Cameroon: STUDY ON FORESTRY INVESTMENTS INVOLVING CHINESE COMPANIES IN CAMEROON

Introduction

During the past decades, China has emerged as a major economic partner of Cameroon with a considerable increase of its investments in the country. The commercial relation between the two countries has been dominated by the export of raw materials (logs wood, raw cotton and crude oil) from Cameroon to China. Chinese companies are nowadays present in most sectors; mining, forestry, agro-industry and infrastructure. In the forestry sector, as in many other sectors, Chinese investments are either conducted directly by Chinese-owned companies or via companies of other origin.

In 2015, WWF conducted a mapping study on China investment in the forestry sector in Cameroon, under a project funded by DFID. Since July 2018, WWF is implementing another DFID-funded project to support forest governance in Cameroon, Gabon and Republic of Congo. Within the framework of this project, WWF Cameroon Country Programme Office is therefore seeking a consultant to conduct an updated study on Asian investments in general and Chinese investments in particular in the forestry sector in Cameroon and evaluate the volume of wood exported from Cameroon to Asia in general and China in particular, both directly and via other countries. The findings and recommendations from this study will guide WWFs support to China forestry investments to comply with legality.

Overall Objective

Identify and analyze Asian with focus on Chinese investments in forestry sector in Cameroon and assess the volume of wood exported to Asia in general and China in particular.

Specific Objectives:

· Identify and categorize Asian companies in the forestry sectors (exploitation, transport, trade, financing…),

· Identify Chinese investments in the forestry sector in Cameroon,

· Analyze the trends of Chinese companies and investments in the forestry sector in Cameroon,

· Estimate volume of wood exported to Asia in general and China in particular (by Chinese companies and non-Chinese companies) both directly to China and via other countries.

Deliverables

The selected candidate is expected to provide:

· A detailed methodological note that specifies the data collection method and sources of information

· A draft report for discussion and feedback by an internal reference group to be put together by WWF Cameroon and WWF China,

· A revised and final report that takes input by WWF Cameroon and WWF China into account

Period of the study: 1^st February – 28^th February 2019

Requirements

The Consultant must meet the following requirements:

· At least a MSc or MBA in at least one of the following domains: natural resource management, international relations, business, or trade,

· Have a good knowledge on stakeholder analysis, value chain analysis,

· Previous work related to Chinese presence in Cameroon will be an added advantage.

· Capacity to work in both languages English and French, and a perfect ability to report in English.

Interested Candidates are invited to submit their application (in one file and PDF format) to the following address recruit-cam@wwfcam.org with a copy to NSonne@wwfcam.org . The topic should read: “Study CIFS”

The application should contain:

· A note that details:

• A technical offer (Understanding of the assignment, methodology, timeline…),
• A financial offer,

· A ½ page that clearly presents consultant’s experiences with similar assignments,

· A curriculum vitae of consultant (not longer than 5 pages), as annex.

Deadline for application: 20^th January 2019, 17H00 local time. Only successful candidates will be contacted.