Forests Of Cameroon Research Articles

Carbon stock in smallholder chocolate forest in southern Cameroon and potential role in climate change mitigation

This article was submitted without an abstract, please refer to the full-text PDF file.

Institutional factors for adaptation to climate change in the Congo Basin forest of Cameroon

This article was submitted without an abstract, please refer to the full-text PDF file.

Effects of Nitrogen and Potassium Combinations on Yields and Infestations of Maize by Busseola fusca (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in the Humid Forest of Cameroon

Effects of Nitrogen and Potassium Combinations on Yields and Infestations of Maize by Busseola fusca (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in the Humid Forest of Cameroon

Effects of Nitrogen and Potassium Combinations on Yields and Infestations of Maize by <I>Busseola fusca</I> (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in the Humid Forest of Cameroon

Field trials were set up in the humid forest zone of Cameroon to investigate the effects of combinations of different rates of nitrogen (N) (0, 60, and 120 kg N ha(-1)) and potassium (K) (0, 80, and 160 kg K ha(-1)) applied to the soil on the incidence and damage of the noctuid stemborer Busseola fusca (Fuller), and on maize, Zea mays L., yield. Each N/K combination had an insecticide control to assess yield losses due to borers. In contrast to N, K had no effect on plant growth and borer incidence and damage. Across seasons and days after planting, total plant dry matter (DM) production increased with N level and it was 1.2-1.9 and 1.7-2.2 times, respectively, higher at 60 and 120 kg N ha(-1) compared with 0 kg N ha(-1). Total DM at harvest was strongly related to the N content of the plant at 63 d after planting. At the early growth stage, borer abundance and stem tunneling tended to increase with N level, but percentages of dead hearts did not vary with treatment. Maize grain yields increased linearly with N level, but grain yield losses decreased depending on season. Grain yield losses were 11-18.2 times higher with 0 kg N ha(-1) compared with 120 kg N ha(-1). The findings so far indicated that, soil application of N improves the nutritional status of maize, which consequently enhanced its tolerance to stemborer attacks. Improving soil fertility can thus be a very effective means of complementing integrated stemborer control in the humid forest zone of Cameroon.

Governance and social learning in the management of Non-Wood Forest Products in community forests in Cameroon

Research examined how partnerships of state and civil society could function to manage commercially valuable non-wood forest products in Community Forests in Cameroon. Results indicate an effective governance arrangement should include the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Community Forest management committee, and also increase the involvement of women. An adaptive collaborative management approach could bring together stakeholders to learn collectively how to manage resources sustainably. Partnerships with non-governmental organisations and research organisations would enhance the process leading to an improved governance system. Future Scenarios, was found to be an effective tool for facilitation of social learning with stakeholders.

Sustainable Forest Management in Cameroon Needs More than Approved Forest Management Plans

One of the main objectives of the 1994 Cameroonian forestry law is to improve the management of production forests by including minimum safeguards for sustainability into compulsory forest management plans. As of 2007, about 3.5 million hectares (60%) of the productive forests are harvested following the prescriptions of 49 approved management plans. The development and implementation of these forest management plans has been interpreted by several international organizations as long awaited evidence that sustainable management is applied to production forests in Cameroon. Recent reviews of some plans have concluded, however, that their quality was inadequate. This paper aims at taking these few analyses further by assessing the actual impacts that approved management plans have had on sustainability and harvesting of commercial species. We carry out an assessment of the legal framework, highlighting a fundamental flaw, and a thorough comparison between data from approved management plans and timber production data. Contrary to the principles adhered to by the 1994 law, we find that the government has not yet succeeded in implementing effective minimum sustainability safeguards and that, in 2006, 68% of the timber production was still carried out as though no improved management rules were in place. The existence of a number of approved management plans cannot be used a proxy for proof of improved forest management.

