UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Bars to jars: bamboo value chains in Cameroon Bars to Jars: Bamboo Value Chains in Cameroon

Abstract Bamboo is a well know and versatile material, which is a common sight across Cameroon's diverse ecosystems, from dry to humid tropical and Afromontane forests. Its numerous uses range from storage jars to decorating restaurant-bars, beehives to knives, fences, fodder, and fuel. Responding to the paucity of data on species and uses, the value chain for bamboo in Cameroon was analyzed. Based on 171 interviews and field observations, two African indigenous species (alpine Yushania alpina and savannah Oxytenanthera abyssinica) and exotic (Bambusa vulgaris spp.) bamboos were identified as most utilized. They were tracked from major production zones to final consumers. The ecological, socio-economic, institutional, and governance contexts and impacts are described and analyzed. Issues for research, conservation, and development are highlighted. These include the ambiguous regulatory status, the relationship between tenure and management, threats and conservation of African species and options to increase the sustainable livelihoods for stakeholders dependent upon bamboo

Changes in livelihood practices, strategies and dependence on bushmeat in two provinces in Gabon

Traditional, forest resource-dependent livelihoods face multiple challenges. In Gabon, bushmeat provides food and income for rural communities. This study investigates how villagers believe livelihood practices and dependence on bushmeat changed over the last decade and if alternative income and food generating strategies can be sustainable. Our results show that remote villages near Moukalaba Doudou National Park hardly changed practices. Less remote villages near Tchibanga experienced declining hunting revenues and are switching to alternatives. Villages near Libreville almost completely changed strategies, and are no longer dependent on forest resources. Changes in livelihood practices were driven either by resource depletion or urbanization. The ability to change depended on proximity to facilities and infrastructure. Although most respondents were able to change, not all alternative strategies are sustainable. The results highlight the need to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of alternative poverty reduction and nature conservation strategies in a context of urbanization and food security. There is a need to reduce bushmeat demand, making supply more sustainable through effective resource governance and creating a conducive institutional and policy environment