Transcript Presentation

In West Cameroon, farmers have
looked after the trees in their
fields, while the State allowed
those that it had planted in its
reserves to burn.
By :
Raphael Njoukam: Institute of Agricultural Research for Development
(IRAD) P.o.Box 285 Foumban (Cameroon)
Lucie Temgoua: Faculty of Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences (FASA) University of Dschang (Cameroon)
Regis Peltier: CIRAD, Département ES, UR Ressources Forestières et
Politiques Publiques - Montpellier (France) - Montpellier (France)
Introduction
– Oral traditions in the west-Cameroon :
existence of forests at the time of first
occupants  Truly « deserted » = villages or
kingdoms.
– Villagers turned towards forest resources:
food, constructions, clothing and functional
tools, etc.
– From the thirties , creation of protected areas
by the Government (= afforestation areas) 
to restore the forest heritage:
Timber

products (wood, lumber and firewood)
Fighting Against Erosion (sloping lands)
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– Many species (local and exotic) were
experimented.
 Sucess
expecialy with exotics species, wide
plantations (forestry reserves)
 High human pressures on these reserves
(intrusions : cuttings, fires, crops etc.)
– Technical itinaries of farmer: conservation of
trees (local and exotic) in his field by:
 Mixed
crops;
 praticing « unilinear » sylviculture
 This presentation seeks to:
 Evaluate
different events undergone by forestery
plantations;
 Appreciate farmer ingenuity in integration of trees
on his field.
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Presentation of study area
 The
western part of Cameroon  humid
savanna region
 Average altitude  1000 m, with
montain range:
Oku (3 011 m); Bamboutos (2 740 m);
Mbam (2 335 m) etc.
 Ferrallitic
Soils derived from basaltic
bedrock; fertile soils from recent
volcanism.
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

Landscape sprinkled with termitaries.
Equatorial Climate
type of highlands




with < 4 mois of dry season;
Rain-fall:1500 to 2600 mm;
Annual average T°:  20 °C.
Phytogeography : 4 types of savannas
– Wooded and shrubby savannas with Terminalia
glaucescens and Annona sengalensis
(Donga Mantung, Menchum et Noun);
– Wooded and shrubby savannas with Daniellia oliveri and
Lophira lanceolata
(Ndé and Noun valley);
– Wooded savanna with Burkea africana, Daniellia oliveri
and Borasus aethiopum
(South of Noun division and North of Menchum division);
– Grassy savanna with Imperata cylindrica
(Noun division: small area).
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 This present vegetation is the result of
human action that is causing the
desappearance of formely landscape:
 semi-déciduous
Forest of medium altitude;
 Savanna round the forest;
 Mountain vegetations.
 Faced to this situation of excessive
deforestation, the state has created
forest plantations.
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Forest plantations

The dream of first
foresters :to
transform the
savanna landscape in
woodlands.
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 Forest
reserves
– West province : (34) with total surface of 125
550 ha
– North-west province (Bafut-Ngemba)
 Species
experimented
– Local species (forest gallery)
Khaya
grandifoliola (acajou d’Afrique)
Lovoa trichilioïdes (dibetou)
Milicia excelsa (iroko)
Pycnanthus angolensis (ilomba)
etc.
 Failures because of transplantation in
savanna (open field)
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– Tropical exotic species (seeds originated from
central and south America, Kenya, south Africa and
Australia)
 Pines
(about fifteen species: 755 ha in Melap)
 Eucalyptus (thirty species : 525 ha in Melap)
 Others (Cupressus, Callitris, Widdringtonia, etc.) : 60 ha in
Melap
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Success
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
Species
– Pines :
Age
(yrs)
Productivity
(m³ ha-1 yr-1)
47
55
47
33
48
20 - 25
P. leiophylla
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51
15
P. patula
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9 - 20
Species
Pinus kesiya
P.
P.
P.
P.
P.
kesiya
caribaea var c.
caribaea var h.
oocarpa
merkusii
P. douglasiana
P. caribaea var carib.
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– Eucalyptus
– E. saligna
– E. grandis
– Hybrids (?)
(Productivity :
 15 à 20 m³ha-1 year-1)
E. Grandis (Magueyo prov. ) :
2,5 years old (average total
height : 3,5 m)
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
State plantations
(forest reserves)
Vast plantations (pins,
eucalyptus and cypress)
established successfuly in
West and North-west.
Forest reserve
of Melap
(near Foumban)
Forest reserve
of Bafut-Ngemba
(near Bamenda)