USE AND MISUSE OF FOREST INCOME BY RURAL COMMUNITIES IN CAMEROON

ABSTRACT Since 1996, Cameroon has been redistributing a share of Annual Forest Royalties (AFF) to villages/communities, with the aim of increasing rural people's standards of living. However, its application has been widely criticized. Our study is based on a sample of nine communities in the Cameroon forest belt. We found that: • a significant part of AFF does not reach communities; • 3 villages out of 9 add other incomes to AFF payments in order to carry out collective investments; and • 3 other villages were able to justify the complete use of their AFF. This relative success in the establishment of a decentralized mechanism for forest income management indicates the need for strengthening the capabilities of communities in order to guarantee endogenous development.

Economic value and management of mangrove forests in Cameroon

Mangrove forests constitute a pantropical ecosystem that has been much misused and mismanaged, without regard for actual and potential value to coastal resources. This paper uses primary and secondary data sources to assesses the economic value and pollution problems affecting a mangrove ecosystem. It concludes that this fragile ecosystem is under increasing biological stress resulting from industrial, agro-industrial, fishing and urban activities because both the private and public sector regard this ecosystem as wasteland. The paper concludes that, in order to achieve sustainability of the remaining forest, there is need for financial evaluation of the potentials of this ecosystem. Finally, the study identifies sustainable development and management options for mangrove forest and challenges scientists, researchers, natural resource managers and mangrove biologists to provide government authorities and society with evidence of the true potentials of mangrove ecosystems.

Building broad‐based partnership for sustainable forest management: the Model Forest experience in Cameroon

The humid forest zone of Cameroon is part of the biodiversity rich Congo Basin. Until the mid‐1990s, the forests of Cameroon were centrally managed, which excluded communities from accessing forest resources and gaining economic benefits from them. In the early 1990s, more participative forest management practices emerged. The new forestry legislation of 1994 – focusing on the devolution of management responsibilities to local communities – has reinforced this participatory trend. In 2003, the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and its partners started the Model Forest Project in Cameroon. This project is part of the International Model Forest Network (IMFN). The goal of the IMFN is the sustainable management of forests around the world, while taking into account the needs of local communities. This paper describes the process that led the Cameroonian Government to the recognition, in 2005, of Campo‐Ma’an and Dja et Mpomo as Model Forest sites. It gives a description of the sites, the partnerships involved, stakeholders’ perspectives, the accomplishments to date and future perspectives. It concludes that, while the project provides a framework for reflection, innovation and collective learning, it is as yet too early to demonstrate concrete progress or results.

Photosynthetic parameters from two contrasting woody vegetation types in West Africa

Measurements of leaf gas exchange were made in contrasting wooded ecosystems in West Africa. Measurements were made on 10 species: seven from humid rain forest in Cameroon and three from the semi-arid Sahelian zone in Niger. For each species, two models of photosynthesis were fitted: the first based on a rectangular hyperbolic response to photosynthetic photon flux density (Q), and the second the biochemical model of Farquhar et al. (1980). In both communities, the species studied could be divided into those characteristic of early and late successional stages, but photosynthetic parameters were not closely related to successional stage. The data identified significant relationships between V cmax and leaf nutrient (N and P) content when expressed on an area basis. Variation in leaf mass per unit area correlated with canopy exposure and dominated the leaf nutrient signal. Statistical analysis suggested weakly that leaf gas exchange was more limited by P than N at the rain forest site.

Population dynamics, rural livelihoods and forest protection projects in Sub-Saharan Africa: experiences from Santa, Cameroon

The study examines mainstream efforts to rehabilitate and conserve forests in Cameroon, and concludes that technocratic blueprints will always flounder when they come face-to-face with the real world of complex human relations in poverty-stricken societies. These result from the failure to integrate concerns relating to rights, needs and priorities of rural communities, who are the local natural resource users. The paper argues that when rural livelihoods are affected negatively, the adjacent forest communities often respond in ways involving conflict, illegal exploitation of resources and apathy, which makes the realisation of conservation goals very remote. There is, therefore, need for a broader perspective that links environmental protection with human welfare. Consequently, the study advocates that Social Impact Assessment (SIA) be an integral part of such conservation projects if success is to be achieved.

