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

The changes in water quality can also be seen through the change in the turbidity of water found in areas in and out of wetlands. Table 13 is an analysis of such a difference in turbidity of water collected at the source of a tributary of the Nun (R. mile 27); this area was choosen because there is little influence on water quality by human activity and that collected at the Nun after passing through rice fields and farmlands at Messi.

Table 13: Turbidity of water collected after an August rainfall (about 11mm).

Area of ware collected	At Nun headwaters of R. Mile 27	R. Nun at Messi
Turbidity (g/l)	0.7g/l	4g/l

Source: Mphoweh J.N. based on turbidity analysis from laboratory and fieldwork 2007.

It appears from table 13 that the turbidity of water at the edge of the tributary of the Nun is far less than that after crossing the wetlands .i.e. 0.7g/l and 4g/l respectively. This shows that the quality of the water appearance changes considerable during this process. At the beginning, the water appears clear and almost transparent, but at the end, it appears brownish and dirty. This is an indicator that the water has lost its quality, coupled with a huge quantity of dirt in suspension. The change in the chemical content and turbidity of water within the wetlands of Ndop Central Subdivision; sum up to another manifestation of wetland degradation.
From this section, it can be seen that wetlands of Ndop Central Subdivision have been highly degraded in terms of: surfaces transformed, surfaces lost, a change in fauna/flora biodiversity, a change water flow patterns and particularly a change in the water quality (in terms of chemical/ physical properties). These can be summarized in the following formula;

Wetland degradation=Tranformerd surfaces+Lost Surface+Loss in Biodiversity+Change in water flow patterns and water quality

Wetland degradation can be associated to a number of factors most of which are anthropogenic, as will be seen in the next section of this work.

The degradation of wetlands in Ndop Central Subdivision is mostly triggered by anthropogenic factors. These factors culminate under three key issues which justifies the choice of the spatial delimitation of this theme. To note here are: the “central position”/population increase of the area, the Bamendjin dam and its flood waters and the