Cameroon’s customary land system exposes rural land to appropriation ⁰

The Centre for Environment and Development (CED) has warned about the insecure land tenure status of rural communities in Cameroon, saying weaknesses in the country’s customary land system leave large areas vulnerable to appropriation.

In a report published on April 27, 2026, titled To Whom Does This Land Belong?, the organization said rural populations face major obstacles in securing land rights under existing laws and administrative practices.

According to the CED, the process for registering customary land remains difficult and expensive. The organization described the procedure as “opaque, complex and costly,” saying it converts communal land into individually owned plots without adequately reflecting local land-use systems.

The report said land registration in practice applies mainly to areas that are clearly cleared or cultivated. However, much of the land used under customary systems is occupied collectively or through seasonal and shifting patterns of use.

For the CED, this exposes large portions of community land to the risk of allocation or redistribution to concessionaires, private investors or the state.

Unregistered land treated as state domain

The organization also found that unregistered land is commonly treated as part of the national domain, a situation that disproportionately affects poorer rural populations living in forest regions where pressure linked to logging, mining, conservation and agricultural projects is particularly strong.

The CED noted that Cameroonian law provides limited protection for unregistered farms and plots through compensation payments when land is taken by the state. But the organization said these payments generally cover only crops or infrastructure and do not compensate for the value of the land itself.

According to the report, most of the land concerned can be allocated through various legal arrangements — including ownership titles, leases or exclusive occupation licenses — to logging companies, mining operators, livestock farmers, agricultural investors or the state, particularly within classified forest areas.

The CED attributed the situation mainly to two factors: the broad definition of “public purposes” under Cameroonian law and the lack of full legal recognition of customary land ownership as a property right.

As a result, the organization argued, holders of customary land rights do not benefit from the same protections as formal landowners, particularly regarding compensation at market value in cases of expropriation.

Source: Business in Cameroon