A workshop in Douala on September 23-26 allowed 19 African NGOs (part of the Africa Community Rights Network (ACRN)) to meet and share information on the REDD and FLEGT processes, learn lessons from each other?s experiences and agree on a strategy to better address community rights issues. The workshop, was organized by CED, included 40 participants from Cameroon, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Burundi, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Liberia, and C?te d?Ivoire, along with representatives of RRI, FERN, Forest Peoples Programme and Global Witness. ACRN members shared information on the ongoing REDD and VPA processes in their respective countries and will be used to produce an analytical report and policy briefs to be used at local, regional and international forums. Key points of the discussion included: the importance of specifying types of community land rights that lead to land security, forest land conversion, women?s involvement in decision-making, inter-sectoral conflicts among local administrations, the weaknesses of civil society organizations, and the status of NGO funding for protection of community rights. In order to link this information and make strategic projections at the global level, the participants considered and agreed upon the recommendations of the 13th RRI Dialogue on Forests, Governance, and Climate Change.