Adaptation And Mitigation Policies In Cameroon

The purpose of this study is to identify new synergistic pathways between climate change mitigation and adaptation policies in Cameroon using an approach based on a literature review of the political processes that led to the introduction of the two strategies. The common feature of the two political processes is the absence of strategy in Cameroon. The country is finding it difficult to assimilate and coordinate these processes at the national level. More attention is being given to mitigation than to adaptation. In any case, it is difficult to formulate any political options without complete studies on the responses to the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation and on the vulnerability of the forest populations and their capacity to absorb climate shocks.

This paper analyses the current vulnerability of local communities to changes in climate in the Tri-National de la Sangha landscape, Cameroon. This assessment creates the basis to evaluate future vulnerability and identify possible adaptation strategies that could be synergistic with mitigation efforts in the site. The assessment used a participatory approach and different dimensions of vulnerability were applied as the lenses for analysis. The assessment shows important social, ecological and economic changes over the past decades, which have shaped the dynamic vulnerability of villages in the site. Groups, natural resources and activities have differentiated exposure to different climatic disturbances. Agriculture is the most exposed and affected activity by adverse climate-related disturbances such as prolonged and unexpected dry spells and erratic rainfall. Some forest resources are also vulnerable but to less extent. The vulnerability of the communities is mainly defined by the livelihood diversification strategy of households. However, villagers as a whole are highly vulnerable to a changing climate because most of the households in the villages depend on agriculture for their subsistence and economic development. The low capacity for collective action is another driver of stress. In most of the villages, collective action to maintain social infrastructure is weak, resulting in poor management of common goods that benefit the village as a whole. Collective action mainly emerges when specific households combine efforts to improve their agricultural practices and trade. Hence, strengthening collective action in the villages has the potential to improve practices that promote a more sustainable management of common land and natural resources. Based on the insights gained through the baseline vulnerability assessment and feedback received from village representatives, certain elements were identified as important entry points in forthcoming analysis of possible climate adaptation strategies. This requires further research within the context of future vulnerability trajectories to promote synergies with climate mitigation.

Climate change presents substantial risks for Cameroon. In addition to being the largest CEMAC economy with ample economic potential and abundant natural resources, Cameroon covers large areas of the Congo Basin rainforest, the second largest in the world. At the same time, the country is a fragile and conflict affected state (FCS), with a range of fragilities, including a high vulnerability to climate change. Climate risks are intensifying in Cameroon, with temperatures progressively rising, and a projected increase in days with heavy precipitation and higher frequency of extreme weather events, such as droughts, landslides, and floods. Climate change poses an imminent threat to livelihoods and could result in significant output losses, while worsening food insecurity and conflicts, and exacerbating poverty, inequality, and population displacements. This underscores the need to strengthen the country’s preparedness and resilience to ensure that climate change impact does not jeopardize human capital accumulation or inclusive growth.

‘Climate Change Perception and Changing Agents in Africa & South Asia’ presents first-hand experiences of climate change perception. Now more than ever understanding public perceptions of climate change is fundamental in creating effective climate policies, especially within countries that are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Striving to present a comprehensive study of climate perception in Africa and South Asia, this volume presents seven in-depth case studies from Cameroon, the Eastern Himalayas, Kenya, Nepal, and Zimbabwe. In order to combat climate change, effective communication is essential in order to educate, persuade, warn and mobilize the masses. Therefore, climate change communication is shaped not only by our different experiences and beliefs but also by the underlying cultural and politic values of a country. Within this volume, climate change communication is examined from Cameroonian, Kenyan and Zimbabwean perspectives. From the role of stakeholders to practical field experiences, the individual case studies present an interesting and informative portrait of climate change communication. It is often the poorest and most vulnerable people who are most affected by the impacts of climate change. Therefore, community-based adaptation is an approach that is aimed at empowering communities in the process of planning for and coping with climate change. In this book, this progressive and innovative approach is examined from a grass-roots perspective that looks to both the Eastern Himalayas and Zimbabwe. Readers are presented with case-studies that investigate the importance of indigenous knowledge, community-based research and the role of social workers in climate change mitigation. This high-quality resource puts forward a well-informed and accessible discussion of climate change perception that will be of interest to both students and scholars, alike.

This book presents new research related to climate change policies and effects. It discusses the implications of climate change on issues pertaining to international relations and economic development, and the question of how climate change could jeopardize the international system as we have known it until today. It aims to provide an empirical basis and epistemological framework to discuss the effects of climate change on economic growth, social development and welfare as a global phenomenon influenced by policies carried out transnationally and by national governments. Case studies from around the globe are presented.

This report examines the economic and policy issues related to the impacts of climate change on agriculture and adaptation responses and to the mitigation of greenhouse gases from agriculture.