Cameroon

Global Significance of Mangrove Blue Carbon in Climate Change Mitigation

Background

Mangrove forests sequester proportionately greater amounts of carbon than most terrestrial environments. However, natural greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes from these ecosystems and the carbon released when they are degraded counteract their carbon sequestration potential. Therefore, it is necessary to examine carbon stocks, rates of carbon sequestration, and carbon losses from these environments to clarify the global and regional potential of mangrove forests to mitigate climate change.

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Global potential and limits of mangrove blue carbon for climate change mitigation

Background

Despite national and international policy organizations’ interest in blue carbon financing for mangrove conservation, there is a lack of investment in payments for ecosystem services from the commercial sector. To encourage future investments and scale up blue carbon projects, it is necessary to address knowledge gaps on the financial return on investment for blue carbon projects.

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Herbaceous plant diversity in forest ecosystems: patterns, mechanisms, and threats

BACKGROUND:

Recent studies have expanded our ecological understanding by focusing on forest herbs, highlighting that while trees dominate ecological theory, they represent only a small fraction of forest plant diversity. Forests showcase varying plant diversity due to human activities like land-use changes, invasive species, climate change, and overabundant herbivores, necessitating comprehensive management strategies. By understanding the complex interplay of these factors, the research aims to promote effective long-term conservation and sustainability of herbaceous plant communities in these environments.

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Context in land matters: The effects of history on land formalizations

Background

Land formalization is the process by which governments grant legal rights to land, along with responsibilities and conditions of access through land titles and other official documents. This process typically establishes or re-establishes the authority of the state over the governance of land. This paper draws on examples from Africa and Asia to illustrate how land formalization has differing impacts on a diverse set of claimants, and largely increases inequity.

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Impact of Forest Management on Insect Abundance and Damage in a Lowland Tropical Forest in Southern Cameroon

Background

A burgeoning timber industry in Cameroon, which became the fifth largest producer of timber in the world in the 1990’s, led to unsustainably high deforestation rates and high demand for forest regeneration interventions. Research in the Mbalmayo Forest Reserve in southern Cameroon has compared different silvicultural techniques for forest regeneration including complete and partial clearance methods.

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La gestion des aires proteges dans les paysages du PFBC: un etat des lieux

The authors discuss history and threats to protected area systems in the Congo Basin. They outline a new approach to protected area management in the Congo Basin region.

 

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Contribution of Non-Timber Forest Products to Cash and Non-Cash Income of Remote Forest Communities in Central Africa

Background

The authors investigate the contribution of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) to local community incomes within jointly-managed forest landscapes in Central Africa.

Research Goals & Methods

Data were collected from Bantu and indigenous persons' (IP) households using the Poverty-Forests Linkages Toolkit method. 

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Learning from Change in the Sangha Tri-National Landscape

Background

The authors discuss the lessons learned from a participatory landscape monitoring initiative in the Sangha Tri-National landscape. The initiative was started in 2006 in the Sangha Tri-National landscape; it involved a variety of stakeholders to monitor changes in peoples' livelihoods and land uses. The group collected data on certain indicators, which allowed them to produce simple simulation models on landscape change over time. 

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Les sociétés rurales et les pratiques d’utilisation multiple des terres (Rural societies and land-use practices)

This chapter focuses on rural poverty in central Africa and the contribution of multiple land use practices to local development.

The authors discuss the paradox of belonging to an area that is on the one hand extremely rich in natural resources, and on the other hand extremely poor in national and local development.

They stress the importance of maintaining globally important natural resources that will be able to respond to the needs of future generations of central Africans.

 

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Preliminary Studies on Imbrasia oyemensis, A valuable Non-Wood Forest Product in Cameroon

Background

In many countries throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin America, insects significantly contribute to food security. One widely eaten insect in Cameroon is the Imbrasia oyemensis, an edible caterpillar. The caterpillar primarily feeds on the locally known Sapele tree, which is also exploited for timbr production. In order to understand more about the potential competitive nature between logginf and harvesting I. oyemensis, this study aims to examine some of the unknown factors of the moth species that contribute to its survival. 

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