Monitoring wetlands deterioration in the Cameroon coastal lowlands: implications for management

Abstract

The problems of coastal wetlands hazards and management are increasingly apparent in the face of rapid population growth in coastal zones worldwide. This has significantly heightened scientific interest in spatio-temporal analysis of the Global Environmental Change (GEC) effects in the coastal zones, particularly of the sandy, swampy depositional coastal environment characteristic of the humid tropical coasts. Evolved with massive sedimentation of the Holocene period which saw the drowning of the mouths of coastal rivers along the humid tropical coastlines, the Cameroon costal lowlands of interest in this paper describes extensive wetlands from the Limbe area to the west and the Douala area to the east, which today is characterized by a lagoon system. This locality is easily the most rapidly urbanized area in Cameroon witnessing extensive spatial expansion in the Limbe, Tiko and Douala areas, which has provoked certain observable environmental problems with the conversion of the wetlands, The area now suffer in form of poor land reclamation practices, highway construction, impaired water quality, dismal domestic sewage disposal, heavy effluent discharge, subsidence etc. This paper utilizes the opportunity offered by remote sensing tools to monitor the wetlands over space and time to cover regional and micro scales. SLAR (Side Looking Airborne Radar) imagery permits quick and accurate mapping of coastline detail, while coverage of changing patterns of features over space and time is enhanced for management implications.