Peri-Urban Land Use Dynamics and Development Implications in the Bamenda III Municipality of Cameroon

Abstract

<em></em><em><em> </em><em>A consequence of rapid and uncontrolled urbanization is the growth of the peri-urban environment. Peri-urban areas the world over are undergoing rapid changes in their land uses with significant development implications. In the present study, Bamenda III, a municipality of Cameroon, which forms part of the Bamenda Metropolis—a primate city par excellence, witnessed dramatic changes in its peri-urban zone. Such changes are exemplified by the multiplication of land uses, a reduction in<br />agricultural land in favour of settlements and other infrastructural developments as well as wetland invasion. Using a systematic sampling of 100 inhabitants in the Bamenda III peri-urban zone, complemented by interviews and secondary data sources, we sought to investigate the evolution, drivers and development implications of peri-urban land use dynamics. The results showed that during the year 2000-2015, there was a reduction in agricultural land area from 2943ha to 1389ha and a corresponding increase in the area for settlements from 1389ha to 2943ha. A positive correlation was observed between population growth and peri-urban land use dynamics in Bamenda III. The observed<br />dynamics has significant developmental implications in terms of future planning perspectives, future developments at the expense of agricultural land and further encroachments into wetlands. The study<br />concludes that a coordinated and planned growth policy should be introduced in order to control rapid peri-urban land use change in the face of population growth.</em></em>