Economic Crisis and Forest Cover Change in Cameroon: The Roles of Migration, Crop Diversification, and Gender Division of Labor

Abstract

This article attempts to explain how changes in population dynamics and smallholder agriculture have led to increased deforestation in the period of the crisis. These foci are justified by the fact that population growth and shifting cultivation are generally viewed respectively as the main cause of agent of deforestation in Central Africa in general and in Cameroon in particular. Other factors contributing to deforestation and forest degradation in Cameroon are logging and the construction of transportation infrastructure. This article examines the role of agricultural smallholders in Cameroons forest cover loss within the context of dramatic macroeconomic events in the last 20 years. Beginning in the late 1970s Cameroon experienced a period of rapid economic growth followed by a devastating recession beginning in 1986 a weakly implemented structural adjustment program in 1989 and then a drastic currency devaluation and weak economic recovery beginning in 1994. (excerpt)