Natural Resource Endowment And The Fallacy Of Development In Cameroon

Cameroon is rich in petroleum, minerals, tropical forests, wildlife, water systems, fertile lands, and much more. Paradoxically however, most citizens live in abject poverty and without jobs, potable water, electricity, good healthcare and roads. This book is a thoughtful interrogation of some of the structural factors driving persistent poverty in Cameroon in the midst of natural resource abundance. It engages in a multidimensional critical analysis of the impact of natural resources on basic development indicators and concludes that good resource governance and sound management are the missing link. Natural resources alone will not create socio-economic prosperity void of good management with a clear development vision and strategy in Cameroon. The book assembles a wide diversity of analysis, views, perspectives and recommendations from economists, development experts, social and political scientists, on Cameroons current development inertia. What emerges in the end is a coherent interdisciplinary analysis of the natural resource-development paradox as it plays out in an African setting. Theories and good practices from Africa and beyond are systematically applied to identify and critique present policy and management approaches while providing alternative options that can unlock Cameroons natural resource wealth for national prosperity.

The densely populated Bamenda Highlands of Cameroon remains one of the regions with the greatest land degradation problems in the country. Factors responsible for this include climate change, the hilly nature or topographic layout of the land, and human interference through overgrazing, destructive agricultural practices and the impact of deforestation. This detailed study of resource management and its ecological challenges in the Bamenda Highlands, stresses an important link between falling food output and soil deterioration. While most areas in this predominantly agricultural region enjoy food abundance, the inhabitants of high-density infertile, rugged mountainous areas are forced to resort to double cropping and intensified land exploitation that leave little room for soil regeneration. The population problem in relation to land degradation is infinitely more complicated than the region's sheer ability to produce enough food supply. The authors make a strong case for a delicate balance between human agency and environmental protection in this highly populated and physically challenging region where land is a precious resource and land conflicts are common.

This volume provides up-to-date information on what has happened in the African ‘land rush’, providing national case studies for countries that were heavily impacted. The research will be a critical resource for students, researchers, advocates and policy makers as it provides detailed, long-term assessments of a broad range of national contexts. In addition to the specific questions of land and investment, this book sheds light on the broader international political economy of development in different African countries.

Responsibility is political. As the international community has called for more responsible environmental, social, and governance performance, the politics of commodities has become more fraught. Commodity Politics cuts through the new rhetoric of responsibility and presents innovative research from Cameroon to provide a better understanding of the political complexity surrounding commodity production and trade in the twenty-first century. Assessing the perspectives of businesses, international organizations, governments, and civil society groups, the authors offer insights gleaned from years of field research in a commodity-dependent country. Commodity Politics presents case studies of sugar, palm oil, cocoa, and the Chad-Cameroon pipeline project. These cases uncover a problematic politics that is much broader than the implications of corporate social responsibility codes for people and the planet, delivering solid rationales for policy-makers and commodity stakeholders to think more deeply about investor-driven approaches to improving environmental, social, and governance conduct. This book trains students and scholars to better recognize political intricacies and consequential flash points. Immersing its readers in timely debates over the meaning and intent of responsibility, Commodity Politics breaks new ground in the political analysis of development.

The discussion on the role of the state and non-state actors in the improvement of livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where economic and social development is slowest, has been characterized by a disjoint between theory and empirical research. This volume sets out to revisit this question by examining the place of the two types of actors in the development process, and the increasing influence of public-private partnerships in livelihood outcomes. The book combines theoretical reflections and empirical studies on a wide variety of initiatives in several domains that seek to improve wellbeing and livelihoods, with a focus on the Sub-Saharan country of Cameroon. The book will provide insights on an area which has been both neglected with the rise of neo-liberalism, and also revived by the recent introduction of the global development goals.

This book preserves and scientifically interprets the African foreknowledge on water resources management. It offers insight into the relevance of the traditional knowledge and practices to modern approaches on sustainable water management. The African continent has partially preserved its natural habitat for centuries. In this book, this knowledge is combined with the current scientific understanding. The traditional practices are categorized as: i) water harvesting, ii) water transportation, iii) water storage and conservation, iv) water treatments, v) myths and folk stories about water management or conservation, vi) water resource management systems, and vii) soil–water–forest conservation/management systems sub-topics. The findings presented here are in line with SDG 6, which aims at ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by the year 2030.

This book brings together the most recent advances from leading experts in the burgeoning field of environmental biotechnology. The contributing chapters adopt a multidisciplinary approach related to environmental aspects of agriculture, industry, pharmaceutical sciences and drug developments from plant and microbial sources, biochemical chemical techniques/methods/protocols involved in different areas of environmental biotechnology. Book also highlights recent advancements, newly emerging technologies, and thought provoking approaches from different parts of the world. It also discusses potential future prospects associated with some frontier development of biotechnological research related to the environment. This book will be of interest to teachers, researchers, biotechnologists, capacity builders and policymakers, and will serve as additional reading material for undergraduate and graduate students of biotechnology, microbiology and environmental sciences.

This proceedings book is the fourth edition of a series of works which features emergent research trends and recent innovations related to smart city presented at the 5th International Conference on Smart City Applications SCA20 held in Safranbolu, Turkey. This book is composed of peer-reviewed chapters written by leading international scholars in the field of smart cities from around the world. This book covers all the smart city topics including Smart Citizenship, Smart Education, Smart Mobility, Smart Healthcare, Smart Mobility, Smart Security, Smart Earth Environment & Agriculture, Smart Economy, Smart Factory and Smart Recognition Systems. This book contains a special section intended for Covid-19 pandemic researches. This book edition is an invaluable resource for courses in computer science, electrical engineering and urban sciences for sustainable development.