests (CFs) in Cameroon also concluded that the governance of CFs is relatively weak, which is similar to the results obtained. Among the principles decried, the author also points out the low accountability and low participation of stakeholders, including local communities, in the management process. The low participation of riparian communities in the planning and decision-making processes of forest resource management in Cameroon was also decried by Nkemnyi et al. (2016) in Tinto and Bimbia-Bonadikombo in the South West region of Cameroon. The results obtained diverge from those obtained by Oyono (2003) and Assembe (2004) in the FCs of Lomié, Dimako, Mbang, Ngola (East Cameroon) and Ebolowa and Kribi (South Cameroon). According to the latter, local and riparian populations in these community forests were excluded from the sharing of benefits from the exploitation of their forests. Identical results were obtained by Ngang (2015) in the CFs of Bakingili and Bimbia-Bonadikombo in the South

Conclusion
Forest governance in Cameroon has long been questioned by many authors in terms of its implementation. Forest resources have since been affected by this poor governance, and therefore if nothing is done, management decisions taken by stakeholders will always be ineffective. This study revealed that the governance system put in place by the state has many weaknesses or flaws in the management process of Prunus africana. The weaknesses lie in the clarity and coherence of the legal and regulatory framework, stakeholder participation, accountability, transparency in decision making and the effectiveness of resource management measures in the Adamawa region. However, it should be noted that one of the strengths of Prunus governance is the existence of a mechanism for sharing benefits from the exploitation of the resource. A framework for consultation between the stakeholders involved in the management of the PAU should be created, taking into account the opinions of the local communities, the primary beneficiaries of the benefits. The aim of this framework would be to pool ideas in order to find solutions for better governance of the resource and thus ensure its sustainability in its production basins. It would also be ideal for strengthening the control system in the production basins (at the level of inventories and at the level of exploitation itself: logistical support for control agents). In order to improve transparency, MINFOF's decentralised structures should be provided with useful documentation on the management of the resource in this production basin (Simple Management Plans). In addition, a traceability system for Prunus bark should be developed.
It would also be necessary to include the certification of Pygeum bark as an incentive for economic operators. Prunus economic operators must hold their ABS permits in accordance with law N˚ 2021/014 of 09 July 2021. These measures will thus promote good forest governance and increase the value of the resource.