An analytic approach to structuring co–management of community forests in Cameroon

While decentralization is a prominent theme in contemporary natural resource policy and management discourse, questions have been raised concerning the sustainability of participatory approaches. Drawing on theoretical and empirical research on common pool resource management and participation, we develop a framework to evaluate community–level stakeholders’ potential suitability for engagement in co–management. Four criteria are assessed: stake in the resource, discount rate, social capital and capacity (leadership, organizational, enforcement of rules and knowledge). Inclusion of local actors who fit the framework in a governance arrangement could lead to more sustainable outcomes. We tested this screening strategy by assessing potential organizational partners for comanagement of non–wood forest products in community forests in Cameroon.

Priority setting for conservation in south-west Cameroon based on large mammal surveys

AbstractThe forests of the Cameroon-Nigeria transboundary region have been highlighted as a high conservation priority, yet many of the extant forest remnants remain relatively unknown, particularly with regard to the occurrence of large mammals. Between 2002 and 2004 we surveyed the large mammal fauna of the Mone and Ejagham Forest Reserves and the Upper Banyang, Nkwende Hills and Etinde forests of south-west Cameroon. Our objective was to document the extant large mammal species as an important step in the review of government priorities to identify key sites within the region for conservation and management. We reviewed the available literature on mammal distribution and then surveyed the forests for mammal and human signs. Despite a growing illegal commercial trade in wildlife, particularly for bushmeat, many sites retain populations of one or more threatened and locally rare large mammal species of significant conservation importance. Moreover, the sites collectively complement each other in terms of their representation of the threatened large mammal fauna. An emphasis on the enforcement of wildlife legislation and minimizing logging impact are of primary importance for the conservation of large mammals in these and other forest remnants in south-west Cameroon. In addition, at some sites, there already exists community interest in active wildlife management.

Community Capacity for Implementing Clean Development Mechanism Projects Within Community Forests in Cameroon

There is a growing assumption that payments for environmental services including carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emission reduction provide an opportunity for poverty reduction and the enhancement of sustainable development within integrated natural resource management approaches. Yet in experiential terms, community-based natural resource management implementation falls short of expectations in many cases. In this paper, we investigate the asymmetry between community capacity and the Land Use Land Use Change Forestry (LULUCF) provisions of the Clean Development Mechanism within community forests in Cameroon. We use relevant aspects of the Clean Development Mechanism criteria and notions of “community capacity” to elucidate determinants of community capacity needed for CDM implementation within community forests. The main requirements are for community capacity to handle issues of additionality, acceptability, externalities, certification, and community organisation. These community capacity requirements are further used to interpret empirically derived insights on two community forestry cases in Cameroon. While local variations were observed for capacity requirements in each case, community capacity was generally found to be insufficient for meaningful uptake and implementation of Clean Development Mechanism projects. Implications for understanding factors that could inhibit or enhance community capacity for project development are discussed. We also include recommendations for the wider Clean Development Mechanism/Kyoto capacity building framework.

News Enabling forest people to map their resources & monitor illegal logging in Cameroon

