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Theme: THE DEGRADATION OF WETLANDS AND ITS SOCIO ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS IN NDOP CENTRAL SUBDIVISION, NORTH WEST PROVINCE CAMEROON

Page 63
were all cut down (photo 10). Most important tree species which are still found in this area today are remnants which have not been cut down either because they are sacred forests or the trees were too large to be cut down with simple rudimentary tools.
 
Photo 10: Felling of trees in raphia bush with the use of chain saws.
First plan, A= Chain saw.
Second plan, B= trees already converted to planks
Source: Mphoweh J.N. Sept. 2007

With an increase in the population of this region who mostly depend on fuel wood as the main source of energy used for cooking, smoking and heating (see photo 11), the vegetation cover in the wetlands has little chances of survival. Added to this need is that of agricultural lands for which large expanses of trees need to be felled to make way for food crops. With an exposure of the bare soil to the direct influence of solar radiation, there are high chances of wetlands being lost in such areas. Wetland degradation and loss can directly be attributed to the clear-cutting of vegetation and exposure of the soil. This can be understood by looking at the major role green plants play in the hydrological cycle (i.e. through evapo-transpiration, interception of rain droplets, water retention and infiltration). Besides this cycle, the absence of some plants which harbour nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil may in some cases be tantamount to soil degradation when coupled with the absence of dead green and decaying leaves which form humic acids during soil formation process.

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