Fisheries in the Southern Border Zone of Takamanda - Impact ...

158 Sunderland et al.
resources and the conditions under which they are
harvested and utilized or sold are discussed, along with
the traditional, legislative, and institutional constraints
pertaining to their sustainable and equitable exploitation.
Recommendations linked to the paper’s conclusions are
provided to assist in creation of a framework for
strategies that promote the NTFP sector.
3 Methods
The study was conducted from 19 November 2001 to18
February 2002. It consisted of a series of semi-structured
and informal interviews with resource users and staff of
the Ministry of Environment and Forestry in Yaoundé
(MINEF), an inventory-based resource assessment, and
market surveys. A comprehensive literature review
preceded the fieldwork.
3.1 Semi-structured interviews
A series of semi-structured interviews—employing an
open format that allowed conversational, two-way
communication—was undertaken in the communities of
Kajifu, Takamanda, Obonyi I, Obonyi III, Matene,
Mblishi, and Mfakwe (Figure 1). In each community, the
interviews were conducted primarily with village council
members and with resource users of key non-timber
forest products. The users often included women and
members of youth organisations, which led to a more
representative assessment of the NTFP sector. To
determine the institutional and legislative constraints
related to NTFPs, informal interviews commenced with
MINEF staff in Mamfe.
3.2 NTFP resource inventory
A randomly stratified, transect-based inventory was
completed during January 2002 at four key communitymanaged
forest areas in TFR: Takamanda, Obonyi I,
Matene, and Mfakwe (Figure 1) These sites represent
ecological and socio-economic variables prevalent in the
Reserve, as identified by a number of researchers
(Groves and Maisels 1999, Sunderland 2000, Schmidt-
Soltau 2001) and provide a useful overview of the NTFP
Takamanda: the Biodiversity of an African Rainforest
sector from both perspectives. The inventory
methodology included the following:
3.2.1 Layout
In common with a tested methodology for NTFPs in the
Mokoko River Forest Reserve (Sunderland and Tchouto
1999), the inventory for this study consisted of a series of
temporary, parallel, 10m-wide transects established
along a baseline at predetermined intervals of 100m
(10% sampling). Each transect was 1km in length along
a predefined compass bearing. Maintaining a constant
and correct bearing along the transect is critical to ensure
that all transects are parallel. The goal is to include the
full range of forest types along the length of each
transect.
3.2.2 Enumeration
Once the transects were established, the enumeration
team moved slowly along the transect and carefully
searched within 5 m either side of the central line for
individuals of all species selected for this inventory
(Table 2). The 5-m distance was checked with a tape
measure for individuals considered borderline. All trees
at least 4 cm in diameter at breast height (1.3 m above the
ground) were included, as were all rattans, treelets, and
shrubs at least 50 cm in height.
Villagers proved to be the best spotters of the desired
taxa. A field botanist reviewed all individuals before they
were measured for dbh and/or height. The information
was recorded on field worksheets along with the location
of the individuals along the transects. Additional
information included life form, phenology, and evidence
of harvest.
3.2.3 Regeneration
At 100-m intervals along each transect, nested 5-m x 5m
regeneration plots were established. All seedlings of
the desired species below 50cm in height in the plots
were counted and recorded. The recording sheets for the
regeneration plots were separate from the recording
sheets for the transect data.