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.

Indicators and Determinants of Small-Scale Bamboo Commercialization in Ethiopia

“…Moreover, bamboo has become a high-tech industrial raw material and substitute for wood with well-established markets and a wide range of production-to-consumption systems [27,28]. However, African bamboo utilization is still limited primarily to low value subsistence uses and local markets [29,30]. Similarly, in contrast to Africa, in many places in Asia both overall and commercial income contribution of bamboo is high and growing at a substantial rate [22,31,32].…”

Fortress conservation, wildlife legislation and the Baka Pygmies of southeast Cameroon

“…Cameroon has witnessed a triple colonial heritage-German, French and British colonial heritage that shaped its land tenure system. The German colonial administration injected written legal norms into Cameroon's land tenure system and in the process transformed common pool resources such as forested land therein into state property using the notion of ''vacant and ownerless lands'' (Ndameau 2001;Djeukam 2007;Njoh 2009). The British and French colonial administrations adopted this injection of capitalist principles into the existing communal land tenure system.…”

“…The transformation of the communal land tenure allowed for capitalist accumulation through the dispossession of local communities (Harvey 2003). Since then common ownership of land has henceforth been reckoned regarding mis en valeur (economic profitability/development) through cultivated fields or construction (Djeukam 2007;Njoh 2009). This created problems for indigenous huntergatherer communities like Pygmies whose nomadic lifestyle impacted very minimally on the forest cover (Abega 1998) and ''their presence in a given area was difficult to establish'' (Djeukam 2007:8).…”

Exploitation et importance socio-économique du bambou de chine, <i>Bambusa vulgaris</i> Schrad. ex J.C. Wendl. (Poaceae) dans la région de l’Agnéby-Tiassa: cas de la Sous-Préfecture d’Azaguié (Sud-Est de la Côte d’Ivoire)

“…Nous avons interrogé des représentants des paysans détenteurs de parcelles de bambou de chine, des groupes socioprofessionnels exerçant dans la filière (Ingram et Tieguhong, 2013) et les administrateurs impliqués dans le secteur (les agents des Eaux et Forêts, ainsi que le personnel de la SODEFOR). Certains points du questionnaire variaient selon l'acteur interviewé.…”

“…Ces PFNL sont diversement utilisés par les populations comme source de nourriture, fourrages, remèdes, gommes, résines, matériaux de construction, etc. (Ingram et Tieguhong, 2013;Nurdiah, 2016). Du fait de leur importance, les PFNL connaissent un intérêt croissant dans le monde.…”