Non-timber Forest Products in Cameroon’s Food System and the Impact of Climate Change on Food Security in Dschang

Abstract

Cameroon’s forests form an important component of forest block in the Congo Basin with about 20 million hectares containing over 8000 species of vascular plants of which about 150 are endemic. These forest resources are of significant economic value and many people earn their livelihood from the gathering and trading of food, fuel wood, fruits, leaves, medicinal products, and construction materials. Forest foods are vital to Cameroon’s food systems, including urban food systems, but they are threatened by the vulnerability of tropical forest ecosystem to climate change, a vulnerability exacerbated by recurrent past and the present problems related to poor natural resource management, conflict and inequality. Urban residents in Cameroon consume many forest foods and the trade in forest products creates employment for urban residents. This chapter draws together research conducted with forest communities, forest food traders and urban consumers to illustrate the importance of sustainable forest management for urban food security in Cameroon’s secondary cities.