Jules Christian Zekeng
Other projects
5 Sep 2018
Plant Diversity and Potential of Carbon Stock in Doume Communal Forest in Cameroon: Implications for its Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management
11 Jan 2023
Improving Conservation and Sustainable Management of Threatened Species in Angossas Communal Forest of Cameroon Under Logging and Human Pressures
The sustainable management of biodiversity in Communal Forest is a current issue in Cameroon due to their revealed richness in biodiversity and the conservation threats noticed. Hence, this research directed towards the improvement of the management of Doume Communal Forest is of prime importance for the livelihoods of about 22763 people.
This study will focus on a number of critical scientific, conservational, and social problems, including:
i) provided a local range-wide status review of high-priority species of the Doume Communal forest.
ii) identified and examined experiences, knowledge, innovations, and challenges in biodiversity conservation of key plant species by stakeholders.
iii) informed, sensitized and trained, riparian people to the Doume Communal Forest on their role in the implementation of policies for the conservation and sustainable forest management (SFM.
iv) propose a process for implementing conservation strategies of high-priority species, and hence ensure the sustainable Doume Communal forest management.
The conservation of plant diversity has become one of the most important objectives of managing forests in an ecologically sustainable way. However, biodiversity conservation and sustainable forest management issues are sometimes neglected in most of the communal forests in Cameroon due to the fact that their botanical richness, as well as their level of high-priority species, are poorly known (Zekeng, 2020). The Doume Communal Forest (DCF) situated in Eastern Cameroon has been found to provide a wide range of ecosystems services such as carbon storage which could contribute to climate change mitigation (Zekeng et al., 2020), a high-priority species potential for conservation which provide also products to population (Zekeng, 2020). However, despite it was under management during the second decade (2009-2018), and that indigenous people are prohibited from accessing in it for agricultural purposes, surprisingly it was found out that annual rates of conversion, degradation, and deforestation from the first decade (2000-2009) to the second-decade increases (Zekeng et al., 2019) leading to habitat destruction considered as the most important driver of species extinction worldwide (Pimm and Raven 2000), and hence highlight exclusion of the population in management planning as well as their needs in all process for forest management and conservation planning.
This project has two aim. First it aim to determine ecology and spatial distribution of high-priority species for conservation as well as their habitat. Contribute to determine the threats and trends of these species and develop a strategy of conservation for threatened species. Secondly, this project want to convince the local populations to change their behaviour in forest management. Moreover, to convince the managers of the Doumé Communal Forest to involve local populations in the management of the forest as well as to take their needs into account during the management of the resources resulting from the exploitation. By doing so, the pressure on the exploitation and conversion of natural habitats will be reduced, which should benefit biodiversity. This study will raise awareness and educate local populations on measures for the conservation and sustainable management of natural habitats of biodiversity.