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American Journal of  
Environment and Climate (AJEC)

Convention on Biological Diversity Post 2020 Target: A Critical Analyses of  the Threat Posed 
by 30 X 30 Target, Devoid of  a Human Rights Approach Towards Conservation to Land 

Rights in Developing Countries: Case Study Cameroon 
Agbor Desmond Tabe1*

Volume 1 Issue 2, Year 2022
ISSN: 2832-403X (Online)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajec.v1i2.628
https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajec

Article Information ABSTRACT

Received: September 20, 2022
Accepted: September 27, 2022
Published: September 29, 2022

In a bid to protect the country’s biodiversity, the government of  Cameroon became party to 
the Convention on Biological Diversity. However, the convention’s recent post 2020 and its 
30 by 30 target which is aimed at designating 30% of  earth’s land and Oceans has caused a lot 
of  controversy amongst human rights advocates because of  the threat it poses to indigenous 
land rights and has been welcomed by conservationist because of  the potential it has towards 
the protection of  biodiversity. This study was conducted to address the threat posed by the 
Convention on Biological Diversity and its 30 by 30 target to land rights of  indigenous and 
traditional communities in Cameroon. The study used qualitative data analysis to arrive at the 
findings. Implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity post 2020 and its 30 by 30 
target will further increase the land rights violation of  indigenous communities in a country 
that already has a history of  violating the land rights of  indigenous communities. In order to 
ensure that the implementation of  the Convention on biological diversity post 2020 and it’s 
30 by 30 targets don’t violate the land rights of  indigenous and traditional communities in 
Cameroon, the state must adopt a human rights-based approach towards conservation and 
also ensure that indigenous communities are not left out in the decision-making process in 
decisions that affects them directly

Keywords
Biodiversity, Conservation, 
Indigenous Rights, Cameroon, 
Environmental Law

1 University of  Buea, Faculty of  Laws and Political Science, Cameroon
* Corresponding author’s e-mail: agborballack.7@gmail.com

INTRODUCTION
Cameroon has lost a significant portion of  its flora and 
fauna due to commercial logging, mining, agriculture 
and infrastructural development, which manifest the 
country’s vision 2035 of  becoming an emergent nation 
and bad governance. To protect this Flora and Fauna, the 
government of  Cameroon has joined an international 
effort to protect Biodiversity from the existential threats 
it is currently facing. In the year 1995, the government 
ratified the Convention on Biological diversity and some 
of  its subsequent protocols. The government even went 
ahead to implement certain measures for the protection 
of  biodiversity although Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) 
still remain unprotected which as a result of  lapses in 
biodiversity conservation on the part of  the state. The 
state has always paid little attention to the significant 
role played by indigenous communities in the decision-
making process with regards to biodiversity conservation 
and the negative effects of  these decisions are often felt 
mostly by indigenous communities which sometimes 
creates a conflict between Conservation of  Biological 
Diversity and indigenous and traditional communities 
land rights. Today we are talking about CBD post 2020 
and it’s 30 by 30 target the overarching objective of  the 
convention is aimed at designating 30% of  earth’s land 
and ocean area as protected areas and if  the state doesn’t 
take a human rights-based approach to biodiversity 
conservation, we are bound to witness the eviction of  
this indigenous communities from their home land, 
their lands seized and a spike in biodiversity loss. This 
article focuses on addressing the threat posed by the 30 
by 30 target to indigenous and community land rights 

and possibility of  worsening the biodiversity situation if  
it falls short of  a human rights-based approach towards 
conservation.  It will also be useful to anyone interested 
in getting acquainted with the Convention on Biological 
Diversity (CBD) and its impact on indigenous rights 
and development in Cameroon. The article concludes 
with a discussion on reconciling these conflicts in order 
to achieve biodiversity conservation and development 
without indigenous land rights violation. 

