Unreflective Promotion of the Non-Timber Forest Product Trade Undermines the Quality of Life of the Baka: Implications of the Irvingia gabonensis Kernel Trade in Southeast Cameroon

Abstract

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) draw attentions as resources that can improve rural livelihoods. This paper describes how local people in southeast Cameroon developed the trade in Irvingia gabonensis kernels, one of the most important NTFPs in the area, focusing on relationships between the Baka hunter-gatherers and Bantu farmers. Transactions between the Baka and Bantu are generally practiced as a form of "time-lagged barter". When the Baka go to forest camps to gather the kernels, the Bantu give them a variety of goods in advance, typically alcoholic drinks, which account for 37% of the converted monetary value. Subsequently, the Bantu visit Baka camps to retrieve the kernels and transport them to sell to merchants in the village. For the Bantu, to give the Baka alcoholic drinks is the easiest way to maximize the amount of kernels they get. There is considerable disparity in the profit distribution between the Baka and Bantu. The latter get seven times more net profit per capita than the former. The unreflective promotion of NTFP trade will clearly widen the disparity between the ethnic groups and undermine the quality of life of the Baka. When promoting NTFP trade as a tool for improving the livelihoods of local people in southeast Cameroon, measures to reduce unhealthy goods from the transactions and to mitigate the disparity in profit distribution, based on a deep understanding of the complex relationships among local people, are essential.