Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) projects have the potential to conserve the forest, generate income and attain development targets; but the level of transparency in benefit sharing and the community expected benefits are relatively unknown. Using cluster multi-stage random sampling, data were collected from 259 respondents living around Mount Cameroon National Park REDD+ project site. Results, analyzed with SPSS and NVivo, show that community engagement in project interventions is significantly influenced by the perceptions that REDD+ will promote local community development and generate individual income. Although most community members do not know how forest revenues are presently distributed (no transparency) they are expecting more developmental projects and employment. It is a belief that there will be greater transparency in future REDD+ benefits because the present benefits earned from the Ministry of Forestry and Fauna for participating in the present conservation initiative are unclear and negligible. Benefit-sharing mechanisms and safeguards should be transparent and clearly designed to meet community expectations to enable the sustainable development of communities and prevent early failure of REDD+ projects.
