Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Korup National Park Cameroon'

Patterns and rates of nutrient input to the forest floor in litterfall, throughfall and stemflow were investigated in plots of low and high abundance of ectomycorrhizal species. The aim of the study was to examine the comparative advantage of the ectomycorrhizal species in nutrient acquisition and cycling on nutrient-poor soils in Korup. Litterfall was similar in both forests with annual estimates of 9.00 and 8.33 t ha-1 yr-1 for LEM and HEM forests respectively. Litterfall distribution followed a mono-modal pattern, with peaks in the dry season in both forests and the HEM forest showing stronger seasonality. The concentrations N, K and Ca in total litterfall were higher in the LEM forest while those of P and Mg were higher in the HEM forest. The bulk of nutrients in total litterfall was in leaf litter with the reproductive fractions having the highest concentrations of nutrients. Ectomycorrhizal species showed lesser internal redistribution of nutrients than non-ectomycorrhizal species which resulted in their higher leaf litter concentrations of nutrients. Breakdown of litter was relatively faster in the LEM forest with an annual decomposition constant (KL) of 3.21 compared to 2.43 for the HEM forest. The reproductive fractions had relatively higher annual decomposition constants of 8.20 and 4.27 in the LEM and HEM forests respectively compared to the other fractions. The overall element mobility in decomposing leaf litter was similar in both forests and in the following order: Mg>K>Ca>P>N. Mineralization of N, P and K in the decomposing leaf litter was similar in both forests and higher in the HEM forest for Mg and Ca. Throughfall was 96.6% and 92.4%, and stemflow 1.5% and 2.2%, of gross rainfall in LEM and HEM forests respectively. Considerable amounts of Ca, Mg and P were brought to the forest canopy in gross rainfall (24-45% of total input through this route) with higher amounts of K and Ca leached from plant parts by the rainwater. The amounts of P, K and Ca in stemflow and throughfall were of the same magnitude in both forests with the enhancement of N slightly higher in the LEM forest and Mg in the HEM forest.

This study presents new data on soil organic matter dynamics in relation to two forest types in a strongly seasonal lowland rainforest in Korup National Park, SW Cameroon. Organic matter dynamics at the start of the wet season were investigated by quantifying changes in the amount of the standing crop of surface organic matter and light fraction soil organic matter (LF.SOM) in five replicate plots with low (≤ 15%) basal area ectomycorrhizal trees ≥ 30 cm gbh (LEM forest type), and five with high (≥ 45 %) basal area ectomycorrhizal trees (HEM forest types). Soil samples were collected in the wet season from three soil depths: an organic-enriched layer (0 - 3 cm), 3 - 8 cm and >8 cm layers, in both HEM and LEM forest types, in 1993 (3 harvests), and in 1994 (8 harvests). LF.SOM and heavy fraction soil organic matter (HF.SOM) were separated from < 2 mm whole soil using tap water and/or saturated NaI solution (density 1.65 g cm^-3). Other pools of organic matter quantified included that in the > 2 mm soil fraction and in the < 2 mm sieved whole soil. LF.SOM accounted for 10 - 40 % soil organic matter, 7 - 34 % carbon, 2 - 28 % N and 2 - 25% P of the < 2 mm whole soil across forest types and down the soil profile. The > 2 mm soil fraction accounted for 14 - 21% carbon, 11 - 20 % N, and 6 - 22% P of total soil (i.e. <2 mm whole soil + > 2 mm soil fraction). The amount of LF.SOM was not significantly different between the two forest types at all depths. Both the amount of the standing crop of surface organic matter and LF.SOM declined as the wet season progressed. However, the amount of LF.SOM declined faster (55 %) in the LEM forest than in the HEM forest (22 %). On the other hand, the amount of HF.SOM increased over the same period. A vertical gradient in LF.SOM content was observed.

