IUCN and the African Model Forest Network (AMFN) build capacity in Africa’s community-managed forests

The African Model Forest Week took place in Mbalmayo, Cameroon, from 24-26 February, 2026. The IUCN Forest and Grasslands Team and the IUCN Cameroon Country Office were co-organisers of the week’s workshop, alongside critical regional partners, namely the African Model Forest Network (known in the region as le Réseau Africain de Forêts Modèles, or RAFM), Université Laval, and the Network of Forestry and Environmental Training Institutions in Central Africa (known in the region as le Reseau des Institutions de Formation Forestière et Environnementale en Afrique Centrale, or RIFFEAC). Broadly, support for this workshop came from the International Model Forest Network (IMFN).

The IMFN is a global network which brings together over 60 Model Forests from across more than 30 countries. Model Forests are forest landscapes where communities and stakeholders cooperatively govern and conserve their ecosystems, allowing social, environmental, economic and cultural benefits and trade-offs to be considered equally within the unique context of each Model Forest. The AMFN is the regional network which encompasses sub-Saharan Africa and its Model Forests, acting as a bridge between Africa’s individual Model Forests and the wider IMFN, while also providing a regional coordination role. Sub-Saharan Africa currently contains two officially recognised Model Forests—namely Dja et Mpomo (FOMOD) and Campo Ma’an (CAMAMF) in Cameroon—but additional landscapes and communities represent potential Model Forests which are in development and which engage directly with the AMFN.

The workshop, hosted at the National Forestry School in Mbalmayo, Cameroon, was attended by over 50 participants from Cameroon and surrounding countries, representing local communities as well as regional and international partner organisations. Community leaders, entrepreneurs, and business owners from Cameroon’s Model Forests were in attendance, including many local women who run green micro-enterprises selling non-timber forest products (NTFPs). Sessions focused on capacity-building, lessons sharing, and gap analysis, as well as strategic planning looking ahead to 2030. IUCN delivered a session on gender-responsive forest landscape restoration (FLR), specifically on related tools and approaches useful to Model Forests.

For a glimpse into the workshop and the perspectives of stakeholders, watch the video below.

Broadly, IUCN is working with the Model Forests in Cameroon to promote knowledge sharing, reinforce technical capacity, and increase the visibility of their successes. The Model Forest approach is ensuring the conservation of critical landscapes in Cameroon and Africa broadly, while also providing sustainable livelihood opportunities to local communities, including men, women, youth, and Indigenous Peoples. More than ever, these Model Forests require support to continue protecting and benefiting nature and forest-dependent people.

Additional resources related to Africa’s Model Forests are available through IUCN’s website:

1. Model Forests Around the World: Cameroon - resource | IUCN
2. Model Forests and Biodiversity - resource | IUCN
3. A gender-forward forest landscape restoration (FLR) incubation and acceleration protocol for use in community-managed forest landscapes - resource | IUCN