Abstract:
Projected rapid urbanisation and climate change will increase the
risk of natural disasters in fragile coastal African cities. Strategically
planning and managing the urban forest can help to build resilience. This study aimed to document urban forest development and
sustainability in Cameroon using the city of Limbe as a baseline
through the classification of urban forest elements; description of
their developmental history and assessment of the level of sustainability to inform strategic planning. Data was collected using
a forest ethnology approach. Two groups of stakeholders’ representatives of public institutions (Group 1), Non-Governmental
Organisations and educated indigenes (Group 2) provided oral
histories of tree planting. Face to face interviews with 15 stakeholders were conducted guided by semi-structured questionnaires.
From these results, there are four types of urban forest. Limbe
Botanical Garden (LBG) developed during the colonial era was the
most prominent. Municipal authorities by law should create different types of urban forest but their actions have been limited to
Roadside Trees (RT) planting. The absence of budget, policy and
inventory was responsible for the low level of urban forest sustainability. Increasing awareness of the effectiveness of urban forest
nature-based solutions in tackling deadly landslides and floods in
Limbe can promote urban forest sustainability.