LITERATURE REVIEW
Several studies have been conducted on the threat 
posed by conservation on land rights of  indigenous and 
traditional communities in Cameroon. Despites this many 
studies conducted there is still room for further research 
in this area since limited progress has been made in the 
protection of  the biodiversity and indigenous rights 
especially in developing states like Cameroon. Therefore, 
indigenous rights and biodiversity remains threatened 
till date and the threat will be aggravated following the 
convention on biological diversity post 2020 and its 30 
by 30 target. 
In (Oliver and Emmanuel, 2018), they identified the 
fundamental role of  biodiversity as part of  the countries 
national heritage and even examined some of  the of  new 
legal and institutional tools that characterize the current 
framework for the protection of  Cameroon’s biodiversity 
and the role of  protected areas in conservation. However, 
despite significant progress in developing biodiversity 
related global and national legal instruments, the role of  
indigenous communities in conservation and their rights 
to participate in the decisions making process that affects 

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them neglected has he loss of  valuable plant and animal 
species, loss of  habitat, genetic erosion and ecosystem 
degradation
Also referring to the 1994 Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries 
Regulation, in its articles 37 and 38, which introduced a 
new concept of  the conservation and sustainable use of  
biological diversity under the nomenclature of  Community 
Forests. Under these provisions, the State shall sign an 
agreement with any desirous local community to enable 
it promote the management of  forest resources with the 
assistance of  the services in charge of  forests. This type 
of  management shall be carried out through management 
plans drawn up at the behest of  the community and 
approved by the services in charge of  forest. In this 
way, the local community concerned manages the forest 
in question and reap the attendant benefits. However, a 
major point of  contention with the 1994 Forest Code is 
its failure to recognize rights to the lands, territories, and 
resources of  indigenous peoples who are the real experts 
on their environment and others can only learn much 
from them in terms of  management of  biodiversity. 
Based on the Convention on Biodiversity post 2020 
framework, a convention which Cameroon has ratified 
and its vision 2030 also referred to as 30 by 30 target 
which calls on the protection and conservation of  at least 
30% of  the planet with areas particularly important for 
biodiversity through effective systems of  protected areas 
and other effective area-based biodiversity measures. 
However, the application of  this convention is conflicting 
with the protection of  the land rights of  indigenous 
communities, which is likely to worsen the human rights 
condition of  indigenous communities in forest areas 
and will result in them being evicted from their ancestral 
home and this will only happen if  the state doesn’t adopt 
a human rights-based approach towards conservation.  
According to the National Biological Strategic Action 
(NBSAP, 2011), which had as one of  its missions, to 
take all necessary measures to reduce the rate of  national 
biodiversity loss and ensure long-term sustainability of  
biodiversity by 2020 and in its principle 3 which states 
that at all levels of  biodiversity decision making processes, 
stakeholders including local communities and vulnerable 
groups are entitled to participate and for this purpose 
should have access to information on biodiversity. One 
strategy adopted to achieve this goal was the creation 
of  protected areas for conservation such as national 
parks and the state has paid little or no attention to 
the fundamental role of  indigenous communities 
towards effective conservation. However, this protected 
areas are slowly degenerating because of  government 
allocation of  this protected areas for logging through 
concession agreements, which has defeated the purpose 
of  protected areas and displaced many forest indigenous 
communities whose traditional knowledge would have 
been instrumental in the protection of  the environment.
 However, despite the research conducted by the 
many authors above, their research didn’t touch on the 
Convention on Biological Diversity post 2020 and didn’t 

address the threat posed by conservation strategies 
like protected areas on indigenous land rights. . My 
research looks at the threat posed the new Conevntion 
on biological diversity post 2020 and its 30x30 target on 
indigenous land rights, if  the state were to implement 
following without recognizing the fundamental role of  
indigenous and traditional communities in conservation. 
This research will give a better picture of  conservation in 
Cameroon and indigenous rights post 2020. 

METHODOLOGY
The research methods employed in this research involved 
qualitative data analysis. It’s aimed at interpreting and 
analyzing environmental legislations and policies, both 
at the international and the national level as applied in 
Cameroon and how it affects indigenous land rights 
towards conservation. Patton (2002:41) referred to this 
process as inductive analysis and creative synthesis. The 
qualitative data analysis was conducted through extensive 
literature review and significant amount of  background 
reading on environmental law and indigenous rights 
journal articles, books and websites in order to locate 
particular pieces of  information while using an inductive 
approach. The method applied is purely doctrinal which 
relied on devices such as ethnography and case studies in 
the process of  data collection. 

