Cameroon

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The Republic of Cameroon is one of the most important countries in Africa in terms of the biodiversity of its forests. It contains montane, submontane, lowland evergreen and semi-deciduous forests. The rich biological diversity of the lowland forests is attributable to their very stable existence even during periods of cool, dry weather such as occurred in the Pleistocene during which rain forests were considerably reduced elsewhere. High endemism occurs in the montane forests, which were isolated from one another during these same periods. The different forest types are subject to different pressures. The most highly endangered are the montane, coastal evergreen and semi-deciduous forests. The evergreen forests of the south-east were less endangered until the recent announcement of a government plan to increase logging. Timber is an important component of the Cameroon economy, both for export income and for domestic consumption of building and firewood. Current production of industrial wood is 2.7 million cu. m and the government plans to double this by the year 2000.