Private plantations
Bangou, Santa, etc.
Private plantation
(in Bangou)
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
Progressive
appearance of some
forest species in the
reserves:
– « Forest atmosphere »
(Faure, 1986)
– Possible Dynamics
towards natural forest
(Achoundong, 1988) 
3 stages :
 pioneer
species
 secondary forest
 climacic forest
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Failures
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
Bushfires
– Serious threat to
natural vegetation
in general and
particulary forest
plantations
– Annual fires are
common practices
in most of the
worldwide regions
and must be
considered in
reforestation
programs.
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– Human causes
 Fires
caused by
clearing of agricultural
lands;
 Pasture regeneration;
 Hunting;
 Unextinguisfed
cigarette butts;
 Pyromaniacs
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 Stimulate
employment in the figth against bushfires;
replantation of burnt areas;
 Provoke death of trees to justify their subsequent
cutting;
 Protestations against policy of forest administration.
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– Bushfire Impacts
 on
soils
– Lossed of mineral elements
– Ashes producing (ephemeral richess in mineral
elements)
– soil overheating
 on
vegetation
– ecosystem degradation
– promotion of pyro-resistant species (pyrophytes)
 in
the atmosphere
bush fires generate gas of greenhouse effect (CO2,
CH4, N2O, etc.), responsible for planet warming
and climate change
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 various
intrusions
– Illicit exploitation of Timber
and Non Timber Forest
Products :
 Firewood
 Bamboos
 Sculpture
wood (handicrafts)
 raffia wine
 medicinal Plants
 saw-millings
 etc.
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– Food crops
installation in the
reserves:
 Non
woody areas
 shallow
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– Trees mutilation by taking chips of wood rich in
resin; these chips are substitutes of kerosene used
to light fire in households.
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– Windfallen wood
resulting from the
wounds on trees are
exploited as:
 firewood
 craft
wood
– Carried away
– worked in situ
Firewood
Windfallen wood
Statue drafts
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Farmer know-how
 Under
the financial and land
constraints, farmers ended up
forming his own technical itinerary
– exotics
 Pines
and cypress : ornamental and livefence trees;
 Eucalyptus
: is now an integral part of the
landscape in west and north-west Cameroon
because of their multiple uses.
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– Seeds collection :
 on isolated trees or in plantation
– Seed bed: mixing ashes with seeds
 good distribution
 Fertilization
– Fabrication of pots for transplantation
 Dracaena leaves
 Dry sheath of banana stem
 Straw of gramineae
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– Fabrication of pots for seedlings transplantation
b)
a)
a)
d)
c)
e)
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– pots filling up and transplantation
f)
g)
h)
g)
i)
h)
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– Farmers plantations
 Monospecific
plantations, but high
density:
> 20 000 trees ha-1
 2000 trees ha-1
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
Trees associated with food
crops to ensure the weeding of
young plants:
- sweet potatoes
many campaings can be
conducted before the canopy
closing
- cassava
1 or 2 campaings of 2 years
each (2 or 4 years) under
eucalyptus
First campaing
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Harvest of the second cassava campaing
under 4-year-old eucalyptus
a)
c)
b)
yield of 3 stems (fresh weight.)
not under euc.: ; under euc.:
29 kg
18 kg
d)
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Food crop cultivation under old plots of eucalyptus
yam
cocoyam
Maize
Banana
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– Local species

Live-fences : important reserves
of timber and non timber products.
Few species with significant socio-economic
value:
– Canarium schweinfurthii
– Polyscias fulva
– Entandrophragma candollei
– Podocarpus milanjanus
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 Canarium
–
–
–
–
schweinfurthii (Burseraceae)
(Black fruits trees)
forest-fruit tree, dioecious, grows isolated in different
agroforestry systems;
fruits : subject of a flourishing trade;
burnt kernels: used to treat angina and poultry coccidiosis) ;
Resin : incense.
Canarium in
Home-garden
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Non existence of propagation techniques  domestication
Experimental plot
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 Polyscias
fulva (Araliaceae)
– Medium size tree used in live-fences;
– The wood quality is not good, but it is easier to be us
in masks production;
– Overexploited by craftsmen;
– Bark, leaves and fruits used in pharmacopoeia
Live-fence
in Nessah
Experimental plot
Masks exhibition
in Foumban
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 Entandrophragma
candollei (Méliacée)
– Introduced in Bayangam village by Sa’a Nuetsa;
– Planted especially in live fences, and in borders area of
traditional dances;
– Wood is sawn one year after felling for production of
rafters;
– « Unilinear sylviculture » ;
– Germination trial  seedlings
production
DHP = 1,38 m
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 Podocarpus
milanjanus
– The only endemic conifer in
south sahara Africa  Mt OKU in
Cameroon;
– Planted in pure lines very closed
on one or two lines to mark
fields
– Relatively fast growing tree
– Pole and saw-milling production
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Farmer difficulties
– Individual farmer initiatives are not
often supported by the administration;
– Their diffusion is often blocked by non
adapted protectionist laws;
– Certain agroforest species are
completely protected and cannot be
pruned without consents which are
mostly very difficult to obtain.
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Conclusion

States should:
– Adapt their legislative and tax environment to
realities of the conservationist practices of local
populations;
– Understand their way of thinking;
– Support their initiatives, instead of imposing
simplistic techniques on large scale or responding to
problems that do not really relate to them directly.

NGOs should help communities to market Non
Timber Forest Products (NTFP),
– by means of certification of the « organic farming »
type or « ethical and ecological products »
– and to be given international appropriations for the
conservation of biodiversity and carbon storage
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Thanks for your kind attention
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