Forest peoples ond. products

Deuelopment in the Central African rainforest:concern for forest peoplesRobert C. Bailzy, Serge Bahucfut, aryd Barry Hewhtt

size only.to Amazonia, and contpins a widediversity. of flora, fauna, and human cultures.The most prominent geomorphological featureof the central African rain forest isthe basin ofthe Tqire River, which forms a vast depressionin the center of the African continent. The lowand central parl of the Zaire Basin. which varies

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t'Ltr e:iL peopEs auI prM,ucts

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Forest peoPlcs ond. Products

always figures prominently in the history as fact, there is no suitable definition or precisewell as in magico-religous mphs and ceremo- description of the African people referred to bynies of Central African peopies and is thus most of the world as pygmy, since there is noimportant to their sense of identity and psycho- physical or cultural feature that distinguisheglogical well being. themabsolutelyfromotherAfricans.Whilethey

are known for their short stature, the averageheight of many pygmy populations overlapsArnrcex F rcurEst

For the purposes orthis report, we shau rererto ;#JHii"lltl::Jr"X':?iTn'Jffif,fri.;as'pygmies" those peoples distributed across 1991). Genetically, there is no evidence thatthe lorested regions of central Africa who are pygmies are distinctfrom otherAfricans;thereparticularly short in stature and who tradi- is no 'pygmy marker' that is common to alltionally have lived by speciaiizing in,hunting pygmies'and exclusive of all otherrAfricansand gathering wild forest resources, which they (Cavalli-sforza 1986). Simiiarly, Iinguisticallyconsumed themselves or traded to neighboring and culturally, pygmies cannot be consideredBantu and Sudanic-speaking farmers ,in - ex. ' distinctive'from other central Africans; there ischange .for cultivat€d foods. : Implied 'in: this no -distinctive' 'pygmy language'family,?, gn6definition is,the long history'of .contact and pygmies.across central Africa exl_ribit a broadextensive:€conorlic ind.political relatibns be- rang'e of cultural adaptations, many similar totweenpygmiesandfarmersinthecentralAfrican those of,Bantu and Sudanic-spe:aking Afri'canrainforestforatleast2,000andpossiblyaslong farmers. : : " -' :':'i'-as 4,000 years (Ehret and Posnansky 1982)., -' ;'. Coritrarv to manv romanticiz-ed'accounts of

Pygmies are.,distributed.discontinuously pygmy life, there are no people'living todayinacrossninedifferentAfricancountries(Rwanda, central,Africa independently of,aSeulhrrijrasBurwrdi,Uganda,Zaire,CA&Cameroon;Equa-' :puri:huntei-gatherers,andallevidence'sir$giststoriai Guinea, Gabon, and Congo) and live in r' '.::that this has been'tme-for manl hi:ridreds ofinnumerable,distinct.ethnic.grllupsithatiare, ,'-'-years,(Bahuchef andGuillaume 1982)Jifin-separatedbygeography,language;.custom,and .:;. - dggd:.pygrnies,euer lived in the forebt urithouttechnolory. Pygpies in most area. are unaware . i , ; accesi toagricultural foods (Bailey and Peacockof.the" existencg.of pygpies.in,other areas, and ,-' - ,:.1988; Bailey et al:r1989). .: ;;:.i,i ;:rr,';'i,i '-:: -

there is no sense of solidarity between differ'ent. ' :' ,:?Today,most pygriiies are what w-e chll special-populations,,,,Thgloneircharacteristic:,that:isl ized hunter-gath"r.rc. They'speciaiizbiin tex-

common to them all; no matter their locationroi*-f': zitracting resources from'the forest and thus arelevel of acculturation,:is:their-disdain-ifor;the;;i.'ljnomadic in habiE Ttiriy.ifnsdm'riE5me of those

rainfor_est and.are,still trildy,vienied i'irioGlyas .noble,j egalitarian, forest dwrirfsrorr fierce;.,unmly savages who are erirbarrassing'throw'- of pygmies hane traditioiiirl relations with spe-backs to an earlier stage ofhuman evolution. In

