Abstract

This study had as its main objective to investigate the implication of poverty reduction strategies initiated by the government of Cameroon and other stakeholders in line with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 1&7 on the livelihood of the Pygmies.  An analytical review of the main literature on the topic was carried out on in order to define the main concepts concerning this topic; including the description and identification of gaps.

This study was done in some selected Baka and Bagyeli Pygmy villages of Lomie and Campo respectively. Ethnographic approach was used for data collection. Research design was qualitative and exploratory.  Findings showed that effort to modernize the Pygmies by development actors has implications on their livelihood.

There is poor definition of Pygmies divergence in development, expectations and integration method, difficulty with access to education, forest resources, land ownership and care in modern healthcare institutions.

These factors associated with poverty and poor health of ‘Pygmies’ makes them vulnerable to disease (malnutrition, diarrhea, gastritis, malaria, typhoid and intestinal infections). Cultural factors are either not taken into account or are only poorly so in all the projects concerning indigenous communities.

Western idea of development has thus, become a process which mars the livelihood of the Pygmies rather than making it. This study therefore postulates that effective and adequate integration of ‘Pygmies’ into society taking into account their cultural peculiarities and identity; reduction of disparities and improvement of their health should be of major concern to the state and policy makers. Findings in this study will provide current, verifiable data for use by researchers and other actors in discussions concerning indigenous Pygmy people in particular and indigenous people as a whole.

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

According to Biesbrouck (1999), the Central African rainforest is home to several groups of hunter-gatherers generally called ‘Pygmies’ who have adopted a nomadic lifestyle. They traditionally live deep in the woods, often in remote camps located several days’ walk from any road or village.

Many of them have had little or no interaction with the wider society and have been content with their self-sufficient and subsistence livelihoods. Following Abega (1998:29), their livelihood, medicinal practices and culture depend entirely on the forest. Colque (2008), shares the same opinion that most indigenous people depend on a specific territory. Many have developed production systems that are stable, energy friendly and sustainable, and that adapt very well to their environment.

They occupy their ancestral lands, whose quality and size have been progressively reduced due to demographic growth and the pressure of dominant groups. Apart from the fact that these groups all maintain a close relationship with the rainforest environment, persecution and appalling poverty seem to be their biggest challenge. They are facing serious threats from attempts by governments, national and international non-governmental organizations and missionary groups to ‘modernize’ them.

Following Hitchcock et. al., (2000), modernization through development on the Pygmies dates as far back as in 1960 during Cameroon’s sedentarization program for the Pygmies where the government wanted the Pygmies as well as farmers in the forested area to move into permanent settlements along major and secondary roads in order to improve health conditions and increase the population as a work force for cash crops. In 1968, Catholic Missionaries started in the East Cameroon Pygmy Project to get the Pygmies to training on agriculture, education, leadership training and to facilitate discussions of village issues and evangelizing.

Government, NGOs and Missionary reports and evaluation gave similar reasons for targeting the Pygmies who needed special services and intervention; exploitation by Bantu farmers, poor health and nutrition, lack of formal education and lack of integration into the national social-economic system. There were also general agreements on why things where particularly bad for the Pygmies: deforestation and population increases had caused depletion of forest game and wild plant foods and had resulted in increased exploitation of people with fewer resources.

There were similarities in the actions that government, NGOs and Missionaries listed to remedy the above-mentioned problems. Developing agricultural abilities, identify and establish Pygmy leaders to represent them at community meetings, decrease child mortality and morbidity and educate Pygmy children.

Developing the Pygmy capabilities for agriculture was the central solution for both the government and the NGOs, but for different reasons Missionaries and NGOs emphasized the point that farming is the best way that the Pygmies can become financially and dietary independent from their Bantu neighbours while the government was interested on how agricultural activity will help to integrate the Pygmies socially and economically in to Cameroonian society. If Pygmies have farm, cash crops in particular they can pay for the cost of formal schooling, medications and taxes. It is worth noting that neither the government nor the NGO or missionaries feel that hunting and gathering and nomadism are viable options.

The establishment of hierarchy (community leaders) and formally educating the Pygmies were also desired goals of the government and the NGOs, but again the emphasis and articulation of these solutions were somewhat different. The government emphasizes integration into mainstream Cameroonian society while the NGOs and Missionaries emphasize independence for the Pygmies. Government documents seldom indicate an interest in maintaining and sustaining Pygmy culture. Missionaries and NGOs documents on the other hand listed the importance of incorporating and maintaining Pygmy language, rituals and traditional medicine.

Although these diverse networks of development actors often have conflicting aims and interests, they converge on the modernist development paradigm that they use. This paternalistic approach which was guided by claims to have a better knowledge of the development problems of indigenous groups like the Pygmies and more suitable solutions than the indigenous peoples themselves.

Hitchcock and Holm (1993) notes that ‘‘external domination of hunter-gatherer groups is increasingly structured by the bureaucratic state rather than the market’’. The state establishes settlement schemes, social services, land tenure laws, and political representation policies all of which influences the lives of these hunter-gatherers.

