[en] Landscape Ecological Survey of the Bipindi-Akom II ... - ITTO

as hunting, fishing and gathering of Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) are also important.
Approximately five percent of ofthe the population are Bakola (or Bagyeli) pygmies. They are mainly
forest dwelling hunters and gatherers, although they seem to be in the process of sedentarization.
Shifting Shifting cultivation is practised by Bakola but is not not widespread. The The life style of the the Bakola Bakola is
seriously threatened threatened by the ongoing logging and shifting cultivation activities in the the area.
Traditionally Bantu and Bakola have all sorts of socio-economic relationships. Bakola groups
have kinship ties with certain villages which arranges the mutual use of forest areas and protects
it from outsiders. Bakola provide agricultural labour and bush meat to the Bantu farmers in
return for agricultural products, like cassava and bananas, and increasingly for money. Bakola
traditional doctors are regularly consulted by the Bantu villagers. In recent years the relation of
the Bakola with their Bantu kin is becoming less exclusive and Bakola are now known to sell
NTFPs directly directly to traders traders outside the region (pers. comm., F. Tiayon, 1996).
Traditionally Traditionally men and women of rural rural communities of Southwest Cameroon have specific tasks
with regard regard to land use. use. In Bantu Bantu villages, the women are responsible for the cultivation of
crops, the the preparation of food and the the general housekeeping. Men are responsible for the
clearing clearing of forest and old forest fallow for agricultural fields, hunting and the cultivation of cash
crops. Labour provision to logging and other companies is restricted to men. The collection of
NTFPs in the vicinity of the village and fields is done by women, whereas those from the virgin
forest are gathered by men.
A gradual transformation of the rural communities communities from subsistence to (partially) market
oriented oriented economy, economy, is taking place in the last last decade and is strongly influenced by the improved improved
infrastructure. This This will trigger changes in the relation between between men men and women and as as a result
the the dynamics of land utilization by the local population may change (pers. comm., I. Hijman,
1996).
2.10 LAND USE
The main economic activity in the area is timber exploitation. Most of the forest within the TCP
research area has at least twice been selectively logged by national and international companies,
among them the Dutch GWZ. Logging concessions are granted for a one to three year period.
The logging of the forest involves the construction of logging roads with bulldozers and graders.
Log extraction from the forest is done by wheeled skidders and crawler tractors. Present logging
activities focus on three species; Azobe (Lophira alata), 60% of the extracted volume), Tali
(Erythrophleum ivorense) and Padouk (Pterocarpus soyauxii). Only trees with diameters at
breast height (dbh) z 80 cm and straight boles of at least six meters are considered worthwhile.
The resulting average logging intensity is low, i.e. 10 m3 ha- l The main economic activity in the area is timber exploitation. Most of the forest within the TCP
research area has at least twice been selectively logged by national and international companies,
among them the Dutch GWZ. Logging concessions are granted for a one to three year period.
The logging of the forest involves the construction of logging roads with bulldozers and graders.
Log extraction from the forest is done by wheeled skidders and crawler tractors. Present logging
activities focus on three species; Azobe (Lophira alata), 60% of the extracted volume), Tali
(Erythrophleum ivorense) and Padouk (Pterocarpus soyauxii). Only trees with diameters at
breast height (dbh) z 80 cm and straight boles of at least six meters are considered worthwhile.
The resulting average logging intensity is low, i.e. 10 m representing 0.7 trees, compared
with regions like Malaysia where on average 15 trees per hectare are removed. The felling and
extraction of the logs from the stand are estimated to affect less than 15% of the surface (pers.
comm. G.J.R. van Leersum, 1996).
3 ha- l representing 0.7 trees, compared
with regions like Malaysia where on average 15 trees per hectare are removed. The felling and
extraction of the logs from the stand are estimated to affect less than 15 % of the surface (pers.
comm. G.J.R. van Leersum, 1996).
Agriculture Agriculture is an an important land use in in the TCP research area. The traditional traditional shifting shifting cultivation
system involves the clearing clearing and burning of primary and old secondary forest just before the
rainy season and the planting of cucumber, maize, cassava, cassava, coco-yam and plantain. With
decreasing soil fertility, the tending and harvesting of a field gradually stops and the land is left
fallow after a maximum of five years. The former agricultural fields are then colonized by a
forest vegetation. The biomass accumulation of of the secondary vegetation restores soil fertility.
The traditional shifting shifting cultivation cultivation cycle is gradually being transformed by the introduction of
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