Wetlands provide a diversity of ecosystem services (provisioning, regulatory, supporting and cultural services) which are essential for the human society. This is particularly necessary in cases where large urban agglomerations exist. These services are increasingly coming under pressure as a result of rapid and uncontrolled urban development which remains phenomenal in the developing world. Cameroon can boast of a number of wetland environments particularly, the Waza Logone flood plain, the wetlands of the Bakassi Peninsula, Lake Barombi Mbo and the Ndop Plains. The wetland ecosystems of the Ndop Plains have increasingly come under pressure as a result of urban development which is mirrored in population growth, housing and other infrastructural developments. While significant Environmental Management and Sustainable Development ISSN 2164-7682 2018 http://emsd.macrothink.org 22 research works have been undertaken on aspects related to wetlands, agriculture and climate variability in the Ndop plains, there is insufficiency scientific information on the implications of urban development on wetland ecosystem services. Using questionnaire (where we systematically sample 140 households) and Landsat images which were complemented by field observations, relevant data were generated. With the aid of SPSS (version 21), the correlation between wetland ecosystem services and urban development at 0.05 level of significance was analysed. Our results reveal a significant negative relationship (r = -0.551 and -0.682) between urban development and the state of wetlands and their ecosystem services. This was further buttressed by geospatial data which revealed that the Ndop urban space increased from 3.7km 2 in 1999 to 11.7km 2 in 2017. In this regard, we suggest that the coordination of the urban development process through land use planning and zoning is imperative in the face of unabated urban development. We equally suggest the need to implement wetland management policies in line with the Ramsar convention's paradigm on the "wise use" of wetlands.

Man in his unlimited quest for a good life through varied activities and land use changes have become an important geomorphic agent. Based on this assertion, this study was designed to examine the implications of land use changes on the incidence of flooding and river bank erosion in Ngoketunjia Division. The two-stage random sampling technique was used to administer questionnaires to 384 household heads who were predominantly farmers and occupants of flood prone areas. High resolution Landsat images of 1980 and 2016 were vectored, treated, and analysed in ArcGIS and used in conjunction with Google Earth images to delimit the bank line of a segment of the Noun River. The Pearson Correlation Coefficient (r) and the Spearman Rank Correlation coefficient (rho) were used to test the hypothesis of the study at 95% confident level. A significant positive correlation was found between the incidence of flooding and agricultural land use as well as between the incidence of flooding and settlement. The coefficients of determination (R2) of both correlation analyses revealed that agricultural land use contributed 60% of variability in the incidence of flooding while settlement shared 39.6% in the variability of its rank. An association was also noticed between some land uses and river bank processes. Mass movement and bank undercutting were found to be most dominant in cultivated areas and least in woodland areas. Geospatial analysis further revealed that between 1980 and 2016, a surface area of 2763m2 was eroded by the Upper Noun River within the approximately 4.59Km long segment delimited for the study as the gallery forest and wetlands of the area gradually gave way to farmlands and settlements. This gives an annual bank erosion rate of 76.75m2 within the segment during the 36 years’ period. The study recommends effective structural approaches to river bank stabilization, deepening and straightening of river channels while checking excessive upland degradation to reduce accelerated surface and river bank erosion.

Seven years after the formulation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), uncertainty looms on whether the 2030 targets would be achieved. In the Noun Division of Cameroon diverse stakeholders have made substantial efforts to meet the 2030 SDG on the provision of portable water to the rural communities. Despite these laudable efforts, access to portable water remains a topical issue in the Division. The focus of this study was to assess the prospects and challenges of water management stakeholders in the provision of portable water to the rural communities of the Noun Division. In order to meet this objective, a total of 400 questionnaires were randomly administered to household heads in rural councils with the help of traditional authorities. International, national, regional and local stakeholders involved in the management of water resources were interviewed. The “17 in 1” and “iQ. BAC” water test kits were respectively used to analyse the chemical properties of drinking water sources in situ and faecal content within 48 hours. Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were used to analyse quantitative data while content and narrative analysis were used for qualitative data. Findings revealed that local, national and international portable water management stakeholders prioritised the improvement of portable water sources over other parameters. Whereas the proportion of people who depended on unimproved water sources reduced from 79.92% in 2015 to 57.52% in 2022, that with mean round trip time of over 30 minutes rather increased from 49.62% to 50.38%. Moreover, 50% of the interviewee indicated that portable water is expensive in the area, suggesting why 42.3% of the population still rely on streams today. Five sampled streams analysed with the iQ. BAC test kit tested positive for total coliform while confirmatory laboratory analysis revealed E. coli concentration of 11-100MPN/100ml in Njimom which according to WHO is synonymous to medium risk. The “17 in 1” test kit revealed abnormal concentration of lead (0.03-0.05 ppm) and sulphate (400-800 ppm) mainly in streams and boreholes. PCA identified five main components that account for 72.71% variance in the hydrochemistry of drinking water sources. Though, none of the four scenarios developed revealed complete access to improve drinking water in rural areas of the Noun Division by 2030, Njimom and Foumbot showed remarkable progress under the most probable scenario (50% increase in current effort) considered to be the most realistic. Water governance stakeholders should quadruple their current efforts in improving portable water sources and adopt a holistic approach that engulfs water quality improvement if they wish to make significant progress on SDG 6.1.