262tii1,

cific clans bf farmers-. arid these'relationships

Forest peoples and. products

are passed from one generation to the next,creating a complex web of economic and socialexchange that leads tn high levels ofcooperationan d support. Pygmies provide forest products -protein-rich meat in particular - to farmerswhile the farmers provide much-needed starchto pygmy foragers. The meat, honey, and me-dicinal products from the forest are significantcontributions to farmer survival, while pygmieswould be hard pressed to do without the ironimplements and the polilicai representationprovided byfarmers. In mostareas, pygmiesareviewed by farmers as essential to successfulceremonies, while farmers can have considerabl econtrol over many crucial pygmy events, in-cluding marriage,., circumcision, and burial.Relations between pygmies and farmers are soextensive that elaborate fictive systems tie thetwo groups'together in a web of kinship thatensures social and economic interdependency.In some areas intermarriage - pygmy womenmarrying fanner men (but farmer women nevermarrying pygmy men) - is extensive (Bailey1988).

Close reiations between pygmies and farmersextend to,their perceptions of rights to land.Each farmer clan has rights recognized by ailneighborlng farmer clans to a specific area offorest, which they may clear for crop cultivationorwhere theymayhunt fish, gather, and extractrequired materials. The clan of pygmies tradi-tionally associated with that same farmer clanalso-has recognized rights to exploit the samearea of forest.,Thg farmers assist their pygmypartners in maintsiningexclusive rights to thisarea; and violations by either pygmies or otherfar-ners' are. contested through n egotiation ; orsometi'mes.,iolence. In this way, mJs! if not all,areas of forest in cenbral Africa are claimed byindigenous people, and'el"horate informal in-digenous mechanisms exist to guarantee specifi clan!rrigtl.!t::i: c:..j .-. i:i:,... .11.,; ;..,i;, i i.. :,:l, i i' -,, :

= Itl=g-hould.!e1gl.qr 1.that, foq.the ; purposes. ofde$4yts I p_r9 gram g,:for,, d gvel opment o r con-g gryg$g,.r.r ;,i pyemi g g.-'cqnn o.t, bg. :.c on si d ere d : i nis9.$$9n f1o1n .+digeq-C.qqf9r9st falmers. Cen-.td &ryry feryqn*N ptgmizs erist togettur,an inlerdcpendcrx, a4d sfuuWbe i6nsidered osaniitelrote.d eaiimic and social qrstem. -'

Ttris is a system that is generally not recognizedby African governments and is only minimallyintegrated into the formal politics and economyof the national societies. Yet for the people

themseives, the system facilitates the spread ofrisk in an uncertain, seasonal environment andoffers support to peopl e vui n erabl e to unpre dict-able changes brought by outside agents.

Patt€rns of adaptation, acculturation,qnd development

While most pygmles in central Africa still livewithin the traditional farmer-pygmy relation-ship, most also engage in activities outside thatrelationship and, like their farming partners,have managed to adapt in myriad ways tochanges caused by development and commer-cialization. This is true not just in individuallocalities-where development has been moreextensive, but in every area of central Africa.Any one population of pygmies spans the fullrange ofacculturation and adaptation to chang-ing conditions.

CoafirrsRclAr I{uNTING

Because of the growingpopuiations around theedges of the Zaire Basin, there is increasingdemand for meat from the forest. Increasingly,pygmies are becoming commerciai hunters,spending a greater proportion of their timehunting forest game and selling iarger quanti-ties of meatto traders who come greatdistancesfrom towns and cities located at the edges of theforest.,,These traders bypass the traditionalfarmer-pygmy relationship sn6 pay cash ortrade;staich for.meat.to induce pygmies tointensifu theii hunting..The effeet is to breakdown th e traditional farmer-pygmy relationship,to bring pygmies into the money economy, andinevitably to cause the depletion of wild game,thus endangering not only the forest fauna butalso the subsistence base and basic way of life ofthe pygmies and their farmer partners (Bailey I982; Hart I 979 Bahuchet n.d.)... , ' :

. - : ..Eler.onmlrr.' '. :i.'-.'t:. .,.. .: .'.1..1 "

Many pygmies also work on a'casual,,sporadicbasis for, commercial: coffee, rubber, or paimplantations orfor lo ggin g companies. No pygmiesare in positions of authority or receive highsalaries. They generally work seasonally,planting. weeding, or harvesting on piantationsor identifoing trees and supplying other work-ers with meat on logging operations.