It does seemed somewhat ironic that with the adoption of agriculture, hierarchy and formal education, few elements of Pygmy culture such as egalitarian social relations, interactive styles, conflict resolution, and sharing were left out. What was left was what was perceived as culture such as language, ritual and medicine. Generally both NGOs and Missionaries want the Pygmies to be like them sedentary, responsive to hierarchy, wealthy and wise. In other words, this brings in the notion of modernization.

Hall (1965) modernization is an everlasting process without any terminal point which basically means to remold a cultural system into a new mode. That is accepting Western way of life such as clothing, food, hair styles and housing over their traditional culture in a broad sense which indicates all human activities such as religion, philosophy, moral standards, laws, politics, economic, society, history, literature and art which have been preserved, learned and transmitted in a given community or group over a long period of time.  When it comes to the traditional societies like the Pygmies these issues on Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Development means nothing to them because they have their own perception of development, besides these concepts are all motives and means for the West to dominate traditional African societies.

This study aims at investigating development efforts undertaken by government and its partners and its implications on the livelihoods of the Pygmies. It also seeks to inform development agents in Government, Missionary and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) about elements to be considered in society in the implementation of development programs, and to make appropriate choices of participatory models for effective participation and empowerment of indigenous communities.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Pygmies are one of the groups of people which make up the indigenous population of Cameroon. They are found in the forest zone and depend on the forest for their livelihood. Despite efforts made both by the government, and by international and national organizations to help the Pygmies to improve their socio-politico-economic life and to attain sustainable development, no matter these initiatives, Pygmies are still facing difficulties in sustaining their livelihood and keeping their cultural values.

Writing on indigenous development Joseph K. Zerbo in Achu and Asongu (2015) holds that development is not an imported concept neither an occasional concept, but that it takes its roots in the context of the culture concerned. In many African countries, discrimination against indigenous peoples is reflected in the policies and programs formulated by the state for them. They are rarely included in them, from the onset of planning through implementation and monitoring to evaluation. Discriminatory laws and policies deprive indigenous forest peoples of their lands and resources.

Land laws and development projects affecting indigenous territories often reflect the reality that the state does not recognize ancestral land rights. During the construction of the Chad-Cameroon Oil Pipeline, the indigenous populations whose lands were traversed were not entitled to compensation since according to the Cameroonian land law of 1974 they had no legally recognized land titles, and their traditional hunting and gathering activities were not seen as valuing the land and were hence “invisible” under the unjust and outdated national laws. This project was constructed in violation of the World Bank safeguards against harming indigenous peoples, as detailed in a lengthy Inspection Panel Report.

Under the World Bank’s policy on indigenous peoples, the Baka, Bagyeli/Bakola and Bedzang – all Cameroonian indigenous hunter gatherers are considered as ‘Indigenous peoples’ and the government has recognized and taken ownership of the Pygmy/Indigenous People’s Development Plans of the Chad Cameroon Pipeline, the National Participatory Development Program and the Forest Environment Sector Program.

Despite this, the official government terminology for indigenous peoples in Cameroon in other contexts not related to World Bank projects is “marginalized people”. This all-encompassing terminology makes no sense, as within indigenous peoples we have disabled people, elderly people and other vulnerable social segments just as any other segment of the population.

Moreover, indigenous Pygmy people are not identified by their level of vulnerability but rather by their specific relationships to lands and resources, and by the rights stemming from these relationships. It is not clear why Cameroon does not want to officially call the hunter gatherers and pastoralists Indigenous Peoples as portrayed by the United Nations.

Projects concerning indigenous peoples are primordial for the success of the Vision 2035 and the realization of the Three Year Emergency Plan should not be detrimental to autochthons like the Pygmies. Being in the heart of the Central African Equatorial Forest, the felt needs and expressed needs of the Pygmies should dictate the perceived needs as seen by development stakeholders and the government.

According to Clarke Bekker and Cross (1994:83) the rural communities of the Third World still lack capacity to become equal partners of development agencies. Martinussen (1995:42) shares the opinion that there is still a tendency by central decision makers to determine development strategies for the poor, the reason being that the economically poor are socially and politically weak to decisively influence formulation of development goals.

Such conditions deprive the people of an opportunity to determine their future. Following Motteux, Binns, Nel and Rowntree (1999:262), South African rural communities, particularly in the former homeland settlements, are still in absolute poverty. The former homeland settlements are presently the country’s most materially and psychologically deprived communities.

The absence of communication between participants and development agencies has been noted to be one of the limiting factors of development in such communities. Such limitations are caused mostly by the way development institutions are structured (Treurnicht 2000:68). The suggested strategies towards ensuring development in poor societies, is to make the people aware of their situation and possibilities, to breakdown all the barriers that limit participation and to ensure that the people gain equal opportunities in decision making processes.

1.3 Research Questions

1. What are the implications of development initiatives on the livelihood of these people?
2. To what extent can Pygmies sustain their livelihood in the face of developmental projects?
3. Are some of these projects streamlined to fight poverty among the Baka and Bagyeli Pygmies?
4. What is Pygmies perception of development and what are the challenges they face?

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