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Convention on Biological Diversity and the role of  
Cameroon towards conservation. 
According to a 2018 ranking published (by the World-
Wide Fund (WWF), Cameroon’s flora and fauna 
biodiversity ranks 21st globally and 4th in Africa (WWF, 
2018). The country is said to rank fifth for fauna diversity 
and fourth for flora in Africa and is often referred to as 
Africa in miniature because it comprises all the major 
climatic conditions, vegetation and wild life features of  
the African continent. Cameroon is a country endowed 
with forest cover that constitutes roughly 42 % (about 
20 million hectares) of  the country’s total land area 
(Mohanty, 2021). The country’s  evergreen forest located 
in the southern part of  the country and constitutes part 
of  the Congo Basin Forest confinement and is home to 
millions of  people and some indigenous communities 
as well as the last indigenous population of  the African 
rainforest “the pygmies” (Donmez, 2022). According 
to the International Tropical Timber Organization, 
Cameroon’s forest is also home to closely 10,000 species 
of  plants, mammals, and birds, making it one of  the 
highest species densities of  any African country, 30% of  
which are unique to the region (Mbatu, 2016). In the wake 
of  a global increase in the loss of  biological diversity, 
many countries across the globe have rallied behind an 
international call to protect the environment including 
Cameroon which is encapsulated in a legal instrument 
referred to as the Convention on Biological Diversity. The 
Convention was formally initiated in the United Nations 
Conference on Environment and Development in Rio 

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de Janeiro 1992, with over a hundred states adopting the 
official text which was then forwarded for ratification 
and implementation. The Convention has three main 
objectives: the conservation of  biological diversity, the 
sustainable use of  its component and equitable sharing 
of  benefits arising from genetic resources (Magnusson, 
2022). 

Cameroon’s role in the protection of  biodiversity 
and the Convention on Biological Diversity pre-2020. 
Cameroon became a party to the convention upon 
ratification in the year 1995 and some of  its subsequent 
protocols like the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety which 
seeks to ensure an adequate level of  protection in the 
safe movement and use of  living modified organisms 
from biotechnology likely to adversely affect biodiversity 
and the 2010 Nagoya Protocol which recognizes the 
contribution of  genetic resources and information from 
genetic material in promoting research and development 
in fast growing pharmaceutical, cosmetic, biotech and 
food industries and the inadequate contribution of  its 
benefits to conservation. Cameroon has equally played 
an active role in international negotiations and one of  
such roles was the key role it played as part of  the lead 
negotiators for the UN Africa Region in the negotiations 
and adoption of  major biodiversity related conventions, 
protocols and generated a national process with the 
political momentum resulting in national ratification or 
adherence to the multiple multilateral environmental 
agreements to which Cameroon is a party (Ruppel et al., 
2018, p. 437). 
Apart from that, the country is party to some other major 
biodiversity related multilateral agreements introduced 
by acts of  ratification, which go a long way to confirm 
the country’s role in the protection of  the environment 
and some of  this international legal instruments have 
made some significant contributions in shaping national 
responses and intervention actions in the protection of  
national critical ecosystems  such as the Convention on 
Wetlands of  International Importance and the Convention 
on the Law of  the Sea 1973,  endangered species which 
are regulated under the Convention on Migratory Species 
of  Wild Animals 1979 and Convention on the Protection 
of  World Heritage, Culture and Nature 1972, crimes 
on protected species and trade in endangered species 
regulated by the Convention on International Trade in 
Endangered Species of  Wild Plants and Animals 1973,  
specific uses of  genetic resources international Treaty on 
Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture 2001 
and major threats to biodiversity regulated under the 
Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and 
Co-operation 2001 and the Convention on the Control of  
Transboundary Movements and Disposal of  Hazardous 
Wastes 1989 and the Convention on Climate Change 
1992 and its Kyoto Protocol; Convention to Combat 
Desertification 1994.
In 2000, the Country completed its first National 
Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan NBSAP but 

