With the failure of centralized system of forest governance in the 1980’s, Participatory Forest Management (PFM) was presented as a panacea that could bring about proper management of forest resources while enhancing forest dwellers’ livelihood. Previous studies, however, have reported mixed results from PFM in Cameroun, and elite capture has been said to be a major contributor. Principal - Agent theory highlights the importance of the principal’s (community) capacity to keep the agents (leaders) accountable as the best approach for controlling elite capture and produce expected results. This study assesses level of leadership accountability in community forestry in Cameroon. Using cross sectional research design, data was collected through administration of semi structured questionnaire to 204 community forest (CF) members selected on basis of willingness and availability, 31 key informant interviews, and documents review. Results indicate a low level of downward accountability of CF leaders, due to inadequate capacity of community members to provide incentive to CF leaders for effective downward accountability. This poor downward accountability was further aggravated by the total exclusion of traditional authorities from CF legal arrangement. Hence, sustainable community forestry in Cameroon requires for forestry stakeholders and the government to make more effort in enhancing community capacity to demand for accountability by ensuring that all elements of accountability mechanism (answerability and enforcement) are effectively implemented. Government institutions have a key role to play in making sure community decisions against poor leadership is strengthened and enforced; therefore, the importance of synergy between community voice and public authority.

1.Hunting, trade, and consumption of wildlife present a serious threat to global public health as it places humans in close contact with zoonotic pathogens.2.We systematically mapped the literature on wild meat handling and zoonotic disease transmission (1996-2022) using the online database Web of Science and Google search engine and identified 6229 articles out of which 253 were finally selected for use in our mapping review; 51 of these provided specific information regarding transmission risks.3.The reviewed studies reported 43 zoonotic pathogens (17 bacteria, 15 viruses, and 11 parasites) that could pose a potential risk to human health.4.Sixteen hygienic and sanitary behaviours were described in the reviewed studies. Disease surveillance was the most frequent. Most of the surveillance studies were carried out in Europe and were less common in the tropics.5.To inform policy and practical actions effectively, it is imperative to broaden our understanding of how various mitigation behaviours can be employed to minimize the risk of transmission.

Measures adopted to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and economic shocks caused by the pandemic have affected food networks globally, including wild meat trade networks that support the livelihoods and food security of millions of people around the world. In this article, we examine how COVID-related shocks have affected the vulnerability and coping strategies of different actors along wild meat trade networks. Informed by 1,876 questionnaires carried out with wild meat hunters, traders, vendors, and consumers in Cameroon, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Guyana, the article presents qualitative evidence as to how COVID-19 impacted different segments of society involved in wild meat trade networks. Our findings largely align with McNamara et al. (2020) and Kamogne Tagne et al.’s (2022) causal model hypothesising how the impacts of the pandemic could lead to a change in local incentives for wild meat hunting in sub-Saharan African countries. Like McNamara et al. (2020) and Kamogne Tagne et al. (2022), we find that the pandemic reduced wild meat availability for wild meat actors in urban areas while increasing reliance on wild meat for subsistence purposes in rural areas. However, we find some impact pathways to be more relevant than others, and also incorporate additional impact pathways into the existing causal model. Based on our findings, we argue that wild meat serves as an important safety net in response to shocks for some actors in wild meat trade networks. We conclude by advocating for policies and development interventions that seek to improve the safety and sustainability of wild meat trade networks and protect access to wild meat as an environmental coping strategy during times of crisis.

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

This study assesses the ecological pressure exerted by changing land use and tenure on the Kitenden wildlife corridor, a critical cross-border link between the Amboseli and Kilimanjaro national parks. The implications on viability of the two high-value protected areas and their respective dispersal areas are both negative and serious. The extent of land use change and its impacts were assessed through household and vegetation surveys, while wildlife abundance was measured using transect walks. Approximately 30% of the study area has shifted from community to private land ownership over the last two decades. Except for baboon and vervet monkey, most wildlife avoided the cultivated area. Vegetation composition on the noncultivated area has been greatly altered by intense wildlife and livestock use, where mean herbaceous vegetation cover differed significantly among range-plant categories (F-3,F- 524 = 29.015, p < 0.05). The frequency of increaser I (21.4%) differs greatly from that of decreaser and forbs, at 8.3% and 7.4%, respectively Tree recruitment was low, with a significant difference in mean density among age classes (F-2,F- 110 = 3.663, p < 0.05). Only through land leasing agreements between landowners and conservation organisations, and a widely supported land use plan, can the spread of cultivation be controlled and complete cessation of wildlife movement be prevented.