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Research Paper | Forestry | Cameroon | Volume 12 Issue 1, January 2023 | Rating: 4.9 / 10

Multi-level Stakeholder Approach in the Sustainable Management of Natural Resources: The Case of Forest, Water and Soils in Bui-Division, North West Region of Cameroon

KONGNYUY Anastasia Kininla

Abstract: Forest depletion indicates an unsustainable resource management practices on a given landscape, accompanied at times by soil erosion, and landscape degradation. Conservation projects are often described as failure due to the wrong strategies adopted by projects managers such as non-adoption of local knowledge as well as advice from local communities. Demonstrating that sustainable management of natural resources is more efficient using multi-level stakeholder approach is the main objective of this write up. The quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection were applied; for quantitative method, the semi-structured questionnaires were administered to 870 households? members. The ?T? distribution table was used to test the hypothesis which states that; the decrease in forest depletion is due to the adoption of multi-level stakeholder approach of forest management. The results showed the calculated t = 2.30is greater than critical t = 1.812 at 0.05 level of frequency which led to the rejection of null hypothesis. For qualitative method, observations, in-depth interview and discussions in focus groups were carried out and the questions used here were open-ended. The GPS was used to map out the degraded portion of the forest as well as tracking forest resources left. It was found out that, from 1963 to 1970, 50% of the forests in Ngongbaa and Kilum were destroyed either by bush fires, agricultural activities or illegal exploiters of Prunus Africana. With the adoption of multi-level approach of forest management; more than 20,000 trees have been distributed by private projects since 2005 to restore degraded landscapes, and watersheds have been preserved with 15 streams taking their rise from it and nourishing a downstream population of over 57,893 inhabitants (spread over 14 villages). Management of resources is sustainable in the multi-level approach.

Keywords: Resource management, sustainable development, depletion, natural resources, apiculture

Edition: Volume 12 Issue 1, January 2023,

Pages: 636 - 644