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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 average maximum daily temperature ranges between 22°C to 27°C. Temperatures vary on a daily and on a monthly basis. The hottest months are December, January and February, with maximum average daily temperature recording about 30°C. This period corresponds to the dry season where little or no precipitation is recorded. The coldest months are June, July, August and September with maximum daily temperatures of between 24°C to 25°C. These equally have the highest records of precipitation with monthly totals of between 217 mm to 273 mm .
Slight changes have been observed in the rainfall pattern of Ndop. In the 1970s, absolute dry months were between November to February meanwhile the wettest months were between April to October. By the 1990s, unlike the in 1970s, there is again another short dry period intercepting the rainy season, lasting from April to May. During the dry periods, most temporal streams dry up, meanwhile permanent streams reduce in their volumes and discharge rates. The wetlands completely dry up in areas with slightly high altitude meanwhile areas of between 900 m to 1000 m sustain a certain degree of humidity. In such areas, the vegetation is evergreen (this serves as grazing lands during transhumance). During the rainiest months, most wetlands are flooded. Areas at about 900 m are under great depths of water meanwhile areas slightly higher are at an interface between dry land and wetland.
Although the climate of Ndop Central Subdivision is experiencing a fair share in the global warming phenomenon, it is worth mentioning that the physical background of this region had long been in equilibrium with its existing wetland ecosystem. This has been responsible for an initial state of the wetlands, poised by an enormous flora and fauna diversity. To retrospect on the state of wetlands in Ndop Central Subdivision around 1963, it was necessary to go through methods like consulting literature, analysing aerial photographs and observing a transect across the region.
In order to know the kind of vegetation cover that existed in this area, a transect of 18.17 km by 1.22 km was studied. It extended from Bamunka in the North, towards the south (i.e. to Bambalang). From this cross section, a number of observations were made on the vegetation cover as seen on figure 5.

The transect shows a portion in Bamunka dominated by a highland prairie vegetation. As it progresses southwards, it extends into an area of extensive wetland prairies. Also in this zone are patches of palm trees towards a relatively dry land area. As it progresses downward, there are patches of raphia bushes mixed with date palms, Indian bamboos and other wetland