Executive Summary

This paper focuses on democratic – not instrumental – decentralization in Cameroon’s forest management. On the whole, it presents an evaluation of accountability in this process. That is how do representatives elected at the village level account – or not account – to those they represent? The first section defines accountability. The second section describes the local infrastructure set up for representation at the village level. The third section assesses accountability in this context, using the Ribot’s Framework of Accountability Assessment (RFAA). In the conclusion, the author presents some ecological risks and makes some recommendations for policy designers and decision-makers.