Colonisation agricole et dynamique du couvert forestier dans le Mbam-et- Kim Meridional (Centre-Cameroun)

Abstract

In the central part of Cameroon, the forest is subject to numerous dynamics due mainly to the emergence of agricultural basins. While it is recognized that the general trend in this forest-savanna contact zone is towards the advance of the forests, it is also recognized that the role of agro systems in this dynamism is little known. The present work, therefore, aims to highlight the role of agro systems in the dynamics of forest cover, based on the case of the Mbam-et-Kim cocoa basin. To do this, we adopted a hypothetical-deductive approach, focusing primarily on diachronic analysis based on Landsat images from 1973, 2001, and 2020. This analysis is complemented by field observations and surveys (3 plots); surveys of farmers' households (75 households), interviews with resource persons (15 resource persons), and two focus group discussions. The main conclusion of this analysis is that the agricultural colonization that is currently taking place in the Mbam-et-Kim began in the 1970s, under the repulsive effect of the land pressure suffered on the other bank of the Sanaga river by the young Eton and Manguissa people of Lékié. With time, the hospitality of the Mbamois will lead to the emergence of an agricultural basin in which the main agricultural product is cocoa. Also, it should be noted that the agricultural colonization that is currently taking place in the southern Mbam-et-Kim is at the origin of 73% of the changes in forest cover. These changes can be broken down into losses (97.49% of which are attributable to agricultural colonization), gains (86.78% of which are favored by the establishment of cocoa tree-based agro forests on shrubby savannahs), and permanence (58.91% of which are penetrated by agroforestry). In addition, it is also important to note that, while losses in forest cover have always been compensated by gains despite the strong anthropization of natural ecosystems, the projections for 2043 are not as bright. There is a trend of decreasing gains and increasing losses. This draws the attention of decision-makers to the need for sustainable rural production through the intensification of agricultural activities.