Mbam and Djerem National Park

In 2014, I have been in the National Park of Mbam and Djerem during a 3 months period, for the purpose of completing an internship. I had the amazing surprise to discover a protected area that I should qualify as "complete". Complete, because it is representative of the whole country in terms of landscape (forest, savannas, rivers, waterfalls, mountains, etc) and biodiversity. In fact, the national park, created in 2000 and with 416 512 ha area, is located in a transitional ecotone between forest and savanna. It attracts the attention of many researchers from various countries, interested in studying and understanding wildlife, such as primates, elephants for example, and vegetation as well.

Villages under study

But the local socio-economic context in the area, especially in the North of the national park, involves cattle breeding as the main activity for men, creating conflicts between them and the managers of the National park. The main purpose of the work was to analyse the behaviour of cattle breeders at the northern periphery of the Mbam and Djerem National Park, using surveys and on-site observations. One of the activity, mapping cattle breeding sites and paths, was a challenge, as it is a dynamic phenomenon. Precision was obviously difficult to reach! The use of satellite images was a good option to overcome the limit, but still requiring a deep discussion with local actors and a field exploration.

Measures taken by the authorities to manage the problem include: building of water fetching infrastructures for cattle, establishment of fields for fodder cultivation and follow up of pastor breeders in maintaining a good productivity level. Convince the breeder de reduce the herd size is not an easy task; possession of a high number of cattle head is a symbol of power and prestige, but resources scarcity is the price of such an ambition?

At the end of the study we were able to understand the behaviour of cattle breeders coming from different regions of the country and from outside (Nigeria, Central African Republic mainly). The main motivation to come accross the boundaries of the national park is the reduced space for breeding and water scarcity, especially in the dry season. Curative actions hold in herd movement control and development of alternative activities for people essentially living on the activity.