,42

ruresL peupLes urta proa.ucrs

Frnmnqc AND sEDElrrA-RrzATtoN

ln recent years, and for various reasons, somepygmies have become sedentary, village-livingfarmers. In some regions, insufFrcient areas offorest remain to support the pygmies' special-ized hunting and gathering life. In others,overhuntinghas depleted forest game. Moreover,in every region there have been periodic formalcampaigns by national governments to forcepygmies, or indu-ce them with gifts, to settle invillages and become sedentary farmers. Mis-sionaries in almost every region have also beenactive in sedentarization efforts. There aremyriad reasons given for the need for theseprograms, but the most often-cited are three:. first, pygmies are at a primitive stage ofevolution, and intervention is needed to bringthem into the modern economy;. second, pygmies must be brought into themainstream ofthe national culture and economyto become productive members of the society;and

. third, pygmies must become independent oftheir farmer 'patrons,i who exploit them un-fairly,

Those who design and. implement thesesedentarization programs do not recognize theeconomic or social va_lue ofthe traditional farmer-pygmy relation ship,.nor do.they appreciate thecontribution ,that forest nomads make to:thenational economy by effi ciently exploitingforestresources on a sustainable basis..The pygmiedthem selves: arerseldom,, .if ; ever,, consulted..orgiven, a decisionmakin g role ;in i th'e design . andimp l emen tation: : of, th ese. ipro grirm s:-ts rMostsen dentarization : programs have failed;. as thepygmies return,to the foreit when the.gifts run'out or they abandon their gardens when'the fi rstgcod honey seaSon tiegins: Hbweverjin'creasihgly: :

there arti pygmies who'hirve.vbluntarily hrrned: jto farming and .who:livei:inivilldfes:alori g ;th8 r:roads -i Howeler;.;like, traditional -Afri";r; ; fa16 - :.. : ^ :

ers,- they spend at least some time in. thdforeslj, ] :'.dnd depend upon it for a signffi cant supplement, :,..'

to. th ei r mixe d-farlni n g's ubs i stb n ce; .Afs $/ :5 ughi,sedentary,:;farming,,pygniiis::alsoolikei.theirj .',.1

farmer neighbors;, grow:sbme.cash crop6 iri,adi |' . r'dition to tieir subsisten-ce criips; However, iash-.cropping by pygmies is far from comrion in any -regton.

UasAlrtzATrox

A very small number of pygmies have movedinto towns and can even be seen in major cities-Some are hired as guards, armed with bow andarrow or crossbow, to protect stores in urbansettings. Others become homeless beggars, cu-riosities for foreign tourists and African urbandweller!. The great majority return to the forestafter a short time.

:

Eoucenox

The level of education ofcentral African farmersis variable, but gen erally does not exten d beyondfourth orfifth grade. Formany, gettingto schoolcan require a 10-l2-kilometer walk each wav.and books;. blackbdards,paper,'and.writingimplements.dre scarce or unavailable.: Instmc-tion is frequently intermpted or uninspiredbecause teachers go unpaid. Schools withhigher-grade instruction.are situated .in populationcenters distant from tribal villages and requirepayment for tuition, clothes, and food beyondthe me'ans of most subsistence farmbrs-.',

Very few pygmies-are literate.r Because oftheirmobile lifestyle, they seldom attend schoolfor more than a few weeks- In many areas thereis overt;.discrimination . against pylmies ,inschools, by both teachers and faniibrs whb iaiuepygmiesl skills in the foristrbut belittle theircapabilities to'leam in.school, In almost everyreg'ion of cenfral Africa there are a few litbracyprograms: exilusively' fo;-:pygmids.::.!'hise :aieoften associated with settlement'schbme s in iti-ated :and' administered by missionailes,' .Thusfar, they have'had limikjd success, as pyginiessfi ve to :maintain,th eir mobility.,,' I,: Q j:: : -i -, :,.::

.:l-rjrb:1.:iih.qjt &. :.::::.i;: r-: - -,.'.1 .:i,, j:' i-' j. i.: :r:. : .Ereirs 1$iti 9t?.i', i,. i,:, j,c1'

