105
In the 1990s, loggers organized clandestine microenterprises in order to destroy
Wouri estuary mangrove ecosystem. In addition, they did not pay any taxes although
they realized real incomes above the national average. Mangroves wood markets in
Douala are found throughout the city. The most important are Bobongo, Youpwe,
Deido, Bonaberi. At Tiko, mangrove wood is widely used in households. Firewood
is also used by fishermen for drying fish. This is visible in all the fishing camps, even
in the localities of the estuary of the Rio del Rey (Ekondi Titi, Bamusso, Meme,
Andokat) where tree operating traces are well marked. In Kribi mangroves, collecting timber carried on a small scale is highly selective and often regard the straight
trunks of small diameter which are suitable for the construction of precarious homes.
Loggers in the mangroves of Cameroon priority choose Rhizophora spp. for firewood and Avicennia germinans for lumber. By cons, they slaughter daily without
discrimination all other species. Excessive cutting of forests in some mangrove background areas usually leads to the development of low vegetation not erect port. These
dense thickets of Hibuscus tiliaceus associated with Dalbergia ecastaphyllum,
Acrostichum aureum, Drepanocarpus lunatus, Ormocarpum verrucosum, etc. adverse
shaded form clumps in the establishment of new propagules. In addition, the slaughter
intensified of mature mangroves on mudflats in major or intermediate submersion
often suggests a new landscape characterized by a canopy punctuated by gaps.
The wood exploitation constitutes one of the main reasons for the degradation of
mangrove in the world. Almost 53.216 ha of the Cameroon’s mangrove forests have
been lost over the last 13 years (Spalding et al. 2010). The mangrove trees are used
as an important or potential source of firewood and charcoal, in response to the
increase in domestic needs of energy by urban populations in developing countries.
Wood appropriation in the mangroves remains an activity which is fully controlled
by the informal sector causing that ecosystem to lose its market value.
Mangrove wood is perceived and estimated as the major disruptive factor in the
Cameroon estuary ecosystems. Wood extraction resulted mainly from domestic
needs of neighboring city dwellers and fish smoking hearths installed inside mangrove camps (Fig. 3.9). Since the both last decades, significant changes in mangrove
vegetation (diversity and structure) were observed in Wouri river estuary stands
(Din et al. 2008; Nfotabong-Atheull et al. 2009, 2013). The large disturbed mangrove forests found in the early 1990s, which were easily accessible by foot, had
been progressively clear-cut from the landward margin toward the main water channels. The degraded areas were subsequently developed for housing. Some areas like
Youpwe, Mboussa Essengue, Wouri bridge, Bon’Ewonda and many areas in
Bonaberi have been strongly affected and the rapid population increase has especially lead to large-scale deforestation due to a growing demand for housing land
and logging cultivation (Din et al. 2008).
Rhizophora spp. is dominant and strongly marketed or directly used in the households for subsistence needs (Feka et al. 2009). Exploitation of mangroves for fuel
wood, charcoal production, construction and other uses have been identified as an
important pervasive and intrusive threat to this ecosystem (Feka and Manzano
2008). With about 350 loggers estimated in Douala mangrove areas, daily quantity
of wood harvested from this ecosystem was about 500 m
3
and revenues was estimated around 11,500 USD (Din et al. 2008).
3 Impact of Urbanization on the Evolution of Mangrove Ecosystems…
In the 1990s, loggers organized clandestine microenterprises in order to destroy
Wouri estuary mangrove ecosystem. In addition, they did not pay any taxes although
they realized real incomes above the national average. Mangroves wood markets in
Douala are found throughout the city. The most important are Bobongo, Youpwe,
Deido, Bonaberi. At Tiko, mangrove wood is widely used in households. Firewood
is also used by fishermen for drying fish. This is visible in all the fishing camps, even
in the localities of the estuary of the Rio del Rey (Ekondi Titi, Bamusso, Meme,
Andokat) where tree operating traces are well marked. In Kribi mangroves, collecting timber carried on a small scale is highly selective and often regard the straight
trunks of small diameter which are suitable for the construction of precarious homes.
Loggers in the mangroves of Cameroon priority choose Rhizophora spp. for firewood and Avicennia germinans for lumber. By cons, they slaughter daily without
discrimination all other species. Excessive cutting of forests in some mangrove background areas usually leads to the development of low vegetation not erect port. These
dense thickets of Hibuscus tiliaceus associated with Dalbergia ecastaphyllum,
Acrostichum aureum, Drepanocarpus lunatus, Ormocarpum verrucosum, etc. adverse
shaded form clumps in the establishment of new propagules. In addition, the slaughter
intensified of mature mangroves on mudflats in major or intermediate submersion
often suggests a new landscape characterized by a canopy punctuated by gaps.
The wood exploitation constitutes one of the main reasons for the degradation of
mangrove in the world. Almost 53.216 ha of the Cameroon’s mangrove forests have
been lost over the last 13 years (Spalding et al. 2010). The mangrove trees are used
as an important or potential source of firewood and charcoal, in response to the
increase in domestic needs of energy by urban populations in developing countries.
Wood appropriation in the mangroves remains an activity which is fully controlled
by the informal sector causing that ecosystem to lose its market value.
Mangrove wood is perceived and estimated as the major disruptive factor in the
Cameroon estuary ecosystems. Wood extraction resulted mainly from domestic
needs of neighboring city dwellers and fish smoking hearths installed inside mangrove camps (Fig. 3.9). Since the both last decades, significant changes in mangrove
vegetation (diversity and structure) were observed in Wouri river estuary stands
(Din et al. 2008; Nfotabong-Atheull et al. 2009, 2013). The large disturbed mangrove forests found in the early 1990s, which were easily accessible by foot, had
been progressively clear-cut from the landward margin toward the main water channels. The degraded areas were subsequently developed for housing. Some areas like
Youpwe, Mboussa Essengue, Wouri bridge, Bon’Ewonda and many areas in
Bonaberi have been strongly affected and the rapid population increase has especially lead to large-scale deforestation due to a growing demand for housing land
and logging cultivation (Din et al. 2008).
Rhizophora spp. is dominant and strongly marketed or directly used in the households for subsistence needs (Feka et al. 2009). Exploitation of mangroves for fuel
wood, charcoal production, construction and other uses have been identified as an
important pervasive and intrusive threat to this ecosystem (Feka and Manzano
2008). With about 350 loggers estimated in Douala mangrove areas, daily quantity
of wood harvested from this ecosystem was about 500 m
3
and revenues was estimated around 11,500 USD (Din et al. 2008).
3 Impact of Urbanization on the Evolution of Mangrove Ecosystems…