In Cameroon, the demand for charcoal as an energy source has increased dramatically in recent years. In an effort to protect Cameroon's forests, the government and civil society organizations are promoting legal charcoal, which is produced from the waste wood of large processing units. The activity has taken off, but remains disrupted by the parafiscality and corruption that prevent charcoal makers from fully enjoying the fruits of their labor and from further developing this value chain.
Through this journalistic work, which will be carried out in the East and Far North regions of Cameroon, we will show how parafiscality and corruption are undermining this activity, which must be carefully preserved, and provide some outlines for a solution. According to the German development agency GIZ, this value chain allows the preservation of nearly 43,000 hectares of forest each year.