wasn’t implemented due to some constraints Republic 
of  Cameroon National Biodiversity Strategy and Action 
Plan – Version II (NBSAP,2012). In the year 2010, the 
Country updated its NBSAP known as the Aichi target 
which was to run from 2012 to 2020. Target 11 of  the 
NBSAP ensures coherence of  the biodiversity policy with 
the protected target area of  30%, adopted the following 
as a national priority by the year 2020: By 2020, at least 
30% of  the national territory, taking into consideration 
ecosystem representativeness are under effectively and 
equitably managed protected areas (Ruppel et al., p.444). 
The current trend in protected area in the implementation 
of  this law depicts an increase of  76.5% in the creation 
of  protected areas between 2000 with a baseline of  17 
Protected Areas and 2012 having a total of  30 Protected 
Areas. By 2012 there was a wide protected area network 
of  19 National Parks, 7 Wildlife Reserves, 5 Wildlife 
Sanctuaries, 3 Botanical Gardens, 47 Synergetic Zones and 
26 Community Managed Synergetic Zones with a total 
cover of  16,683,779 ha in protected areas and 9,159,135 
ha specifically for wildlife (Cameroon’s Forestry, wildlife 
and fisheries regulations, 1994).  
This represents 19.25% of  the national territory and has 
enabled national progress beyond the global target of  the 
Aichi Targets set at 15% for terrestrial protected areas. 
Management plans have been developed and adopted 
to ensure the protection of  most of  the protected areas.  
The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 
version II (NBSAP II) which recognized the significance 
of  these international instruments in the framework for 
international and regional cooperation in the protection 
and valorization of  Cameroon’s biodiversity as well 
as regional legal tools in the management of  shared 
trans-boundary ecosystems (Ruppel et al., 2018, p. 439). 
This recognition is highlighted with the identification 
of  21 biodiversity-related international agreements 
and 21 regional agreements ratified by Cameroon and 
demonstrates a long-standing national commitment to 
collectively defined norms, proposed a different policy 
orientation which was to reverse and halt the current 
trend in biodiversity loss as a way of  establishing a 
strong nature base that is indispensable for the country’s 
socioeconomic growth. NBSAP II was implemented 
through 2020 and contained 4 strategic goals, 20 national-
level and 10 ecosystem-specific targets, priority actions, 
timeframes for action, performance indicators and 
actors/organizations responsible for implementation 
(Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat, 2022). 
In implementing its National Biological Strategic Action 
Plan (NBSAP), the country made some progress. 
Apart from the regulatory laws enacted and conventions 
signed by the government of  Cameroon towards the 
conservation of  Biodiversity, the state equally recognizes 
the fundamental role of  indigenous and local communities 
living in forest riparian communities as stewards in natural 
resource management and towards the conservation 
of  biodiversity, even though these rights are limited to 
traditional collections with no reference to rights over their 

