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Fulani pastoralists’ transformation process: a sustainable development approach in the Western Highlands of Cameroon

Author

Listed:
  • Richard A. Mbih

    (The Pennsylvania State University)

  • Steven L. Driever

    (University of Missouri Kansas City)

  • Stephen K. Ndzeidze

    (Oregon State University)

  • Mbongowo J. Mbuh

    (University of North Dakota)

  • Carine S. Bongadzem

    (University of Yaoundé 1)

  • Harry M. Wirngo

    (University of Yaoundé 1)

Abstract

The Fulani pastoralists of the Western Highlands of Cameroon are a subgroup of the Fulbe, a wider pastoral group whose members are dispersed across Sub-Saharan Africa. They migrated and settled in the region in the early twentieth century at different times in migratory waves. Since arriving in the region, they have experienced different stages of transformation due to changing socioeconomic, political and ecological conditions influencing their nomadic lifestyle. The Fulani pastoralists have moved from a purely nomadic lifestyle that involved permanent seasonal migration with their herds and families to a semi-nomadic lifestyle involving return to their previous settlements at the end of each transhumance season, and they finally have adopted a more sedentary community lifestyle that involves only the seasonal movement of herdsmen and their cattle during dry periods. This pastoralist transformation process was motivated by the hospitality of native farming communities, the British colonial administration and postcolonial government of Cameroon, population growth and environmental degradation in the Western Highlands of grazing and cultivable land. This transformation has been beneficial to both pastoralists and native farming groups by improving local community development through increased agro-pastoral production and the realization of communal development projects in education and non-agro-pastoral economic activities. Several challenges have confronted this Fulani pastoralist transformation and its community development in the Western Highlands of Cameroon: landuse competition involving farmer–herder conflicts and inter-tribal wars; climate change, including rainfall variability; and environmental degradation including the disappearance of agro-pastoral lands. This paper, based on field research, investigates the various approaches, benefits and challenges involved in Fulani pastoralists’ settlement transformation in the Western Highlands of Cameroon.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard A. Mbih & Steven L. Driever & Stephen K. Ndzeidze & Mbongowo J. Mbuh & Carine S. Bongadzem & Harry M. Wirngo, 2018. "Fulani pastoralists’ transformation process: a sustainable development approach in the Western Highlands of Cameroon," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 789-807, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:20:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1007_s10668-017-9910-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s10668-017-9910-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. John Murray McIntire, 2014. "Transforming African Agriculture," Global Journal of Emerging Market Economies, Emerging Markets Forum, vol. 6(2), pages 145-179, May.
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    1. Feldt, Tobias & Karg, Hanna & Kadaouré, Ibrahima & Bessert, Leon & Schlecht, Eva, 2020. "Growing struggle over rising demand: How land use change and complex farmer-grazier conflicts impact grazing management in the Western Highlands of Cameroon," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    2. Cuni-Sanchez, Aida & Ngute, Alain Senghor K. & Sonké, Bonaventure & Sainge, Moses Nsanyi & Burgess, Neil D. & Klein, Julia A. & Marchant, Rob, 2019. "The importance of livelihood strategy and ethnicity in forest ecosystem services’ perceptions by local communities in north-western Cameroon," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).

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