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

management arose as early as 1971 following strategies outlined by the Ramsar Convention. The concept of management itself is an old concept which is regarded by Parker (1980) and Turban (1994) as the art of getting things done through people or a process used to achieve certain goals through the utilization of resources such as people, money, energy, material, space and time. Within wetlands, getting things done through people is a strategy in which local people are encouraged to exploit their wetlands in a manner that does not jeopardise the wellbeing of future generations. This again falls in line with the concept of sustainable management of natural resources.
These concepts will be used interchangeably along the lines in this research and the earlier mentioned variables of wetland functions and values will be examined within the study area in order to understand how wetland resources are evolving.

1.6. HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY
This study has a principal hypothesis that “wetlands have been degraded from Ndop Central Subdivision and this has probably had much negative than positive environmental and socio-economic implications”. The secondary hypotheses are as follows:
-Wetlands have probably been degraded from Ndop Central Subdivision principally due to anthropogenic factors.
-The degradation of wetlands in Ndop Central Subdivision has led to several environmental and ecological problems which were inexistent in the past.
-The socio-economic activities and benefits derived from the transformation of wetlands are probably less in value than initial wetland values of Ndop Central Subdivision.
-The local population is probably aware of the problems associated to wetland degradation yet the adoption of new management strategies is still seemingly slow.

1.7. INTEREST AND IMPORTANCE OF THE RESEARCH
In Cameroon, several natural resources like forest, fish, agricultural lands, petroleum products, amongst others are under threat of exhaustion. This vortex is marked by a lapse in the response by policy makers on the one hand, and law enforcers on the other, to actively indulge in curbing the plethora. Wetlands are no exception to this rule; they are today one of the most threatened ecosystems in Cameroon.

Cameroon’s desire to ratify the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands had long existed, yet only two Ramsar sites have so far been enlisted. This is partly due to the insufficiency of information on their numbers, expanse, potentials, values, functions and present state. Such