Satellite Symposium 3: Pastoral Systems
Description
Livestock rearing in Northern Cameroon is carried out under two majors systems: the nomadic and the transhumance production systems (Pamo & Pamo, 1991). Nomadism is the practice of wandering from place to place, while transhumance involves seasonal displacement of flocks from one area to another by herders. These production systems involved large grazing areas, which may encompass different ecosystems. The Yaére, the only wetland of the northern Cameroon, is the major dry season grazing lands for livestock and wildlife. The main characteristic of this wetland is that the whole area is excluded from grazing during the growing season as a result of large scale flooding. Thus the major forage species (i.e. Echinochloa pyramidalis, Oryza longistaminata, Hyparrhenia rufa, Echinochloa stagnina) can set seed thereby ensuring their continued dispersal, establishment, and survival during the subsequent rainy season. In 1979, an upstream dam of 28 km with an additional 20 km embankment along the Logone river was build to store water for a rice irrigation project. This suppressed flooding over some 60 000 ha, and seriously affected the hydrological regime over another 200 000 ha. Major perennial forage species were gradually replaced by less palatable annual species such as Sorghum arundinaceum. This paper investigates how herders coped with the induced degradation of this dry season grazing land.
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Herders and Wetland Degradation in Northern Cameroon
Livestock rearing in Northern Cameroon is carried out under two majors systems: the nomadic and the transhumance production systems (Pamo & Pamo, 1991). Nomadism is the practice of wandering from place to place, while transhumance involves seasonal displacement of flocks from one area to another by herders. These production systems involved large grazing areas, which may encompass different ecosystems. The Yaére, the only wetland of the northern Cameroon, is the major dry season grazing lands for livestock and wildlife. The main characteristic of this wetland is that the whole area is excluded from grazing during the growing season as a result of large scale flooding. Thus the major forage species (i.e. Echinochloa pyramidalis, Oryza longistaminata, Hyparrhenia rufa, Echinochloa stagnina) can set seed thereby ensuring their continued dispersal, establishment, and survival during the subsequent rainy season. In 1979, an upstream dam of 28 km with an additional 20 km embankment along the Logone river was build to store water for a rice irrigation project. This suppressed flooding over some 60 000 ha, and seriously affected the hydrological regime over another 200 000 ha. Major perennial forage species were gradually replaced by less palatable annual species such as Sorghum arundinaceum. This paper investigates how herders coped with the induced degradation of this dry season grazing land.