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traditional knowledge. This restriction is further reflected 
in the 1994 Forest Code in its Section 7 which regulates 
ownership by stating that the State, local councils, village 
communities and private individuals may exercise on their 
forest and aquacultural establishments all the rights that 
result from ownership subject to restrictions laid down in 
the regulations governing land tenure and State lands and 
by this law (Ruppel et al., p. 440). The Forest Code grants 
usage rights while stipulating those customary rights are 
those accorded to local populations to exploit all forest 
wildlife and fish products with the exception of  protected 
species for their personal use. 
They may be temporarily or permanently suspended 
when the need arises for reasons of  public interest. 
However, the 1994 Forest Code pays lips service towards 
the recognition of  indigenous people’s rights to the 
lands, territories and resources they have traditionally 
owned, occupied or otherwise used and acquired. This 
has been a major issue during Cameroon’s recent Forest 
Code reforms and is about to become more of  a bigger 
problem with the more recent Convention on Biological 
Diversity post 2020 and its 30 x 30 target. However, 
despite many measures adopted by the government aimed 
at conserving biodiversity, implementation, governance 
and the sidelining of  indigenous communities constitute 
one of  the major challenges today in ensuring compliant 
behaviors that favor biodiversity and at the same time 
ensuring indigenous rights are respected in the process 
of  conservation.  
Prior to CBD post 2020, the government had bypassed 
some of  these laws and carried out developmental 
activities that endanger biodiversity and violate the 
rights of  this indigenous communities. In 2020 the 
government signed a concession agreement allocating 
about 68,385 hectares of  Ebo-forest, inhabited by 40 
Indigenous communities and half  the size of  London 
for logging. With pressure from advocacy groups and 
the international community, the concession agreements 
were suspended and not terminated. This is just one of  
the many acts of  government threatening biodiversity and 
indigenous rights (International Land Coalition, 2022). 
With post CBD 2020 and it’s 30 by 30 targets, at center of  
discussions in the international community with regards 
to biodiversity conservation, the convention maybe used 
by the state to transform some of  these forested areas 
inhabited by indigenous communities to protected areas 
and send them parking only to later on transform these 
protected areas into forest management units in future 
and allocate them for logging to meet up with her vision 
2035 of  becoming a highly industrialized country. 

Convention on Biological Diversity Post 2020 and 
Indigenous rights 
According to the Worldwide Fund (WWF), Cameroon is 
home to a large community of  indigenous peoples such 
as the Baka who are found in the southern and eastern 
regions of  Cameroon, the Bagyeli and Bakola in the 
southern region, the Bedzand in the center region and 

the Mbororos scattered in the northwest, southwest 
and northern regions. They have revered and treasured 
the lands they live upon for centuries. The livelihood 
of  indigenous groups, like the Baka and the Bagyeli, 
depend largely on the forests. They pick fruits, hunt and 
build their homes from materials from the forest while 
worshipping nature, which embodies the spirit of  living 
in harmony with nature. 
The Mbororos, on the other hand, are grazers constantly 
migrating to different regions of  the country because of  
conflicts between their grazing style and conservation 
efforts. These indigenous communities like the Baka who 
have lived for centuries in this forest have accumulated 
and passed on extensive ecological knowledge and 
sophisticated cultural mechanisms of  egalitarianism, 
sharing and human-nature conviviality and because of  
this rich cultural heritage, the Baka, and hunter-gatherers 
around the world, have consistently been forced into 
categories of  ‘primitive’ and ‘uncultured’ by neighboring 
agriculturalist communities, national governments 
and some international actors (Hoyte & Clarke, 2020). 
Across the globe, indigenous people and traditional 
communities are accorded protection under international 
law. They are entitled to own, occupy, manage and use 
the lands, territories and natural resources that they have 
customarily used. 
These rights are protected under various international 
instruments to which Cameroon is a party of  and includes 
the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (art 
14), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and 
Cultural Rights (arts 1, 2, 11, 12), and the International 
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (arts 1, 27). Under 
international law, indigenous peoples’ customary rights 
are equivalent to all forms of  other property rights in 
the country and exist regardless of  whether the State has 
recognized them. 
In Cameroon, Indigenous Peoples’ land rights are not 
recognized under national law, despite the fact that the 
majority of  the national territory has been occupied 
and managed by local and Indigenous communities for 
centuries. Access to justice and political representation 
is effectively zero (Perram & Clarke 2018). Indigenous 
communities in Cameroon have overtime been considered 
as the long-time protectors of  biodiversity which have 
been influenced by traditional believes, as a result they 
have often adopted sustainable practices in the usage of  
the biodiversity resources which has contributed towards 
the protection of  biodiversity. 
However, Despite the efforts made towards the 
conservation of  Biodiversity, it is still increasingly 
threatened across the globe and any measure that doesn’t 
recognize the role and rights of  indigenous communities 
towards biodiversity conservation constitutes part of  the 
threat rather than contribute towards the resolving the 
threat. With just 17% of  land and 8 % of  sea considered 
as being protected across the globe, coupled with an 
increase in unsustainable developmental practices, 
activities of  huge extractive industries and the sidelining 

