Understanding the Links Between Conservation and Development in the Bamenda Highlands, Cameroon

Abstract

Integrated conservation and development projects (ICDPs) attempt to link the conservation of natural resources with the development needs of local people. Recent reviews have provided differing perspectives on the relative success of ICDPs in addressing either their conservation or development objectives. This paper explores local perceptions of an ICDP that has been established for more than a decade around the Kilum–Ijim Forest, in North West Province, Cameroon. The study tested the assumptions underlying the ICDP: that by improving incomes and livelihoods from the land in and around the forest, pressure on the forest would decrease, contributing to conservation objectives. The study provides evidence that livelihood activities can have a conservation impact by helping to change local attitudes and behavior. Furthermore, the study analyzes and develops, some of the “factors for success” highlighted by previous papers.