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' i,.i}ggt;4r3 tii.{* i{j t ! j.9 i j: 3,-l- j :.5 r.: i: i'r : : i :, i :i : : -

H eal th r fa cil i ti e s, . a re; :po or, th ro gg,h oiit :,'r[!al, c'eqtralr{gca\r! lesiia!'iblly.for:p'Jdrilds- livih ginltrem o tiii,+ai6a3:'i: Di sit6n s{riE! 1:aiiljii6iiliyavailabl6 but iarely nippl ied iiitli niediciiiei:Inmariy.,areaslf local, trade!;irianiwitU'-oat, ,iriaaiatkno*Jedi6'arpthqmain'sir=pplieit-of an6bi6ticS;antimalarialsr'irid'otheidiulSl,'"a.:,;i'*,'i:i: ii ;. I 1 :''

-.,Virtually.all ifarmerS have in d.ige"a". ft"rititcirresystemswith traditional healeilirsinghiirbsand divination techniques to cur'e naturai andsupernatural (e.g., witchcraft and sorcery-in-duced) illnesses. In most regions, the local pyg-

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r ur esL peuples sJw prod"uctsll

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mies eitherare the principal traditional healersor play important roies.

Pygmies tend to use dispensaries and othersourees of Western medicine less than theirfarmer-partners do. This is no doubt due in partto pygmies'high mobility and tendency to befarther from the source, but other factors con-tribute to their lower reliance on non-tradi-tional health care. In some areas they are dis-criminated againstby health care workers. Theyare less integratedinto the cash ecoiiomy.and sohave fewer means of paying for medicines. Be-ing the primary traditional healers in manyareas, they are more likely to rely upon thetraditional health care exclusively.

Both centralAfrican farmers andpygmies areless well nourished (jufued by.weight/heightand skinfold thickness) than are Western popu-lations. While farmers tend to be better nour-ished than their pygmy partners, there is evi-dence that pygmies, experience :less dramaticfluctuations in;body weight than do farmers.There is a high prevalence ofiparasitic andinfectious diseases among both farmers andpygmies. Malaria, tuberculo sis, amebiosis, andfilariasis are all prevalent. In some aress; riverblindness caused by filaria,inflicts, up to 20percent of adults. Because'manioc is'the staplefood for many central Africans;,goiter is highlyprevalent, especially,.among, the. farmers.Hypertensiv€-rand coronary. heart disease andchronic diseases more typical of industrializedcountries are rare. Pain caused by trauma is acommon occurren ce in, the lives of forest peopl e.Hgrnias among\th qgxes are g common ailmenlAccidenls with machetes:andother tools are notinfrequent among far:ners, and pygmies experi-ence. trag-ng to !!-e,!r_ feet and other, body parts_aim o 9! r gqti g ely,a s pa{t. of th gi4 fore st fora gi n geristence: i Intection pecon dary .-to, .trauma . i spr€vatent. i, :' Ai+i;i+::j. i,l.:t lf:-i ..,i*.i...'.,1.t,, ,; .

..:-,,.. . :l '.;i:--: fi::-j.i.+il :rtaj.:f;:D{.-!.ts#;1j j.il;.r?s},j 1:,,. ..Fm1gr1ry4yo.ugRT.ltr.r.ry. jiig*--t-::i;,'ii:ir.;r;.-:.-&iilitf .,:ir :t'-::+ lq.illjr; +r*i+ii;:;i*a:*'r. : ; -.- : i i.,. :

Afri can s,, are kn qw4 : to, glp-e1.r-el qe i the, h i gh es tateragq'$gi!E,.rateS.iry.tb9;,ryqdd;*vithtotalfg$lity.ratp CTFR) in many._co314t{ es ave ra gi n gQ,5-8.Q, r,Ip;coqfpg! i.rn,Xgqtral.rAfric8; : rnan]population.s tllgy.fu :qstoriis\ingly,, low - averagefertiiity, due pyrmarily.to high rates of primaryand secondary sterility..In many areas, 25-45percent of post-menopausal women have hadno, orjust one, live birth (Romaniuk 196?;Voas

1981; Caldwell and Caldwell 1983). Althoughthere are many possible causes for the highrates of infertility, the most likely is infection,with gonorrhea causing tubal occiuslons andblockage (Belsey 1976).