Thesis (DTech (Environmental health))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017.
Western Cameroon is thought to hold rich biodiversity and diverse vegetation types, and contains two important forest reserves: Rumpi Hills Forest Reserve (RHFR), which is lowland to montane forest located in southwestern Cameroon and Kimbi Fungom National Park (KFNP), which is a semi-deciduous and savanna forest located in northwestern Cameroon. These forest blocks form part of the continental Cameroon Mountains. Thus far, few or limited studies have been undertaken at these two sites to characterise their floristic composition, vegetation patterns, biomass, and carbon stock. Hence, the vegetation of RHFR and KFNP were inventoried from February to November 2015 in detail with the view of describing and understanding the biodiversity and vegetation patterns vis-à-vis elevation gradient. This will enable us to answer the main research questions: How does elevation and vegetation patterns influence species composition, diversity, biomass and carbon in selected wet and dry tropical forests of the Congo Basin? Are plant species equitably distributed among life forms and elevations gradient? What are the extent of land cover changes in RHFR and the KFNP? The objectives of this study were: to characterise vegetation patterns, understand how elevation influences species distributions and diversity, and evaluate biomass and carbon stock per hectare. Furthermore, the study intended to assess the vegetation cover changes over the last few decades in RHFR and KFNP in western Cameroon. RHFR and KFNP were chosen as representative forests because limited ecological studies have been carried out on these forests, and each represented a tropical wet or dry forest, respectively. The floristic composition and vegetation patterns of the reserves were studied in 25 1-ha plots in the RHFR and 17 1-ha plots in the KFNP spread along elevation gradient and different vegetation types. In each plot, the dbh of trees and lianas of diameter at breast height ≥10 cm were measured, and dbh of shrubs <10 cm were measured in nested plots of 10 m x 10 m. Remote sensing data (Landsat images) was downloaded from the Global Land Cover Facility (GLCF) and United States Geological Survey (USGS) websites to assess forest cover changes. Forest cover changes over time were compared for both sites. Satellite images from Rumpi Hills (2000 and 2015) and Kimbi Fungom forest (1979 and 2015) were used to compare past and present vegetation (forest cover changes over time). Phytosociological parameters such as basal area, relative density, relative dominance, and relative frequency were used to described forest structure and composition. The statistical program “PAST” version 2.17 was used to calculate species diversity and richness. Allometric equations were used to evaluate above ground biomass and carbon stock.

Critics of Integrated Conservation and Development Projects (ICDPs) have argued that participatory approachesand trade-offs are key to effective development interventions for rural populations living adjacent to protected areas. Based on an actor-interface framework, this thesis explores among other things, the discontinuities and/or linkages between those formalized narratives surrounding the creation andmanagement of Mount Cameroon National Park (MCNP), and their actual implementation, where there are multiple actors with divergent rationalities and interests. Specifically, this thesis examines the experiences and perceptions of the Park’s rural populations vis-à-vis the participatory-driven socio-economic development of their rurality. Interview results show that while the socio-economic potentials of the Park’s conservation to the rural poor have been touted, the fragmented and ad hoc nature of these benefits seriously undermine their poverty-alleviating capacity for marginalized communities. Furthermore, this thesis shows that while participatory approaches may constitute a major technique for involving rural populations in decision-making processes that affect their lives, the benefits fall largely to influential local elites, and that community participation is sometimes sought only for less important decision-making activities. This thesis concludes that in order for ICDPs to contribute effectively to eliminating poverty traps for marginalized communities, development interventions must not only be the result of rural people’s expressed priorities, but development practitioners must also have the necessary training to understand poverty traps and development problems as nested issues that must be addressed in a comprehensive and holistic manner. The paper also suggests that ICDPs must develop rural people’s capacity in conservation activities such that they can benefit from ecotourism and other conservation-related employment, in meaningful ways.

Abstract Lion populations in West and Central Africa are small and fragmented. In areas where park management is weak, threats will likely facilitate the extinction of the lion. Wildlife management requires knowledge of the population estimate. The population of lions in Waza National Park (Waza NP) was assessed by individual identification of members in the population. The population was assessed to comprise of 14–21 adult individual lions. The age structure was skewed towards adults; cubs comprised 22% of all lions identified while the sex ratio was 1 : 3. Two out of four collared lions were lost to illegal, retaliatory killings within 1 year; and probably two more males and one more female were also killed during this period. The lion population appears to have declined during the last 5 years with six lions dying per year, which is at a much higher rate than observed in the previous decades. Human-livestock pressure has increased tremendously in this period, resulting to frequent human-lion conflicts. To ensure the survival of the lion in Waza NP and in the entire region, management needs to intensify efforts to mitigate the pressure from humans and their livestock.

The success of Reduced Emission from Deforestation and land Degradation, forest conservation, sustainable forest management and enhancement of carbon stocks (REDD+), depends on effective participation of local communities because ultimately they are the ones to implement REDD+ on the ground and are the potential benefactors of such policy. But few studies have examined community involvement in the design, implementation and monitoring of REDD+ projects. This study critically examines the level of community’s engagement in the Mount Cameroon National Park (MCNP) conservation project. Cluster multi-stage random sampling was used to collect data from 259 respondents from four geographical clusters with cultural and livelihood differences. Quantitative data were analysed using Chi-square, Mann-Whitney test, t-test, ANOVA and linear-regression models to understand the contribution of predictors on independent variables, while Kruskal-Wallis and Jonckheere-Terpstra tests compare results and establish trends between different clusters respectively. Qualitative data were coded and thematically analysed to show different perceptions between different levels of stakeholders. Results show that insecure tenure, ineffective and inappropriate communication between park managers and communities, inadequate benefit-sharing mechanism, and top-down government strategies have impeded community's engagement in the REDD+ projects within all clusters. Communities perceive REDD+ as having the potential to conserve forest, generate income and improve livelihoods. However, the present level of local engagement in the MCNP conservation project makes the attainment of these goals difficult. REDD+ should be based on effective participatory bottom-up approaches that empower and allow more decision-making powers to communities to achieve effectiveness and potential co-benefit expectations of REDD+. Assessing community’s engagement as the project progresses should be embedded within strategies to ensure sustainability in REDD+. This study provides practical insights into the effective co-management of MCNP-REDD+ projects and recommends adaptable management strategies that favour appropriate social-safeguard standards for sustainability of any REDD+ projects.

