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Local Livelihoods and Protected Area Management : Biodiversity Conservation Problems in Cameroon
(2011)
Cameroon's tropical forest is home to numerous plants and animals. It is also inhabited by Baka pygmies who are foragers and Bantu farmers. These communities have developed forest-dependent livelihoods, cultures and religions. Destruction of the forest by commercial and state interests, subsistence agriculture and the harvesting of products has necessitated a considerable upsurge in environmental protection projects to conserve and rehabilitate ecosystems, forests, soils and water resources. Ultimately, the approach to conservation that is applied is the responsibility of the government and international development agencies. The case studies documented seek to demonstrate that a broader perspective linking environmental protection and human welfare is important for two reasons. First, it addresses the rights and needs of local people and more marginal groups in society. Second, it also ensures that fundamental conservation objectives are achieved in practice with the participation of local people. The book develop guidelines for a more integrative and socially-aware approach to environmental planning and project design and implementation. It outlines a participatory mapping procedure for the design and implementation of community forest programmes. This is a valuable book for land resource managers, environmentalists, environmental biologists, conservators, field workers and technicians involved with environmental conservation. With the professionalisation of courses in most universities, the book will constitute good reading for students of geography, biology, agriculture, forestry, botany and natural resource management.
Despite rapid urbanisation, Africa remains predominantly rural. This calls for decentralisation beyond the dominant concern by states and government with urban spaces. Rural areas, rural development and the future of rural settlements need to be understood and addressed in the context of the ongoing democratisation trends and the emergence and development of civil society. States have tended to tame rather than serve civil society in Africa. By establishing a single cultural reference and imposing a centralised state, African governments have exacerbated the fragmentation of civil society. However, political pluralism has slowly been gaining ground since the 1990s. This book explores the scope for implementing decentralisation programmes that focus on citizens in rural areas. For the purpose of decentralisation, civic participation in local politics and user participation in development programmes must be seen as two sides of the coin. The book focuses on spatial planning ? a process concerned with spatial organisation in an integrative manner, and incorporates the design, establishment and implementation of a desired spatial structural organisation of land. This is especially relevant in a context where the formulation of guidelines for spatial development at the overall level of a state is inadequate.
This book emphasises that planning is essential, as the conservation approaches of the past may not work in an ever-changing warmer environment. It appraises current management strategies, assesses the biological and physical effects of climate change on natural systems in Cameroon and designs a planning and management framework for each natural system within the context of global warming. Climate change poses a complex bewildering array of problems for ecosystems. The key question is, what can be done ? in addition to efforts to reduce CO2 emissions ? to increase the resistance and resilience of these natural systems to climate change? This book seeks to answer the above question by drawing from the vast array of scientific data available on the subject, and which may not be readily available to policy makers, resource planners, resource managers, environmentalists, students of geography, conservation biology and agronomy. It constitutes an important manual for those ready to confront the impacts of climate change. It is also a valuable document for teachers of the functioning and management of natural systems globally.