Many farmer and pygmy populations that arethe traditional inhabitants of the central Afri-can rainforest have high rates of infertility, withtotal fertility rates ranging from 2.5-3.5. Themore recent immigrants to the forest and thepopulations on the edge of the forest, on theother hand, tend tp have higher average fertilityrates. Consequently; populations expandingintothe forest are growing populations, while theindigenous populations may be declining or, atbest,sf-ahle. - ,': I

Each pygmy populati on tpnds to have a fertilityrate si milar to th e farmer population with whichit associates- In many areas, Africans considerpygmies as highly fertile; but this is not sup-ported by the evidence at hand.

Infant and child mortality rates for centralAfrican farmers and pygmies are poorly known.It appears that in areas where fertility rates areiow, infant and child mortality rates are sur-prisingly low (Bailey 1989), whereas in areaswith higherfertility, mortality rates climb also.The 'principal causes of infant and childhooddeath are infectious and parasilic diseases, in-cludin g malari a. : tuberculosis,,. and amebiosis.Sickle cell alleles,occur at higher frequenciesamong central .Africans,, especially easternpygmies,'than among other Africans (Cavalli-Sforza 1986). There js no evidence thatpygmiesdiffer fr om farmers in their mortaiity schedules.This suggests that the two groups are equallyexposed and susceptible torthe same diseases,although this has notbeen shrdied systematically(c.f...Dietz et al. 1989; Hewlett et al. 1986; Mannetal.:1962).:, '!-i' ...1 r':- :: ,

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i:.:;l:.:;itL..l.:.,':.Y:i:.'.:'.'.':j.:..'.-,Based ion.our obs'ervations,of thb processes ofdevelopment and acculturation.undenray incentral Afriea; we offer severai recommendationsto those engaged iri planning and administeringdevelopment'projects in'ientral Africa-'- . Few;,if any, unoccupied lands exist in cen-tral Africa. For the purposes of planning thedevelopment or protection of any area of land, itshould be assumed a priori that any forest isoccupied by some person, or some clan, lineage.

265

Forest peoplcs ond Products

or group. Even if no overt signs of occupation(e.g., houses or garden sit€s) are evident, thetand is most likely occupied intermittently andexploited bypeople whose lifestyies depend uponfrequent movement. The present diverse com-position and distribution of piants and animalsin rainforest is the result of the introduction ofexotic species, the creation of new habitats, andthe chronic manipulation by the forest peoplefor thousands of years. Because of the longhi story of lo n g-frillow sh iftin g h orticulturaii sts,along with mobile foragers in central Africa, allpresent-day forest areas are really apatchworkof v ari ous succes sional stages of growth createdby people, andno areas are whatmostproposalsand reports refer tp as'pristine," "untouched,''primary', or'mature'forest. In short, theseforests are human cultural arbifacts- Present-day biodiversity exists in central Africa not inspite of human habitotinn, but becsuse of it-

The reievance of this for planningthe protec-tion and management of bio reserves is that ifwe are to exclude human beings from usinglarge areas of forest, we will not be.conservingthe presentbiodiversity we hold so precious, butrather we will be altering it significantly andprobably diminishing it'over time-.Thus, landshould be considered as free and avaiiable forconservation only. in relation tn careful study,including exhaustive interviewing' of locai andadjacent indigenous farmers and foragers.

. The land rights of all forest peoples must berecognized. In most central African countries,all iand legally belongs-to.the state' :However,even the state mustrecognize traditional rights:Increasingly, -'as population pressure:rises in'forested areas; land is for the firsttime becom-ing a commodity to be bought and sold- The stategovernments or traditional chiefs and'local of-fi cials' are selling concessions; to 1 cbinpanies,church groups,. and individuals.lqithout' alsopurchasing rights or.securing:pe;3gi9qlg4 f1or.nth e in di gLn ous people. fvbo- trgyp -i.{thd ! te-d,a I dused the land for genera$oOf -ff gditionalii gh tSneed to be artictrlatedby these peopl-ethemselves

. as th e fi rststep :toward drin g, theri,{ -. : ; ;1,1,.,,Ih e vbhie, of a n omadic- lifestyle.sh ould. be

recognized as an effective'strategl for exploitin gthe tropical rainforestin a sustainablb way andas vitel to the economig social,and iisychologicalwell-being of forest peoples.- Sedentsrizationprograms are in most cases incompatible withsustainable exploitation of the forest, as re-sources around large settlements become

266

overexploited. While mobility creates difFrcul-ties for governments and agencies tl providbeducation. health, and other services to tribaipeoples, there are means of accommodatingmobile lifestyles and ensuring that tribal peoplesare not denied equal opportunities.