The forests of Cameroon are subject to extensive illegal logging. This includes incursions by timber pirates onto community forest land where they destroy vital resources for local people. Until now local communities, who depend on many of the key species felled by these illegal loggers for fruit, caterpillars, medicines and oil, have had no possibility to address this serious threat to their future. An innovatory new project is developing tools to enable forest communities to monitor their forest areas using ruggedised GPS units. Locally collected data will be sent directly to a secure website via satellite link. Government enforcement agencies and NGO partners will be able to access the website to gain up-to-date information to monitor and control these activities. The website will serve to develop a dialogue between government, NGOs and communities over forest planning and control, and so increase government forest monitoring capacity. It will also provide an accessible platform to audit, and demonstrate governmental commitment to good governance. Funded by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the project is developing methods and tools that enable local and indigenous forest people, regardless of language or education, to engage in forest monitoring and planning with governmental institutions. In the long term the project aims to provide a community based model for validating and demonstrating government commitment to good governance in the forest sector that can be deployed in the other nations of the Congo Basin. This will support the European Union’s Forest Law Enforcement and Governance in Trade (FLEGT) policy initiative. FLEGT aims to improve regulation of the timber trade and so address economic, social and environmental failings that are undermining sustainable forest management and local livelihoods. The project will facilitate Cameroon’s compliance with the FLEGT process and therefore ensure that its timber production can con-

Adoption potential of two agroforestry technologies: improved fallows and domestication of indigenous fruit trees in the humid forest and Savannah zones of Cameroon

Abstract English: Strategies to combat poverty in the humid tropics of West and Central Africa should not only tackle problems of shortening fallows and declining soil fertility, but also reduce farmers’ vulnerability and dependence on a few cash crops. The main objective of the present study was to assess adoption potential of agroforestry technologies by farmers in the humid forest and savannah zones of Cameroon and to suggest means to ameliorate and accelerate adoption. The following aspects were examined: (1) characteristics of the technologies themselves, i.e. biophysical performance and technical requirements, complexity, profitability, acceptability and users’ perception of benefits and disadvantages, relevance and compatibility; and (2) existing land-use systems and farmers’ livelihood strategies. The study demonstrated that the interest of farmers in tree fallows currently is low because of modest yield increases compared to natural fallows, en low profitability of the technology. In addition, farmers in the study sites do not yet perceive declining soil fertility as a major production constraint and they adopt tree fallows in the first place because of the additional benefits (honey, stakes, fuel wood and weed suppression). On the other hand, the adoption potential of shrub fallows with Cajanus cajan is higher because the technology is profitable and more suitable for farmers with insecure land tenure and women. However, wide dissemination of improved fallows can only be obtained if farmers’ awareness on the benefits of improved fallows is raised and if extension is targeted to areas where fallow periods are rapidly shortening, where soils are poor and where weed incidence is a serious problem. The study also showed technical and financial feasibility of vegetative propagation of a number of indigenous fruit trees in farmer nurseries. However, wide-scale adoption of vegetative propagation is likely to be constrained by the cost of nursery infrastructure and materials. Measures to enhance adoption potential would thus include reducing nursery costs, whereas the possibilities of using credit and subsidies for the creation of farmer nurseries should be further studied. Samenvatting Nederlands: Strategieёn met het oog op armoedebestrijding in de vochtige tropen van West en Centraal Afrika moeten niet alleen problemen i.v.m. de daling van de bodemvruchtbaarheid aanpakken, maar eveneens de kwetsbaarheid van de boeren en hun financiёle afhankelijkheid van enkele exportgewassen verminderen. Dit doctoraatsonderzoek had als doelstelling het adoptiepotentieel van twee land- en bosbouwtechnieken in Kameroen te evalueren. De volgende aspecten werden behandeld: (1) de karakteristieken van de technieken zelf, namelijk biofysische doeltreffendheid en technische vereisten, graad van complexiteit, financiёle rentabiliteit, aanvaardbaarheid, waarneming van de gebruikers omtrent voor- en nadelen, relevantie en verenigbaarheid; en (2) de bestaande landbouwsystemen en levensonderhoudsstrategieёn van de boeren. De studie toonde aan dat de interesse van de boeren in verbeterd braakland met bomen momenteel laag is omwille van de modeste verhoging van de gewasopbrengsten, in vergelijking met natuurlijke braak, en de lage rentabiliteit van de techniek. Bovendien beschouwen de boeren in het studiegebied de verslechtering van de bodemvruchtbaarheid nog niet als een prioriteit. De boeren adopteren verbeterde boombraak in de eerste plaats omwille van de bijproducten (honing, staken, onkruidbestrijding) en niet voor het verbeteren van de bodemvruchtbaarheid per se. De studie laat echter vermoeden dat het adoptiepotentieel van verbeterde struikbraak met Cajanus cajan hoger ligt omdat de techniek wel financieel rendabel is en bijzonder geschikt is voor boeren die geen landeigenaar zijn en voor vrouwen. Een wijde verspreiding van verbeterd braakland kan echter enkel bekomen worden indien de boeren goed ingelicht worden over de voordelen en wanneer de vulgarisatie zich toespitst op gebieden waar de natuurlijke braakperiodes drastisch verminderen, de bodem nutrient-arm is en waar onkruid de landbouwproductie ernstig belemmert. De studie toonde eveneens de technische en financiёle haalbaarheid van vegetatieve vermenigvuldiging van een aantal inheemse fruitboomsoorten in plattelandskwekerijtjes aan. Desalnietemin zal de wijde verspreiding van deze technieken gehinderd worden door de relatief hoge investeringskost. Verder onderzoek moet daarom gericht zijn op het verlagen van deze kosten, terwijl de mogelijkheden van krediet en subsidies voor het oprichten van kwekerijtjes bestudeerd moet worden.

