L’exploitation du bois dans la commune de mindourou à l’est-Cameroun (1995-2019)

Abstract

This work focuses on the evolution of wood exploitation in the Mindourou municipality (East-Cameroon) from 1995 to 2019. It lays emphasis on this as a widespread activity in East Cameroon. As far as the Mindourou municipality is concerned, wood exploited is done in various ways and by various actors including multinational corporations, the local population and individuals. The purpose of this work is to analyse and evaluate the relevance and contributions of wood exploitation in the socio-economic development of the municipality. To achieve this, we relied on several categories of sources: primary and secondary sources, emphasising on academic works related to forestry in Cameroon in general and in the eastern region in particular. In addition to these sources, we made use of iconographic sources, all based on a diachronic, syndromic (chronological and thematic). A trans disciplinary approach, including the use of other human sciences such as geography, sociology and anthropology was made. At the end of the study, we realised that wood exploitation contributed to the socio-economic development of the area of study especially in terms of access to drinking water, the construction of social infrastructure including roads, classrooms, stadiums and boreholes. The fact remains that its benefits, compared to the magnitude devastation caused and consequences this brings, remain far below the expected achievements.