. Protection of forest areas (reserves andparks) is not incompatible with the continuedpresence offorest pmples- Instead, forestpeoplescan enhance efforts to protect forest flora andfauna. At low densities, forest peoples with theirmobile lifestyles are uniikely tl overexploit for-est resources. The creation of protectcd areasshould not necessitate the removai andresettie-ment of forest peoples, nor should it requiresevere restrictions'on their rights'to forest re-sources. Often indigenous groups are permittedto remain:in protected areas as long'ss th.tremain 'traditional'- s term usuilly definedby policymakers without consultation with, orextensive historical knowledge of, the peoplesthem selve!. Such restrictions lead to'enforcedprimitivismr (Goodland 19822 1), whereby tribalpeople are expected'to remain '"traditional"(sometimes for the purposes of enhancing theirvalue as a tourist attraction) as the rest of theworld passes them by. If limitations are placedon technologr and the extent or means of forestuse, then .f-""lut : education and training foralternative ways of life. should be builtinto theplanning iind budgeting of protection schemes.Groups at :the''clan ; or, lineage' level might begiven con siderable: latitirde in th e manir!'emen tof areas'to-which they belong. ThE management

' poliqr:for:vEseitesisliould'be i geireffililnouglnan d' fl exibltir :eriOulh rto: allciw'for iiiriiation inmanagement styled across lo'calgroir!-s -and overtimei The inor'dlcontrol handed to pdipli bt thelocal cldn level,: gt.}'**ater "will bE'th A-"atii"u of

, ' stewardshiprbndfiesponsibli{i 'foi thd' jiirot€c-

:- tion of the land and its resources by Oib priople- :who:use th!;fe-s.ery.e9 on,a daily;bqgr+:-; :'r.;' ..

' r :,y: P I an n i n glth e, o lgan iziiti o n a ifd:in aiiEfr-m e n i. ; of bio ,reser-v.e-s.in ,-central:Africa- lwi! .!9-1419s!i- i effectiv'e:if:.iqenli sts-.tlie;partici pq$qp- pf irtdig-.,', 6noris'66opltl*it levpl3 det'o*.trrat iif tlrt--ffi tiiialI i eord*-.iit ioia evbii'bblbrir ilifttf #itxil'crribf,

,budng,th:d.-ildnningr"procdiii'itfivillibt"mosteffectivO' to;ioriSUti+*itti; ilusGrs : df: villages;

. which 'Aie;;'often itniditionallf I orgairized intomoieties:'Progrrims of com'munity-based con-servation that are centralized and designed totrain well-educated, non-indigenous people as

teachers, census takers, guards, wildlife moni-

F o re st p eop le s and.'p roduci s

tors, health workers, managers, and trainerswill most likely be less successful than spendingthe additional funds to train the less educatedlocal inhabitants and giving them large, butlocal responsibilities.. Resettlement or sedentarization programsfor indigenous peoples are rarely justifiable;however, in the rare cases where they arejudgednecessary, the following guidelines are recom-mended:

. Full agreement from both the peoples to beresettled and the peoples onto whose land theyare being moved should be secured.

. The people should be given access to areas offorest sufficient to retain their former lifestyle.

. People should be-settled in small villages -not merged into large villages - with residencecon sistent with traditional soci al relationships.

. Villages should have facilities adequate forproper sanitation and hygiene.. Special social services may be necessary toassist adjustment to the new situation.

