cameroon fourth national report - Impact monitoring of Forest ...

The six mega-ecosystems (Fig 5) contain mosaic layers of plant, animal and microorganisms
diversity. Many of the habitats, particularly dense tropical forest ecosystems are
still pristine such as Korup National Park, Dja Reserve forest has been reported to contain the
oldest tropical rain forest in the world, with some organisms reported to be about 60 million
years old, (UNEP, 1995).
Endemism: The pristine nature of some of Cameroon’s habitats confers endemism on
many of its species. Table 46 shows the degree of endemism in the country’s species.
Threats: Most Cameroonians depend on biological resources for their sustainable
livelihood especially as the economy is based on agriculture. Many species are threatened (see
Table 1), and the threats keep increasing. It should be noted that the degree of threat on most
of the species increases greatly with the high demand for products from biological resources.
Table 1 shows the status of some threatened species in Cameroon.
Under-studied: Recent investigations show new information regularly appearing
about habitats, ecosystems, species, breeds and varieties. Ethno-botanical studies, phytoanalyses
and recent discoveries have shown the need to intensify studies on Cameroon
biodiversity. Studying the habitats and plants of Bali-Ngemba Forest Reserve 10 km² John De
Marco (2004) said, ‘In the case of this fascinating landscape called Bamenda Highland, each
hill and valley, while being similar to the next one may well contain something new and
different. In the course of a month’s gathering between Nyassoso and the summit of Kupe, 98
plant specimens were collected, of which ten were new to science and only two of them have
been published. The investigator gathered about 14 novelties for every hundred specimens,
(Cheek 2004). Who would have guessed that even dedicated botanists would find not less
than 39 plant species of special conservation interest and at least 25 described taxa and for
this degraded forest remnant to produce as many as 12 species not detected in the course of
intensive searching by many of the same trained eyes in the latter, much larger sites. This is
evidenced by the description of a new species called Magnistipula Butayei- subsp.
Balingembaensis.
Over-Exploitation:. There are records of what is exploited but no accurate records
of what is remaining of the exploitable biological resources. There is the case study of a
Central and West African vegetable delicacy, Gnetum africanum commonly called “Eru” or
‘Okok’ exploited from the Central and Southern provinces of Cameroon and embarked at the
Idenau Port through Nigeria to Europe and America (MINEF 1994). The inventory of Gnetum
species is on–going, exploitation is actually increasing and even its production does not
provide enough quantities for exportation. The last timber resource inventories were carried
out by CENEDEFOR in 1984 and only in the southern western and south-eastern part of the
country. Moreover in the Cameroon NBSAP the first activity in the Action Plan within
ecosystems recommends identification and inventory for each resource. Multi-resource
inventories were planned for each ecosystem but not achieved to date.
Examples of species considered to be over-exploited in Cameroon are shown in Table 1
Table 1. Some threatened genetic resources in Cameroon
Species Habitat/Species Nature Of Threat
Gnetum africanum (leaves) Central, South, South West, Over-exploitation without
Prunus africanum (Pygeum)
Timber
South West, North West
Pycnanthus angolensis,
Chlorophora excelca, baillonaila
toxisperma, Afzelia spp
replacement
Over-exploitation with low rate of
regeneration
Wildlife (parrots, lions, Parrots, elephants, some insect Over-exploitation
elephants)
species, rodents
Fish (all species) All species Over-fishing, use of improper fishing
techniques, industrial pollution, loss of
habitat
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