Cameroon

Cameroon spans the semiarid north, highland farming and grazing areas, coastal cities and plantations, and the Congo Basin forests of the south and east. Land supports agriculture, livestock, forest livelihoods, housing, mining and conservation. Rights are shaped by national law and by diverse customary institutions, with French- and English-language legal traditions also influencing administration and dispute resolution.

The 1974 land ordinances remain central to the formal framework. Much land used under customary arrangements is classified as national land rather than registered private property. That classification does not make it socially or economically empty. The practical question is whether communities, women, mobile herders and forest-dependent peoples can secure their existing use when a concession, title, protected area or urban project is proposed.

Ordinance No. 74-1 of July 6, 1974 establishes the land-tenure framework, alongside Ordinance No. 74-2 on state property and subsequent regulations. Cameroon distinguishes public, private and national domains. The national domain includes land that is not classified in the public domain or registered as private property; it is not synonymous with a single privately owned state parcel.

Under the land ministry’s published guidance, first-category national land includes specified housing, cultivation, plantations, pasture and routes developed before August 5, 1974. Direct registration is available to eligible customary communities, their members and qualifying Cameroonian applicants under the stated conditions. Second-category land follows different procedures. Eligibility and proof depend on the facts and applicable regulations; it would be inaccurate to say that only individual applicants can seek recognition.

Land reform remains under discussion. In 2026 the multi-stakeholder consultation process considered a policy document and preliminary draft law. A draft and consultations are not an enacted replacement for the 1974 ordinances.

Article 17 of the 1974 ordinance also recognizes continued occupation or use by eligible customary communities and individuals on first-category land and, subject to regulation and state allocation, hunting and gathering rights on second-category land. Those provisions are conditional and do not convert every customary use into ownership. Their practical importance lies in recognizing that an absence of registration does not make all use irrelevant.

Families, lineages and villages allocate and use land under local rules that differ across the country. A cultivated plot can coexist with shared pasture, forest gathering areas, water sources and paths. Chiefs and other customary authorities can mediate claims, but they do not necessarily represent every woman, tenant, young person or neighboring community equally. A written title naming one person may not capture the full set of uses.

Proving occupation or development can be difficult for communities whose use is seasonal, mobile or dispersed. A fallow field, forest or grazing corridor may be essential to a livelihood even where permanent buildings or plantations are absent. Local mapping and evidence should include such uses before land is allocated to another party.

In July 2026, the Ministry of State Property, Surveys and Land Tenure explained circulars issued between 2024 and 2026. They address participation of traditional authorities, letters of no objection or reasoned objection in specified transactions, and administrative documents concerning customary land rights and peaceful use.

The ministry stated that these circulars clarify implementation of the existing ordinances and do not create a new land law. It distinguishes the customary-rights and peaceful-use attestations from ownership certificates. They may provide useful evidence and recognition, but their issue does not itself amount to a registered land title. Their effect depends on the applicable text and process; the views of other affected users should also be heard.

The land ministry, survey services, divisional authorities and consultative boards have roles in recording and allocating land. A registration application may require evidence of occupation, a survey and administrative review. Procedures, fees, distance and the time needed to obtain a title can discourage applicants, especially in rural areas. An informal deed or local agreement may be important evidence even if it is not equivalent to a registered title.

The ministry’s March 2026 notices address financial responsibility for consultative commissions and survey work in registration procedures. Public information about these costs and accessible ways to challenge an error matter to applicants. A digital record or parcel map can improve access to information, but it does not resolve a boundary dispute or prove that all overlapping users were identified.

Women can hold property, yet access and control are influenced by marriage, inheritance, household resources and local norms. Women often cultivate food crops or collect forest products on land administered by relatives, and their contributions may not appear in an individual title. A widow, divorced woman or woman heading a displaced household may face additional difficulty proving a claim or participating in a family decision.

The Norwegian Refugee Council’s 2024 assessment describes legal rights and discriminatory practices affecting displaced women in the Far North. Its findings are specific to that context, while illustrating why formal equality does not guarantee access in practice. Legal information, affordable documentation and a safe forum for objections can help women retain independent and shared interests.

Indigenous forest peoples, including Baka communities, depend on forests for food, medicine, cultural practice and mobility as well as farming. Their use may extend across a landscape and change seasonally. A requirement to show a permanent building or field can be poorly suited to recording such rights. Indigenous communities are diverse and should be consulted directly about their own lands and institutions.