. Intervention schemes break down traditionaleconomic and social relationships. The pygmy-farmer relationship has existed for many gen-erations and is vital to both groups' economic,social, and psychological well being. Programsaimed exclusively at pygmies, although design edr eliminate what is perceived as economic-ex-

Tloitation by farmers, actually dismpt,socialand economic networks that reddce risk,anduncertainty. Such programs. produce . unn eces-sary animosity toward pygmies by farmers andmore often than not lead tn marginalization ofpygmies. ..:;..:::,'i:.';..ii 1.,;r','1 . : .'. . fogmies should be assured of dqual rights asfuIl citizens of the state and,a5sured'of'equalaccess to services offered to other citizen_s. Oft€npygmies are discriminated:- against -,in schoolsand denied treatment at dispensaries. Ttrey areoften.not given jdentityl cards and'are,'oftenomi,{ed,; fr qm ..local., pr; national- ; censuses.i i Asgoy g grr-n en ts. take, : acti on r to :.recti& i such :vio I a-tions ofbasic human rights, theymust take careB ot irto 3 sgek - j ustifi ca ti on ; f,or'' re s e ttl eni e n t,sedentarization, o{ ot}rer mechanisms for forcedgeg!rlt1$8qon,'.-: i . : ::l i:,i.1(, t:'-;,:i s i.' 1; i.,;-i) . i: t,.;

1 .11 lFo4.any developmen t project, forest peoplesshoul{, be .att integral . and - early: part ; of theplanning process.. Development--agency direc-tives inevitably state that indigenous peoplesmust be consulted before I project is imple-mented; yet we have seen little evidence thal, ,e voice of the local people is actually heard.

Most project assessments include recommenda-tions for measures to protect the interests ofindigenous peoples, but those measures arerarely the product of careful consultation withthe people themselves. Moreover, the essentialelements of projects are usually planned longbefore and far removed from consultation withforest peoples. Project plans are altered slightlylate in the planning process only to conform topoliry directives concerning protection of tribalpeoples' rights. A more effective approach -one that would both protect the interests of theforest peoples and take advantage oftheiruniquewisdom - would be to integrate forest peoplesinto the planning process from the beginning.To increase forest peoples' input into deveiop-ment planning, we recommend the following:

(a) Local peoples' representatives (not neces-sarily 'elite" members) should be asked to par-ticipate in the early stages of project planning.This may require such representatives to betransported to the nation's capital city or toother iocations.

(b) Planners and consultants who know eitherthe local tribal language or the regional dialectsshould be sought. Often consultants know onlythe offlcial language of the country (usually aEuropean language) and seldom know even thelanguage of the region (e.g., Kiswahili, Lingala),making direct communication with local tribalpeople impossible.

(c) Very specific guidelines should be estab-lished for. written,reports by project' plannersand assessors.,suih'guidelines should be de-signed to'ensure that,project fersonnel makeevery effort to talk to local people. Reportsmight include:..how. many'people were' inter-viewed; . in,,what: language(s); the specifi c cir-cumstaices of.the interviews; the position(s) orstatus ofthose interviewed; and the tribal affili-ations of those interviewed.-::: ::

: .,: ?, In th e forest areas'of iiintral'Africa, touri smis only nascent right now;:!'{1 ;1i. sure to growwith. the creatidn bf national parks and the' growing popularity of eco- and ethno-tourism

. (see Cultural Swuiral'Qiartcrly'L990) in thedeveloped countries':.Befoie it is too late, coun-tries should delign safeguards to pieventforestpeoples'use rights and resource managementdecisions from being usurped by the touristindustry. If forest peoples are made part of theformation of tourism strategies (rather thanmanipulated by those seeking unfair profits),tourism can enhance cultural awareness and

267

Forest peoples and. prod.ucts

i

the knowledge of ethnic history while avoidingthe "people in a zoo" phenomenon. The durabiesuccess of a tourist industry in any centralAfrican country depends on the enthusiasticparLicipation of indigenous peoples who will becrucial for maintaining th e region's cuitural andenvironmental in te grity.

