The SIGIF 2 user guide for community forests was validated during a workshop organized on December 9 and 10, 2025, by SAILD in Mbalmayo in Central Cameroon.
The second-generation Forest Information Management System, abbreviated SIGIF 2, an official tool for tracking forest products (wood) in Cameroon, is now an easy equation to solve for community forest managers. The simplified user guide for the application was officially approved during a workshop organized by the Support Service for Local Development Initiatives (SAILD), in collaboration with the Ministry of Forests and Wildlife (MFW) in Mbalmayo.
The meeting saw strong involvement from MFW representatives, a number of national SIGIF 2 experts, and other stakeholders. It provided an opportunity to compare the content of the guide with the realities on the ground, identify the practical constraints encountered by community forests, validate the guide with the forestry authorities, and gather relevant technical recommendations and incorporate them into the guide designed by SAILD.
The NGO commissioned a consultant to develop this SIGIF 2 user guide based on the needs and realities of Cameroon’s community forests. “For several years now, SIGIF 2 has been mandatory for communities for the sale and transport of timber to customers. During several missions on timber legality verification systems, it was found that community forest managers did not have sufficient technical skills to use this timber traceability application. We therefore felt it was important to develop this simplified guide to using SIGIF 2 to help them become more comfortable with the IT tool,” explains Jerry Atontsa, forestry assistant with the Natural Resource Management Program at SAILD.
Essential support for communities
The simple and practical guide, he says, is an indispensable aid for communities. “It clearly defines the steps to follow to obtain a legal product that complies with traceability standards and how to achieve them. The guide is divided into five phases, which show in detail how to fill in the information requested in the application and how to obtain the official documents necessary for the legal and traceable transport of timber.”
During the two-day workshop, the 18 modules that make up the SIGIF 2 application and the SIGIF 2 user guide were presented to the audience, who welcomed this SAILD initiative as part of the Biodiverse Landscape Fund-Western Congo Basin (BLF-WCB) program. The recommendations made at the end of these discussions provide a solid basis for finalizing the guide, which will facilitate community forests’ compliance with SIGIF 2 requirements and strengthen the traceability and legality of forest products, including timber.
- Sharon Maché