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of  indigenous communities by some states with regards to 
the management of  natural resource and conservation of  
biodiversity have led to this current state of  biodiversity 
crisis (Govan, 2020). Some scientists and conservation 
advocates are rallying behind an international call to 
protect biodiversity code name “30 by 30 targets” which 
according to them could go a long way towards averting 
the biodiversity crisis while also helping to address other 
environmental and health challenges such as climate 
change and the risk of  future pandemics. 
The CBD Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework 
(WG2020-3), particularly its target 3 which is commonly 
referred to as the “30 by 30 initiatives” has as its 
overarching goal to increase conservation of  land and 
sea areas up to 30 percent by 2030. This 30% is a 
minimum target for land, sea and freshwater to protect 
and conserve key biodiversity values, including species at 
risk, high biodiversity areas, key migration sites, spawning 
areas, and ecologically intact areas which protect large-
scale ecological processes (International Union for 
Conservation of  Nature, 2021). 
Adding in climate Refugio and areas of  high carbon 
density increases the area required to over 50%. Achieving 
effective protection and conservation on at least 30% of  
the planet by 2030 is a critical step toward achieving the 
CBD’s 2050 Vision of  Living in Harmony with Nature, 
as well as post-2020 ambitions for biodiversity (Woodley 
et al., 2019). All these is to be carried out through 
conservation practices such as marine protected areas and 
other effective area-based conservation measures also 
referred to as “conserved areas” and to do so using area-
based conservation measures such as parks. According 
to the International Union for Conservation of  Nature 
(IUCN) a protected area refers to a clearly defined 
geographical space recognized, dedicated and managed 
through legal or other effective means to achieve the 
long-term conservation of  nature with associated 
ecosystem services and cultural values. The Post-2020 
Global Biodiversity Framework aims to guide actions 
worldwide through 2030, to preserve and protect nature 
and its essential services to people and builds on the 
Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020. We may look 
at the CBD post 2020, 30 by 30 target as a stepping stone 
towards the conservation of  biodiversity, which will mean 
saving the earth in the long run. 

Dangers of  Protected areas without the due 
consideration of  Indigenous rights
However, the realization of  this grand vision of  the CBD 
30 by 30 target to conserve biodiversity without taking 
into consideration a human rights-based approach in 
its strategy will mean the violation of  human rights and 
the biggest land grab in history (Shanahan,2021).   The 
convention remains controversial because protected 
areas have a history on indigenous rights abuse and 
could significantly disrupt Indigenous peoples and local 
communities’ governance, management and conservation 
systems across all aquatic territories of  life, in both in-

shore and offshore areas, forested areas. What we call 
protected areas today is as a result of  a movement that 
started since in 1961, with the First World Parks Congress 
in Seattle, USA, since when the International Union has 
spearheaded it for the Conservation of  Nature (IUCN) 
and today we have about 7.9 million square meters of  
protected land, with an anticipated increase in the nearest 
future (McNeely & Harrison, 2008). While some have 
saved species from extinction, others so called paper 
parks which are legally established protected areas 
where experts believe current protection activities are 
insufficient to halt degradation are ineffectively managed 
(Dudley and Stolton, 1999). 
A disturbing number of  protected areas have also 
harmed local people through forced displacement and 
human rights abuses inflicted by militarized park guards 
(Shenan, 2021). Most advocates of  indigenous rights and 
strong critics of  the 30 by 30 target have decried it as 
a scheme that legitimizes gov’t seizure of  lands in the 
guise of  protected areas taking into consideration the 
fact that the process of  seeking free, prior and informed 
consent from Indigenous peoples who inhabit these 
areas that are targeted as potential conservation areas is 
not followed to the latter and presents on of  the greatest 
challenges towards the protection of  indigenous rights. 
In fact during a high-level event on the sidelines of  the 
United Nations General Assembly in September 2021 
according to Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Coordinator 
of  the Association of  Peul Women and Autochthonous 
Peoples of  Chad, and member of  the Campaign for 
Nature’s Global steering committee he stated that 
“There must be recognition of  the 80% of  biodiversity 
that Indigenous peoples are conserving already and the 
30x30 initiative is a good complementary idea as long 
as it is done with the free prior and informed consent 
and in partnership with indigenous peoples, respecting 
them and their rights and traditional knowledge that 
we know are essential to effectively protect nature and 
provide for people. In many developing countries like 
Cameroon, there are no adequate provisions for public 
participation in environmental governance, which leaves 
these indigenous communities from having a fair say in 
establishing “protected” areas that are likely to be the 
most affected by these decisions.
Despite provisions in the current CBD framework and 
draft post-2020 GBF to include ‘Other Effective Area-
Based Conservation Measures’ in global conservation 
targets, experience has shown that state-owned, strict 
protected areas have often remained the default choice 
in much of  the Global South (Minority rights group 
international et al., 2020). The absence of  effective 
measures to protect the rights, lands and livelihood 
of  Indigenous peoples and other communities in, 
conservation-based programs by the draft CBD leaves 
much to be desired as it has the potential of  violating 
international laws. This is much reflected in creation of  
more protected in areas in Cameroon which will mean the 
employment of  many forest guards who are often armed 