R.eferences

1. Althabe, G. 1965. Changements sociaux chezles pygm6es Baka de l'est du Cameroun. Cahiersd' Et ud.es Africaines 5 :56 1-592,2. Bahuchet, S. 1985. Les Pygm6es Aka et lafor€t Centrafricaine: ethnologie ecoiogique.SELAF, Paris.3. Bahuchet, S. 1988. Food supply uncertaintyamong the Aka Pygmies (Lobaye, C.AR.). inCoping w ith Urrceftainty in Fnd Supply (eds. I-de Garine and G.A Harrison), pp. 118-149.Oxford: Oxford University Press.4. Bahuchet, S. and H. Guillaume; 1982. Aka-farmer relations in the Northwest Congo basin-In Politics ond. history in band societ&s (eds.E.P. Leacock and RB. L€€), pp. 189-211. Cam-bridge: Cambridge University Press.5. Bailey, RC. 1982. Development in the lturiForest of 7,atre. Cultural Suruiual Quanerly6(2):23-25. _

6. Bailey, RC. 1988. The'significance ofhyperryny for understanding subsistencebehaviour among contemporary. hunters andgatherers. ln Diet and subsistence: archeologi-cal perspectiues (eds: B.V.:.Kennedy.and G.M.I-eMoine), pp. 5?-65. Calgary: Calgary Univer-sityPress.r : ,:,:'. ::'i., 1-: - -..: :7. Bailey, RC. 1989. fhe demography of forag-ers and farmers in the Ituri Fores! ?,atre. Paperpresented at the 88th Annual Meetings of theAmerican.'Anthropologim l AssociaLi on, Wash.ington,. D. C;; November :-1?:,H,'.:r r;.tr r,-;; .,-. :. : : . .-: ;,

' 8.' B ailet R C.: 1 9 9 1 :,Tn*e diinparatiVa gro wth o fEfe $gmies arid . Afr i can :fariii-ers from, bi rth triage fi ve i y'eais::iAn'za I s|=of ; g urrian B in logy :

: 18 (2) : 1 13, 12 0,' ; 5'aJ,

j, i.,-t';-.I?el nT | { t'i t.: ry?, : :: ;; ; :. je. Bair ey;1R c,.- d . N; :eri;cii.;ib

s 81 6iJ p;;;mies of northeast Zaire: subi'istence strategiesin the Itrrri Foresf In Copitt4'wiih uizcertaiityin.food. supply (eds. I:trde:.Garine,and GAHarrison), pp. 88-11?. Odord: Oxford Univer-sity Press.

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19. Hewlett,,B.S.,d.M:H. van de Koppel, ana Uvan de Koppel,.-1986:rCauses of death amonfAka pygmies of th'e Ceirtral African Republic. IrAfrican .Qgrn r€s, (ed.'-L: LI C avalli -Sfo rze ), p p

:45-63. New York:,Aiidemic Press.: ' ,.,::20;Ioiing; J:F. 1959.rLes,Pygur6es de la for€t d,: Mil I :. un : groupe r"dlt,Fygmb es" camemun rii s ervsi si - ds : 5 ediiitat i saU on:P-Zes;iiifr ii rs' ." d' O ut r e

t Men48:362:3?93!"b?Bt:18{-t*is*.:r..;ri ;,' "i i, .:i'"2 1: i Loun!,, J-F.i 19?8:.'rPop'irlation: Atlas -de IlRe publi c IJni e du Cauiero irt In IA At las' Afr iq ui (ed. G:Laclavere); ppi.36-38.'Paris: Groupe Jli2z: Mann ; G:v.';d0:-nb'el sj O. Lt I*i ce ;'an d J . N' Mbrrill.''1962-i Cardiovai'culai di sease in Afr'' can pygmie*,a,sunrey of h6alth statris, seru:lipids, and dietofpygmies in th eCongo.Journtof Chronic Diseases 15: 341-371.

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23-Pagezy,H- 1982. Seasonal hunger, as expe-rienced by the Oto and the Twa of a Ntombavillage in the equatorial foresL Ecology of Foodand. Nutritbn 12: 139-153.24- Romaniuk, A 196?. La Fecondite des Popu-lations Congolaises. Paris: Mouton.25. Turnbull, C.M. 1983- The Mbuti Pygmies:Change and Adaptation. New York: Holt,Rinehart, and Winston.26. Voas, D. 1981. Subfertility and disruption inthe Congo Basiri. ln Africon'historicaldzmography, pp. 777-802. Center for AfricanStudies: University of Edinburgh.27. Waehle, E. 1986. Efe (Mbuti fogmy) rela-tions to the Lese Dese villages in the IturiForest, Zqire: historical changes during the last150 years. Suiga 2:375-41L.

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