02 Sep Korup National Park – The Displacement of the Indigenous People: Voluntary or by Force? (Peace and Conflict Monitor)
TAZOACHA FRANCIS
The wind of change that blew across Africa concerning environmental conservation also left its impact in Cameroon, leading to the creation of Korup National Park, the first national park in Cameroon in 1986. Korup National Park is found near Mundemba, the Ndian Division of the Southwest Region of Cameroon (Korup National Park, 2007). Indigenous people have lived in the present-day park area since time immemorial and. the link between these indigenous people and the forest is so strong that the people cannot live without it. These indigenous people rely on the forest for their livelihood: food, fuel, water, shelter, medicine, income, and beliefs (ODI, 1993). Due to their presence in the park and their reliance on forest resources, the Cameroonian government and Worldwide Fund for Nature deemed the local population to pose as threat to the management of the parkland removed them from the park (Kai Schmidt-Soltau & Dan Brockington, 2007). This led to their resettling which action has faced some resistance. …Go to article.