FAO notes that customary hunting areas can overlap with forest and mining activities. Protected areas and conservation measures can support biodiversity while restricting access to resources. The rules, actual use and the participation of affected communities need to be assessed together; a conservation boundary alone does not describe the rights and livelihoods within it.

Forest livelihoods can combine hunting, fishing, gathering, cultivation and wage work. Restricting access to a protected area or allocating a logging concession may affect several of these activities at once. A household’s seasonal absence from a site is not necessarily abandonment. Consultation and mapping should be conducted in languages and formats that communities can use, and should consider whether women and younger people can speak independently.

Law No. 2024/008 of July 24, 2024 establishes a new forestry and wildlife regime and repeals the earlier 1994 law. It incorporates customary and use rights of neighboring communities within the forestry framework. Its categories and conditions should be read with the regulations governing a particular forest; legal recognition is not proof that every community can exercise rights without difficulty.

Sections 37–39 describe a community forest as a natural forest in the non-permanent estate allocated for use to a local community, subject to a management agreement and simplified management plan. The law provides for a provisional agreement and, once conditions are met, a renewable 25-year definitive allocation. This is a managed use arrangement, not automatic ownership of the underlying land. Forest resources produced from the community forest belong to the community under the law and applicable rules.

Community forestry can support local income and stewardship, but costs, technical requirements and accountability affect who benefits. Transparent management, participation by women and Indigenous users, and accessible information about revenue help prevent a small group from capturing the benefits.

The law also provides for community hunting areas under agreements with the wildlife administration. Such agreements identify beneficiaries, boundaries and permitted species, and remain subject to management requirements. A community forest and a community hunting area are different instruments; neither should be described as unrestricted access to all wildlife or an automatic land title. Forestry and Wildlife Law, sections 45–47.

Smallholders grow food and cash crops across diverse ecological zones; larger plantations produce commodities including palm oil, rubber and other crops. Land may be cultivated by a household that does not hold a formal title, or used seasonally for grazing and gathering. Conversion to a commercial concession can affect these users even if the land is recorded as part of the national domain.

Before an agricultural investment proceeds, the parties should establish the applicable legal category, identify existing rights and users, disclose the boundaries and duration, and assess effects on water and livelihoods. Consultation must include those who actually use the land, not solely the person who signs. Agreements need enforceable commitments on employment, compensation, environmental management and dispute resolution.

Plantations and small farms may depend on different labor and land arrangements. Workers can reside on or near an estate without owning the land, while neighboring households may rely on paths, water or forest products across a concession. A project boundary should therefore be assessed together with access outside it and the consequences of expansion or closure. Compensation for a lost crop is not necessarily equivalent to replacement of a long-term livelihood.

Livestock systems range from settled herds to seasonal movement between pasture and water. Crop expansion, plantations, urban growth and insecurity can narrow corridors or separate herders from water points. Crop damage can in turn harm farmers and generate disputes. A field, a route and a water point are linked parts of a shared landscape.

Local agreements can specify when herds move, where animals may water, how crop damage is assessed and how disputes are mediated. Those arrangements require participation by both farmers and herders and attention to mobile users who may be absent during a survey. Climate stress can intensify competition, but violence also reflects governance, security and local political factors.

Competition over water has had severe consequences in the Far North. UNHCR documented clashes among herders, farmers and fishers in December 2021 and displacement both within Cameroon and across the border into Chad. This example illustrates the importance of water access, but the causes and solutions of each local conflict require their own assessment.

Land disputes involve boundaries, family inheritance, overlapping sales, concessions and the recognition of customary use. Courts and administrative or customary processes may each have roles. Costs, delays and unequal influence can limit access to a remedy. A fair inquiry gives affected people notice and an opportunity to present documents, witnesses and evidence of use.

Law No. 85-09 of 1985 provides for expropriation for public purposes and compensation. A World Bank environmental assessment describes the distinction between compensation for legally recognized private property and compensation for developments such as crops or buildings. The legal basis and evidence of each loss matter; it is too broad to say that a person without a title can never receive compensation for improvements.

Payment, valuation, replacement land and livelihood restoration are separate practical questions. A project should inventory all affected users and losses before land is cleared, make the terms understandable and provide an accessible grievance route.