Managing deforestation in anglophone Cameroon: are NGOs pacesetters?

The Cameroon forest is in decline because there is no holistic management strategy. This decline threatens all the forest resources: trees, flora and fauna. With high population growth rates, growing poverty, public corruption, and other similar ills, the fate of Cameroon’s forest is further jeopardized. Mobilizing efforts to reverse the current declining trend of the forest is imperative. This paper examines the state of forest degradation during the colonial and post‐colonial administrations in Cameroon. Both administrations have neglected the local population living in the forest. NGOs working in anglophone Cameroon seem to have realized the need to incorporate local forest communities in their style of forest resource management and conservation. Nevertheless, NGOs have their limitations. The paper advocates a management approach that consists of the state, NGOs and the local community, to achieve sustainable forest management in Cameroon.

Anthrax in Western and Central African great apes

During the period of December 2004 to January 2005, Bacillus anthracis killed three wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) and one gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in a tropical forest in Cameroon. While this is the second anthrax outbreak in wild chimpanzees, this is the first case of anthrax in gorillas ever reported. The number of great apes in Central Africa is dramatically declining and the populations are seriously threatened by diseases, mainly Ebola. Nevertheless, a considerable number of deaths cannot be attributed to Ebola virus and remained unexplained. Our results show that diseases other than Ebola may also threaten wild great apes, and indicate that the role of anthrax in great ape mortality may have been underestimated. These results suggest that risk identification, assessment, and management for the survival of the last great apes should be performed with an open mind, since various pathogens with distinct characteristics in epidemiology and pathogenicity may impact the populations. An animal mortality monitoring network covering the entire African tropical forest, with the dual aims of preventing both great ape extinction and human disease outbreaks, will create necessary baseline data for such risk assessments and management plans.

THE SUSTAINABILITY OF DUIKER (CEPHALOPHUS SPP.) HUNTING FOR THE BAKA HUNTER-GATHERERS IN SOUTHEASTERN CAMEROON

Logging operations brought a boom in the bushmeat trade and wildlife management projects into the heart of the forest in southeastern Cameroon. Hunting pressure on duikers (Cephalophus spp.) reached an unsustainable level because of the intensified hunting in areas close to roads. Control of the bushmeat trade was then reinforced, and the hunting subsided. The excessive control of hunting, however, could negatively affect the standard of living of the local people because animal meat has long been a major source of protein for forest dwellers in the Congo Basin. Before the opening of logging roads, hunting pressure remained within a sustainable level through an extensive use of hunting grounds covering a large area. Therefore, for the local people to maintain their standard of living, it is essential to grant them the right to consume animals for their subsistence in an extensive manner over a large area, as well as to impose some controls on the bushmeat trade.

