“Trade not aid” is often championed as the best solution to Africa’s problems. It’s usually said in reference to thedifficulties African countries face in exporting their products to Europe or America. The unfortunate irony, however,is many African countries find it difficult to trade with each other. Tariffs, custom duties and other barriers seriouslyhamper intra-African trade. And have for a long time.
The Economic and Monetary Community of Central AfricaStates (CEMAC) has been trying since its establishmentin 1994 to improve trade relations between the CentralAfrican countries of Cameroon, the Central Africa Republic,the Republic of Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea andChad.
To understand the enormity of the task CEMAC faces,we need look no further than the forestry sector. Inparticular, we need to look at those forests that straddlenational boundaries, where ‘shady’ refers not so much tothe foliage filtered shadows as to the behaviour of officialsworking along national borders.
The Sangha River Region is a case in point. A biodiversityhotspot criss-crossed by rivers and waterways, it is themeeting point of three national boundaries - Cameroon,the Central Africa Republic (CAR) and the Republic ofCongo (Congo). Elephants, chimpanzees and buffalo stillslumber, swing and stroll through its rich rainforest.
Once a patch of quiet wilderness, the Sangha RiverRegion is becoming a hive of business activity. When theCongo government collapsed in the 1980’s, Cameroontook over Congo’s strategic role as the transit country fortimber from the Central African Republic and NorthernCongo. Now the region is sliced up with dirt roadsmaking a beeline to Cameroon’s main port, Douala, andoffers economic opportunities to people from each of theregion’s countries.
While cross-boundary trade improves many lives,it causes problems too. Last year, CIFOR and local NGO‘Center for Education, Formation and Help’ (CEFAID)examined cross-boundary trade. The aim was to formulatepolicy advice for enhancing cooperation betweenlocal governments and conservation and developmentagencies in the three countries.
According to CIFOR’s Ruben de Koning, traded naturalproducts include timber, bush-meat, palm oil, gold anddiamonds. “The products are mostly extracted from thetri-nation region and sold in Cameroon or exported fromDouala”, de Koning says, “And as this trade in naturalproducts increases, so has the cross-border trade inmanufactured goods and processed foods, and in cropslike plantains and cassava, to supply the small villagesspringing up in forest concessions.”
The rapid economic development of this onceisolated backwater border zone has certainly benefitedlocal populations and recent arrivals. But another CIFORresearcher, Julius Tieguhong, says the economic activitieshave the potential to damage the environment, harmcommunities and incite conflict.
According to Tieghong, “The rush on marketablenatural products can damage the natural resource baseand does not always (equally) favor human populationsin the region.” Tieguhong especially fears an outbreak ofviolence between locals and outsiders. He says diamondtrading, hunting and commercial logging often causeconflicts, with locals claiming outsiders plunder theregion and offer nothing in return.
“Not to mention,” Tieghong adds, “The conflictbetween hunters and conservation organizations.”
According to the project’s findings, although thesituation is serious enough to start developing andimplementing management plans, officials remainambivalent about cross-border trade and its human andenvironmental impacts.
Victor Amougou, CEFAID Coordinator and CIFORcolleague, believes one key area needing governmentattention is the over-regulation of legal trade. Hebelieves legal cross-border activities should be freed upof bureaucracy, and when regulations are needed, theyshould be implemented fairly.
Says Amougou, “For necessity goods like crops, nontimber forest products and medicines, trade should beliberalized.” In fact, according to Amougou, tariffs on theseproducts have been officially removed, but taxes are stilllevied, with traders often facing variable and sometimeshigh transaction costs.
Among the more disturbing elements of Sangha'scross-border trade are elephant hunting and theblackmarket trading in firearms. De Koning says theserequire stronger law enforcement but acknowledges“borders are fluid and perpetrators live and operatein different countries, making it difficult to police thesituation.” Illegal gold and diamond mining are alsoproblems, he says, and need to be legalized so they canbe controlled.
Local governments from the three countrieshave recently begun looking more closely at Sangha.Administrators from the countries meet with each other,alongside conservation and development experts.
De Koning recalls a Cameroon official saying tradeliberalization and the illicit arms trade are extensivelydiscussed during Tri-national meetings. But the sameofficial also said finding policy solutions is difficult. Partof the difficulty is due to the difficulty some countriesface in developing and implementing policy. This isunderstandable in a region where there are nations stillfeeling the effects of recent war or dealing with differingdegrees of internal instability. Understanding the difficultyof managing trade in a small region like Sangha gives ussome insight in to the challenges CEMAC must face inworking across several nations.
De Koning believes the Sangha River region canbe saved. But it requires the political will to undertakecapacity and resource building involving a range ofpolitically sensitive issues and institutions. Concludes deKoning, “The military, the police, customs, game wardens,they all need assistance in targeting and controlling illegaltrade. On the other hand, with legal trading, the oppositeapplies. Loosen the controls and regulations and thelegal trade will become more efficient and productive forpeople. Do these two things and then we can start talkingabout development and stability in Sangha”.