Conflict in the North-West and South-West, attacks in the Lake Chad Basin and violence over resources in the Far North have displaced households. Cameroon also hosts refugees from neighboring countries. UNHCR reported approximately 969,000 internally displaced people at mid-2025, alongside returnees and refugees; those categories are distinct and the situation changes.

Displaced people may lose documents, rely on relatives or landlords, or find a home or field occupied when they return. Host communities also need reliable access to land, water and services. Shelter assistance should clarify temporary arrangements without extinguishing prior claims, while return requires security, services and a way to resolve disputes over property.

Douala, Yaoundé and other urban centers face growing demand for housing and serviced land. Informal subdivision, overlapping sales and incomplete records can leave households uncertain of their rights. Renters and small businesses may be affected by redevelopment even when they are not named on a title.

Flood-prone locations and inadequate drainage compound tenure insecurity. Upgrading should identify existing occupants, provide notice and consider transport and livelihood links before relocation. Registration can help clarify transactions, but it should be accompanied by accessible fees, services and a process to correct mistakes.

Rivers, lakes, wetlands and groundwater support drinking water, irrigation, livestock and fishing. In the Far North, changes in water availability can affect farmers, herders and fishers differently. A project that alters a channel or water point may create benefits for some users while limiting access for others.

Water governance should include seasonal users and downstream communities, not just the holder of a nearby land title. Pollution and sediment from mining or agriculture can make a formally accessible source unusable. Clear local agreements, maintenance and a forum for resolving conflicts are important to reliable access.

Floods, drought, changing rainfall and heat affect farming, grazing, forests and urban housing. The 2026 UNICEF humanitarian appeal describes the interaction of conflict and climate shocks, including flooding in the Far North. Cameroon submitted its third nationally determined contribution in June 2026. Adaptation depends on access to safe land, water, transport and institutions as well as physical infrastructure.

Forest restoration and carbon projects should identify the land and resource rights of Indigenous peoples, local communities, tenants and women. Agreements need to specify restrictions, duration, monitoring, benefit sharing and remedies. An environmental project or forest management agreement should not be assumed to transfer ownership of the land or carbon benefits to one party without examining the governing rules.

Mining Code No. 2023/014 was enacted in December 2023. The government’s extractive-sector report lists eight implementing decrees issued in November 2024 covering titles, operations and related requirements. The code and decrees should be distinguished from the older mining framework.

Gold, diamonds and other minerals are extracted at different scales, while oil and infrastructure have their own land and environmental implications. A mineral title is different from a surface land right. Projects can affect fields, forests, water and fishing beyond the immediate mine. Consultation, valuation of losses, compensation where applicable, rehabilitation and accessible grievances are necessary for affected users.

Land allocation links state authority, customary leadership and commercial interests. National-land classification gives public institutions a significant role, while local leaders often hold practical influence over access. The distribution of information and bargaining power is unequal. People with documents, resources or political connections can be better positioned than forest users, women, tenants or mobile herders.

The 2026 administrative measures and proposed reform create opportunities to improve recognition and transparency, but their value depends on implementation and accountability. Recording rights fairly requires identifying shared and seasonal uses, hearing competing claims and ensuring that public decisions can be understood and challenged.

Legislation and administration

• Ordinance No. 74-1 on land tenure; MINDCAF, land procedures and public documents.
• MINDCAF, 2026 land circulars; SAILD, 2026 land reform consultations.
• Forestry and Wildlife Law No. 2024/008; Mining Code No. 2023/014; Extractive-sector report and implementing decrees.

Rights, displacement and land use

• Norwegian Refugee Council, displaced women’s property rights; UNHCR, Cameroon.
• FAO, wildlife law and community rights; World Bank, expropriation framework in project assessment.

Climate and humanitarian context

• Cameroon’s third nationally determined contribution; UNHCR, Far North emergency.
• UNICEF, 2026 humanitarian appeal; U.S. Geological Survey, Cameroon minerals.

October 2026: Updated the land reform process, administrative circulars, 2024 forestry law, 2023 mining code and implementing decrees, displacement, community rights and climate context.

High confidence: The cited ordinances, forestry law, mining code and ministry descriptions establish the legal and administrative measures described. Moderate confidence: The operation of procedures and customary practices varies by region, and conflict can restrict access to institutions. An administrative attestation, a forest-use agreement and a land title confer different rights.