Special Section on the Oil and Forestry Sectors

Despite being the smallest oil producer in Sub-Saharan Africa, and with declining production levels, the oil sector in Cameroon is the third largest sector in terms of GDP, amounting to almost 40% of state revenues in 2008. Oil has been extracted in Cameroon since 1977 and both its production and exploitation are controlled by the state through the National Hydrocarbon Company (SNH), a state-owned company that guarantees the interests of the state through concessions, apportionment, production and hybrid contracts. The government has shown some will to fight corruption in the management of oil revenues. Cameroon is listed as a candidate country at the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and in October 2010, Cameroon has been designated by the EITI Board as an EITI candidate country that is close to compliant, which obliges governments as well as oil exploring and producing companies to publish their revenues in the extractive sector. Following this, an independent auditor is to confirm that the figures published are in conformity with volumes of production. The auditor's report for Cameroon revealed large discrepancies in the published figures. Despite this, no investigations of those involved in the management of oil revenues have been carried out. 

In 2003, a controversial oil pipeline running from Chad to Cameroon's coast was inaugurated. The pipeline, which is the single largest investment in Africa, is funded by a partnership between the World Bank and a consortium led by ExxonMobil and was highly disputed even before the project materialised, as NGO's raised concerns over possible negative environmental and social consequences. The World Bank engaged in the project under an agreement that substantial oil revenues should be directed to poverty reduction and a revenue management plan for Chad was developed, but according to several observers the Cameroon-Chad Pipeline has on the contrary brought more poverty to the area. In a January 2007 article the Guardian reports that air and water pollution, hazardous waste disposal and damaged fields and crops are some of the consequences of the pipeline that affect the Cameroonian population living along it and hundreds of households have become more impoverished as a result of the project. Despite official recognition of the problem, few measures have been taken to solve it. In September 2008, the World Bank withdrew its support for the project with reference to Chad's failure to comply with the requirements of the agreement.

The fourth largest sector in Cameroon is the forestry sector, accounting for 10% of GDP. The sector pertains to the Ministry of Forests and Wildlife which deals with the coordination and oversight of the exploitation, conservation and promotion of forests. A number of initiatives and structures have been created with the purpose of combating mismanagement and corruption in the forestry sector (see the 'Public Anti-Corruption Initiatives' section of the country profile). Yet, the sector continues to be hampered by corrupt practices and unsustainable logging. According to Transparency International Corruption and the Environment 2006, logging permits restricted to Cameroonian nationals are often contracted by Cameroonian companies to foreign loggers and in most cases it is required to pay bribes in order to obtain logging concessions or to obtain them quickly. The high price of logging concessions often leads companies to attempt to cover their costs by logging over their quota and much timber is traded illegally or with false documents. Moreover, companies receiving permits are often controlled or owned by government officials. According to a February 2011 article by Agence France-Presse, illegal forestry is responsible for annual losses around EUR 152 millions, a number that was revealed in a report by the National-Anti-Corruption Commission (CONAC).