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to protect these protected areas from poachers and other 
threats. However, most of  these eco-guards who are 
often ill-equipped and pressured to get results, target the 
Baka with extreme abuse in the name of  conservation. 
As anthropologist Jerome Lewis puts it: “Unable to act 
against the powerful perpetrators of  the illegal wildlife 
trade, eco-guards began to attack softer targets: the 
hunter-gatherers and villagers” (Lewis, 2020). According 
to Hoyte and Clark, the Baka who are hunter-gatherers 
Baka families do not hunt, fish and forage (just) for fun. 
It is their means of  survival. The confiscation of  meat 
hunted under droit d’usage (user rights) is nothing but 
criminal. Some eco-guards push this brutality further, 
confiscating the Baka’s most treasured gift of  the forest 
wild honey for seemingly no reason other than to assert 
their power (Duda,2017). 
Despite agreements being reached between the state 
and these indigenous communities the enable those 
to once again carry out traditional activities within the 
parks through a management plan. Their rights to access 
and use are being treated as a privilege being granted 
by the government which requires Baka communities 
to give something in return rather than as a right which 
the government’s creation of  these protected areas has 
systematically violated, and which must be remedied. 
This ultimately reflects the broader problem that these 
MOUs do not remedy the fundamental ongoing violation 
of  human rights, which is the non-recognition and 
non-respect for indigenous peoples’ customary lands, 
territories and natural resources (Catherine, 2020, p.5). 
Apart from the right of  these indigenous communities to 
access their homeland being threatened, their traditional 
way of  lively hood is also at risk. 
Young men have sought work in local gold mines, 
however they reported frequent harassment, threats and 
abuse from eco-guards, who sometimes confiscate their 
earnings on the pretext that they don’t have ID cards to 
present when asked and also forest land around the Parks 
is not free for local access either as they are leased out to 
international trophy hunting safari operators (Catherine, 
2020, p.5). According to Catherine Clarke (2020), These 
zones are guarded and access is restricted during hunting 
seasons. however, this restriction increasingly extends 
even outside hunting seasons and is enforced by anti-
poaching patrols. According to FPP’s findings, the Baka 
reported that there is a high risk of  being hit by stray 
bullets or being confused with game if  they venture into 
the forest (which is just five kilometers from the road) 
during hunting periods and that fishing and foraging 
are increasingly compromised in off-seasons, as guards’ 
reason that the same resources the Baka live on are needed 
by the animals which are trophy hunted. Women reported 
that their traditional initiation ceremony has disappeared 
since the creation of  the Parks. 
Traditional medicine is still practiced; however, certain 
trees which are important for remedies are found deep 
within protected areas and have not been accessible for 
many years. As hunter gatherers traditionally teach their 

