The most important motivation for developing new waste management strategy and policy relates to the waste management behavior of individuals. Education led campaigns and capacity building programmes involving third sector organizations in waste management are gaining momentum, in some major cities in Cameroon. There is however, a need to use research methodologies to investigate elements of waste management behavior to understand how to change behaviour permanently. Although the use of quantitative research methods to quantify or measure human attitude and behavior is subject to debate, to drive the research agenda, this research work uses Q methodology which combines both quantitative and qualitative research methods in generating understanding about waste management attitudes and behavior in Limbe, Cameroon. Limbe was chosen in the study because of the increase in the third sector organizations with waste management objectives with the possibility to generate knowledge that can contribute to policy formulation and the construction of a new strategy component based on sustainable waste management practices. In this study, 30 participants were chosen by stratified random sampling technique from three different residential areas e.g. the high, medium and low income and provided with a Q study information pack. Principal Component Analysis resulted in eight factors representing distinctive behavioral patterns to household waste management in Limbe. The result from this study shows a statistically significant proportion of residents in Limbe are willing to go "green" but are in need for information on sustainable waste management practices e.g. in composting, recycling, reuse, reduce, waste prevention and minimization. In this light, Q methodology was able to identify potential ambassadors to promote the sustainable waste management agenda through an education led campaign and capacity building in Limbe. The results of this research will influence government policies and actions in the construction of a new waste strategy component for the wider community in Cameroon.

Household waste is an environmental and public health problem, especially for the large cities in Sub-Saharan African countries. While the improper management of household waste in Cameroon is linked to the systematic failure of policy makers and municipal authorities to identify the most sustainable ways of dealing with it in such a manner that is in line is with their socio-economic aspirations, the impact of public attitudes and behaviour has been neglected. It is in this context that this paper uses Q-methodology, a powerful methodology for identifying the different trends in behaviour in the management of household waste in Douala, Cameroon

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Abstract:The most important motivation for developing new waste management strategy and policy relates to the waste management behavior of individuals. Education led campaigns and capacity building programmes involving third sector organizations in waste management are gaining momentum, in some major cities in Cameroon. There is however, a need to use research methodologies to investigate elements of waste management behavior to understand how to change behaviour permanently. Although the use of quantitative research methods to quantify or measure human attitude and behavior is subject to debate, to drive the research agenda, this research work uses Q methodology which combines both quantitative and qualitative research methods in generating understanding about waste management attitudes and behavior in Limbe, Cameroon. Limbe was chosen in the study because of the increase in the third sector organizations with waste management objectives with the possibility to generate knowledge that can contribute to policy formulation and the construction of a new strategy component based on sustainable waste management practices. In this study, 30 participants were chosen by stratified random sampling technique from three different residential areas e.g. the high, medium and low income and provided with a Q study information pack. Principal Component Analysis resulted in eight factors representing distinctive behavioral patterns to household waste management in Limbe. The result from this study shows a statistically significant proportion of residents in Limbe are willing to go "green" but are in need for information on sustainable waste management practices e.g. in composting, recycling, reuse, reduce, waste prevention and minimization. In this light, Q methodology was able to identify potential ambassadors to promote the sustainable waste management agenda through an education led campaign and capacity building in Limbe. The results of this research will influence government policies and actions in the construction of a new waste strategy component for the wider community in Cameroon.

RESUMEAu Cameroun, les rivières sont soumises à des perturbations physiques et chimiques qui sont à l'origine d'une dégradation croissante de la qualité d'eau. La présente étude évalue l'impact des caractéristiques physico-chimiques des eaux sur la distribution et l'abondance du phytoplancton et des macrophytes V. D. TAFFOUO et al. / Int. J. Biol. Chem. Sci. 11(4): 1766-1784, 2017 1767The impact of physico-chemical characteristics of water on the distribution of phytoplankton and macrophytes of Nkam River (Cameroon) ABSTRACTIn Cameroon, the rivers are subject to physical and chemical disturbances that are causing an increasing degradation of water quality. The present study was undertaken to assess the impact of the physico-chemical characteristics of water on the distribution and abundance of phytoplankton and macrophytes at the Nkam River. Floristic inventories were carried out on the basis of coefficient of abundance-dominance and sociability of Braun-Blanquet. The physical parameters [(pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, electrical conductivity (COND) and total dissolved solid (TDS) were measured in situ. The chemical parameters (nitrates (NO 3 -), phosphates (PO 4 2-), biochemical demand in oxygen (DBO5) were analyzed at the Soils, Plants, Fertilizers and Water Laboratory of the Institute of Agronomic Research for Development, Yaoundé, Cameroon. 32 species of macrophytes were found in 19 families. The most abundant family was Poaceae (6 species) followed by Asteraceae (5). An inventory of the phytoplanckton found a total of 80 taxa distributed in 58 genera and 14 families. The Diatomophyceae was the most abundant with 25 taxa followed by the Cyanobacteriaceae (18)