Kirsten Hegener gave this presentation on 22 May 2013 at a panel session during the two-day policy and science conference entitled "Sustainable forest management in Central Africa: Yesterday, today and tomorrow", organized by CIFOR and its partners and held in Yaounde, Cameroon. The panel, titled “Financing climate change and REDD+: how to help Central Africa capture the potential”, focused on understanding the constraints to Congo Basin countries in accessing the opportunities that REDD+ offers.

1. Seite 1
Preliminary findings from a
case study report
Good Financial Governance and
Climate Finance in Cameroon

2. Seite 2
Findings concern
1. Economy and climate change
2. National policy on climate change
3. National Public Finance Management (PFM) system and its role in
climate finance
a) Strengths and weaknesses of PFM arrangements
b) Accountability
c) Access to climate funds
4. Conclusions and recommendations

3. Seite 3
Economy and climate change
5/23/13
• Cameroon is sensitive to climate change and its effects, especially:
• in agriculture,
• forestry and
• energy production
• climate change may also affect importantly and negatively
• projected public revenues and
• expenses in Cameroon’s primary economic sectors
• expenses for infrastructure investments and
• the public debt incurred to finance them.

4. Seite 4
National policy on climate change
Unternehmenspräsentation 20125/23/13
Although there is evidence of increasing attention to climate change on the
part of officials in the government of Cameroon, there is not as yet a formal
national policy on climate change. Such a policy is a necessary, though
insufficient, condition for the successful implementation of climate change
related activities and their sound financial management including climate
finance.
Attempts to initiate climate change related activities including accessing
and managing climate finance funds without an appropriate national policy
framework carries with it a high risk of failure and waste of public funds.

5. Seite 5
Public Finance Management (PFM) system and its role
in climate finance
1. Strengths and weaknesses of PFM arrangements
Unternehmenspräsentation 20125/23/13
• the national PFM system does not take into account systematically
climate change and its effects (both on the expenditure and revenue
sides)
• programme budget as of the 2013 fiscal year is a key milestone in the
modernization of Cameroun’s public financial management system.
• the introduction of a program budgeting approach will not lead
necessarily to improved programme and financial performance.
• other important elements are a fundamental change in organisational
culture based on good governance principles and including particular
attention to management capacity, direction and accountability.

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2. Accountability
Unternehmenspräsentation 20125/23/13
• the institutional structure of accountability in Cameroun remains weak
because of the lack of independence and resources of the judicial and
legislative oversight bodies.

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3. Access to climate funds
Unternehmenspräsentation 20125/23/13
• key prerequisites
• appropriate performance in budget execution,
• accounting and internal control
• external oversight to palliate fiduciary risk
• necessary systemic linkages
• organisational and institutional culture of the public
administration
• incentive structure of the public service.

8. Seite 8
Conclusions and recommendations
Unternehmenspräsentation 20125/23/13
• Cameroon is not ready to access climate finance as long as :
• climate change is not a priority for the government,
• there is no national policy on climate change
• climate change is not taken into account in Cameroon’s guiding
vision and national development strategy
• good financial governance criteria are not met by the public finance
management system

9. Seite 9
Conclusions and recommendations
Unternehmenspräsentation 20125/23/13
The lead ministry for climate change should have high level political
support, the appropriate policy remit including inter sectorial and
intergovernmental coordination, as well as the required organisational
capacity particularly with respect to budget and climate change related
competencies. It should further lead on relationships and coordination with
civil society and private sector, as well as on regional and international
coordination on climate change.
In order to develop the capacity of Cameroon’s PFM system up to a level
at which it can access and manage external climate financing in an
efficient, effective and transparent manner, priority should be given to
strengthening external oversight by parliament and the supreme audit
institution, as well as government budgeting and expenditure
management, accounting and internal control.