Rift Valley Fever in Goats, Cameroon

To the Editor: Rift Valley fever (RVF) is caused by an RNA virus (Phlebovirus, Bunyaviridae), which is carried by mosquito vectors (1). In nature, it is only known in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. In the central African region, RVF has been reported in humans and livestock in the savanna of northern Cameroon and Chad (2,3) and from forests in the Central African Republic (4). Human epidemics are sometimes preceded by an increase in RVF virus (RVFV) prevalence in domestic ruminants, which manifests as increased abortions and high neonatal deaths (3). Human epidemics can have serious health implications, as demonstrated by the most recent outbreaks in Kenya in 1997 and 1998 (5) and Saudi Arabia in 2001 (6). In June 2003, 14 goats from an urban market in Yaounde (3.9°N, 11.5°E), Cameroon, and 36 goats from 3 adjacent villages in tropical lowland rainforest ≈80 km south of Mvangan (2.4°N, 11.8°E), Cameroon, were sampled. The goats in the rural villages were bred locally and allowed to roam freely throughout the villages. No vaccinations had been given to goats in the rural sites. Goats in the urban market in Yaounde generally originated in northern Cameroon and had been transported by train to Yaounde. Owners did not report high levels of abortion or high neonatal deaths. Jugular blood was collected in a 5-mL dry Vacutainer tube and centrifuged within 48 hours of collection. The frozen sera were shipped on ice to the Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reference laboratory for RVFV. An indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (I-ELISA) was used to detect RVFV immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies in 26 samples. In this assay, optical density readings were converted to a percentage of high-positive control serum (PP) and positive samples were those with PP >10. These samples were further tested with RVFV hemagglutination inhibition (HI), and samples with titers >20 were considered seropositive (7). Positive I-ELISA and HI samples were confirmed by using a serum neutralization (SN) assay (7,8). A sample was considered seropositive when it had an SN titer of >4, determined during experiments on laboratory-injected sheep (7–9) and testing of wild and domestic African ruminants (7). The SN assay has been shown to be highly specific; cross-reactivity with other viruses from the family Bunyaviridae is not likely (9). Of the 26 goat samples tested for RVFV, 6 tested positive to RVFV (Table). Samples from 5 goats from the rural villages and 1 from the urban market had RVFV IgG PP >10. Samples from 2 goats from the rural villages had high RVFV HI titers (320 and 5,120). Three of the 6 samples from the rural villages with high IgG PP and HI titers had elevated neutralization titers (>4). Table Site, age, and sex of goat samples positive for Rift Valley fever virus* The results indicate for the first time that RVFV is present in forests of southern Cameroon. Given the ages of the seropositive goats (2, 3, and 4.5 years), transmission of the virus occurred recently. In savanna goat herds in northern Cameroon, RVFV IgG prevalence has been reported at 9% to 20% (2). To determine prevalence of RVFV in goats in southern Cameroon, more animals need to be sampled; the small sample size and isolation of the few rural villages are unrepresentative. The presence of RVFV antibodies in domestic animals suggests that this virus may also be circulating in human populations, despite the absence of reports. A study of 21 persons in Ngoila in southern Cameroon found no RVFV antibodies during a bloody diarrhea epidemic in 1998 (4,10); however, testing facilities for RVFV are not available in Cameroon, and the general population and healthcare providers have limited awareness of the virus and associated disease. Central African forests have a high diversity of forest ungulates (>10 species), and RVFV has been reported from a number of wild African ungulates (7). The potential for exchange of RVFV and other pathogens between goats and wild ungulates could have substantial effects on animal production and on the conservation of wild species, some of which are considered near-threatened. Livestock disease surveillance can play a role not only in assessing the distribution of livestock pathogens but also in monitoring disease emergence.