children in the forest, using a learning-by-doing approach, 
there is limited space to enact and impart their knowledge, 
with the impacts on the next generation already visible, 
e.g., reduced knowledge of  medicinal plants and hunting 
techniques. 
Although the convention of  biological diversity post 2020 
and its 30 by 30 target will bring about the protection of  
biodiversity, it was found that consequences it will have on 
the land rights of  indigenous and traditional communities 
in Cameroon will be immense if  it falls short of  a human 
rights based approach towards conservation and this is 
what entails in the Cameroon especially with the lack of  
political will by government to effectively place these 
indigenous communities at the center of  natural resource 
management. However, this precarious situation could be 
mitigated. 
Firstly, prior to any proposed land conservation action, 
the government should consult local communities who 
depend on such lands for their livelihood. Both the 
government and stakeholders should be accountable and 
hence should involve local communities in all stages of  
the land conservation process. This is done to ensure that 
local people either benefit from investment projects or the 
negative consequences are minimized. Lack of  adequate 
consultation: participation, accountability, equality, non-
discrimination, empowerment and legality lead to lack of  
public confidence on such moves. Prior consultation with 
the local communities will give them the opportunity to 
assess how they will benefit or be affected by the project 
and to be prepared for such outcomes. 
Secondly, Conservation has a positive impact on the 
environment but negative impacts on local communities’ 
livelihood as a result, they should be compensated 
accordingly.   For instance, those who had been grazing 
animals, growing crops, fetching water, collecting grasses 
or firewood on the land should be given alternative land. 
Conservation does not only dispossess local communities 
the important assets for their livelihoods, we have also 
seen that they can result in eviction of  local people. The 
government should ensure that any proposed action will 
not result in eviction, and if  eviction is inevitable, then 
government must make sure that victims get financial 
and other compensation packages based on independent 
assessment and benefits prior to the eviction.  
It was observed that the Constitution does not contain a 
clear-cut provision on the right to access to information as 
in other jurisdictions like in South African and Ugandan 
Constitutions. It is therefore recommended that the 
Constitution be revised to include this provision in order 
to enable people gain access to public and privately held 
information and to encourage and promote transparency 
and accountability in the governance of  public affairs 
generally
Also, Civil society organizations can help local voices to 
be heard so that the desired attention is given to the local 
communities. Civil society may also raise the awareness 
levels of  both the authorities and the rest of  citizens 
through campaigns and education. They can also help put 

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pressures on the stakeholders and its country of  origin to 
oblige it adopts standard practices in its conduct.

CONCLUSION
There has always been a conflict between conservation 
and indigenous land rights in Cameroon. The CBD post 
2020 and its 30x 30 target only makes it worst if  the state 
adopts a conservation strategy devoid of  a human rights 
based approach. The international community, local 
NGOs, indigenous communities  and the state have a 
vital role to play towards ensuring that conservation is 
successfully implemented without violating the land rights 
of  indigenous communities by addressing some issues 
like  recognizing the role of  indigenous communities in 
biodiversity conservation is not enough as when it comes 
to implementation of  these rights the government of  
Cameroon pays lips service to them. What is needed is to 
first amend the 1994 forestry code to recognize the rights 
and role of  indigenous communities as not subservient to 
national law and as the age long stewards of  biodiversity. 
There is the need to empower this indigenous communities 
both educationally and politically, who have a spiritual 
and cultural connection to the natural environment and 
are more likely to repel legislations and developmental 
activities that threaten the forest. 
Also While designating certain areas as protected areas 
viz a viz 30 x 30 target, the process of  free, prior and 
informed concern is often neglected by the state and the 
end result is a vicious decision that leads to the eviction 
of  this indigenous communities and the militarization of  
protected areas with armed forest guards who understand 
little or nothing about the indigenous communities and 
their culture. It is important that the state conforms to this 
requirement and ensure thorough education of  the forest 
guards about the cultures and traditions of  the people 
they are protecting the forest from and if  possible, train 
forest guards from within the indigenous communities in 
order to avoid the violation of  indigenous rights. 

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