Cette thèse traite des conflictuelles entre les Environnementalistes (Etat du Cameroun, Projet Waza-Logone, agents du parc, Ongs internationales) et les pasteurs semi-nomades mbororo au Parc National de Waza, en période d’urgence écologique. Ils ont lieu sur un même territoire où le triptyque conservation - protection - valorisation en termes d’activités pratiquées par les Environnementalistes croise le pastoralisme semi-nomade, la collecte des matériaux de construction et des produits alimentaires spécifiques aux Mbororo. Chaque activité induit des conflits de même nature. Comme objet d’étude, les conflits montrent l’ignorance réciproque des légitimités et intérêts qu’ont chaque groupe de protagoniste face à l’autre, à un premier niveau de l’étude. La progression du travail de recherche identifie les représentations de l’espace, comme les noyaux centraux de la pérennité des conflits. Elles font agir les personnes qui les produisent, sans qu’elles n’en soient conscientes. Ainsi chez les Environnementalistes, le territoire abritant le Parc National de Waza est une banque de la biodiversité génétique in situ, parce que toute la biodiversité y vit. Il est un produit commercial valorisé par le tourisme, car la délectation des paysages nécessite une contrepartie financière. C’est aussi un espace approprié par l’Etat du Cameroun, qui en est le propriétaire légal. Tandis que chez les Mbororo, on parle d’un espace exproprié à cause de l’expulsion orchestrée par les Environnementalistes, qui est un acte de dépossession du territoire ancestral. La plantation et le lieu de mémoire sont deux autres représentations, puisque le ravitaillement en produits floristiques, la connexion à leur être et à la nature se font encore sur ce territoire. Ayant pris la mesure des conflits et les limites constatées par rapport à leur résolution, les représentations de l’espace sont des éléments importants à cerner, pour arriver à une accalmie définitive. Celle-ci passe par la convergence des compétences née de l’association des Environnementalistes, des Mbororo et des chercheurs, dans l’élaboration des solutions pratiques adaptées aux contextes local et international, dans lesquels s’inscrivent ces conflits. Ce qui fait que par une anthropologie appliquée, nous préconisons la conjonction des intérêts écologiques et sociaux adaptés à ce cas précis
This thesis is focused on the conflictual relationships between the Environmentalists (State of Cameroon; Project Waza-Logone, parc agents, international NGOs) and the half-nomad pastors by the name of mbororo, to whom the same territory is an environnemental bank for the former and a social bank for the latter. This contribution goes from the protagonists, to question the conflicts, in order to encompass their producers that are the representations. Thus, out of ethnography and of the analysis, are created these main conflicts due to nomad pastoralism, to the collection of material of constructions, food products, and traditional therapists. This latter are brought about by a flagrant ignorance that faces the mbororo with the tryptic protection-conservation- valorization of the ecology holders. However, this situation makes that the level of coercition is confronted to the permanent violation of the norms to be upheld. By exploring the conflicts, the parc represents to the Environmentalists a bank of genetic biodiversity in situ; all the biodiversity stays there. It is a business product valuable by tourism, without omitting that there is also a space appropriated by the State of Cameroon, which is the legal owner of the space. On the mbororo side, it is about an expropriated space and the orchestrated expulsion by the Environmentalists is a vibrant proof. The plantation and the place of memory are two others representations, validated by the fact that they are refuelled in diverse products to meet their needs, then it is inside that space that the connection with their lives and nature is made. Having measured the conflicts and the visible limits as far as the solution is concerned, we argue about some hypothesis proper to engage the protagonists toward the new understanding of the respective stakes. At last, they are located at different registers, translated into practical propositions capable of allowing a truly co-management

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies
The prediction of species' distribution is fundamental to many applications in ecology, wildlife conservation and the science of evolution. Variations in the abundance within a species' geographic range provide the connection between the disciplines of ecology, geostatistics and biogeography. Species predictive modelling is quite intricate considering the spatial and aspatial variables that both play interactive roles in predicting a species' occurrence. Like many primates across Africa, Pan troglodytes ellioti has both the least geographic distribution and population relative to the other chimpanzee subspecies continent wide. With the proposed Mount Cameroon National Park as the study area, predictions displayed as maps further enhance spatial visualisation. Predictions in Maxent had an estimated accuracy assessment of approximately 0.7 and 67.41% being currently suitable respectively. The observed shift in the habitat suitability from lower to higher altitudes suggests climatic conditions prevailing in the suitable range will likely be attainable only at much higher altitudes in the future. A likely consequence on species shall be to ascend towards the summit in order to meet their needs both physiologically and resource wise.