ABOUT SOUTH WEST

A Geographic Presentation of the Region (South West Region)

Before the name region, Cameroon first had provinces. The South West Province was created in 1972 which is presently known as Region following the presidential decree N^o 08/376 of 12^th November 2008 organizing the administrative units in the Republic of Cameroon.

The south west region lies between latitudes 4^o and 6^o N of the Equator and longitude 8^o and 10E of the prime meridian. It is bounded on the west by the republic of Nigeria, on the north by north west region of Cameroon, on the east by the eastern region and on the west by the western and littoral (Douala) regions and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean. Its close location to the Atlantic ocean, Nigeria, and the littoral region is of strategic economic importance because the agricultural and natural resources are within the reach of the Douala-base agro-industries and other foreign markets.  

The Forest Region of Mount Cameroon

Relief

The south west has a varied landscape consisting of the coastal lowlands, the Mamfe depression, and the rocky coast, the mount Cameroon, Kupe Muaninguba and Rumpi Mountains. This landscape has a lot of implications on the economic development of the region. The coastal lowland is a vast sedimentary zone stretching from the mouth of river Akwa Yafe in the extreme west to the mouth of river Lokoundje with an average altitude of 90m interrupted to the east by the Cameroon Mountain. Close to the Atlantic Ocean the coastal lowlands have mangrove swamps, several creeks, sandbars and sand spits. These sedimentary deposits make navigation difficult and the construction of good harbors an expensive venture.

Mount Cameroon Savanna

            

The Rocky Region of Mount Cameroon

             The Mamfe depression, which lies further to the north forms a distinct zone located some 150km from the coast. It is almost encircled by a range of mountains except to the west were its lowlands stretch into Nigeria and receives numerous streams that flow down from the surrounding mountains.

The rocky coast lies between Bimbia and Idenau and results from the extension of volcanic rocks from mount Cameroon that spread right down into the sea. Past volcanic activities have also resulted to the presence of stacks protruding above the sea and some metes off the coast of Limbe (Victoria). The rocky coast is characterized by the presence of bays, capes, cliffs, and rocky island making the area a potential zone for tourism and natural harbor development.

The Mount Cameroon, Koupe Mounenguba and Rumpi mountains constitute prominent volcanic peaks of the region. The Mt. Cameroon which is a heap of piled up lava reaching a height of about 4095m is very immense with a length of 50k and a width of about 35km given it an area of some 1750km². The mountain is composed of different volcanic materials that in many places accumulate to form small cones numbering about 75m. On some of the slopes of the mountain we came across fumaroles that emit different gases and geysers that send out water in gets. Thus, the mountain is a huge tourist attraction.    

The Koupe Mountain with its culminating point reaching 2064m overlooks the town of Loum and Tombel. It is built up mainly of crystalline materials and then layers of volcanic flows with slopes that are almost vertical. These materials are frequently been dug and used for road maintenance and for building construction.

Climate

  The south west region has experiences the equatorial climate, particularly the Cameroonian type. It is generally very hot and humid with two seasons; a short dry season of about four months and one wet season of about eight months during which the rains are abundant throughout with occasional thunderstorms that are destructive to vegetation and property.

The maritime Cameroon type is experienced along the sea-face slopes of Mount Cameroon that receives the monsoon winds at right angle. This area is well known as the second wettest place in the world (Debunscha) recording an annual rainfall of about 10.000mm. On the whole, rainfall in this region average more than 4000mm per annum. Further inland to the north of Mount Cameroon rainfall is usually between 2000mm and 4000mm per annum.

The temperatures are very high throughout the year varying from 20^oC to 28^oC. However, altitude exercise much influences in lowering the temperatures of certain areas especially on mount Cameroon and the Koupe Muanenguba Mountains.

Generally, high temperature, high rainfall, high relative humidity and volcanic soil favor luxuriant vegetation growth and the breeding of a wide variety of insects. To the peasant farmers such as conditions are rather enervating and make agriculture an irksome and sapping task.

Surface Area

South West is one of the ten regions that make up the Republic of Cameroon. It has an area of about 24.910km² representing 5.2% of the surface area of the country. Mount Cameroon occupies about 1.750km². on the south east and west of mount Cameroon there are substantial area that are covered by mangrove, swamps and particularly in Meme, there are large expanses of land covered by forest containing a wide variety of plant and animal species. 

Vegetation

South West has a huge forest resource which if exploited in a sustainable manner, can boast development. The region is located along the dens equatorial forest region with two distinguished vegetation types – the mangrove and the rain forest.

The mangrove forest occupies the two swampy regions of the coast – the region around Rio-de-Rey and the Mungo basin. The mangrove swamps around Rio-de-Rey extend from Akwa Yafe River in the West to the foot of Mount Cameroon just east of Bamuso and inland as far as Isangele stretching down to west coast. The other swamp region starts from Bimbia through Tiko to Mudeka and down town to the whole of Douala basin. The trees here have developed very long roots that plunge from the stem down into the swamps. This region is highly infested with mosquitoes and other insects. The highly indented nature of the makes navigation difficult.

The evergreen forest that lies inland just after the mangrove forest has been subjected to human attacks for farms, lumbering and settlement. Where these exploitation have taken place, a type of secondary forest does appear.

The primary forest in its unhampered form can still be found around the Korup area. Here the forest is immense, luxuriant, and has a continuous canopy of leaves. This evergreen forest contains trees of economic importance such as the iroko, mahogany, obech, ebony, padouka, tiama, framire, sapelli, makore and bilinga. It is worth noting too that this forest is the home of many animals such as chimpanzees, elephants, monkeys and many rodents.

Population Distribution of the South West Region by Administrative Units and By Sex

Administrative Units	Total Population	Sex		Male Ratio
		Male	Female
SOUTH WEST REGION	1316079	666822	649257	102,71
FAKO DIVISION	466412	234145	232267	100,81
Buea	131325	65714	65611	100116
West Coast	12725	6756	5969	113,18
Limbe	118210	57982	60228	96,27
Muyuka	86268	43989	42279	104,04
Tiko	117884	59704	58180	102,62
KUPE MUANENGUBA DIVISION	105579	53509	52070	102,76
Bangem	21411	10589	10822	97,85
Nguti	27151	13694	13457	101,76
Tombel	57017	29226	27791	105,16
LEBILIAM DIVISION	113736	56021	57715	97,06
Alou	35855	17659	18196	97,05
Fontem	39706	19453	20253	96,05
Wabane	38175	18909	19266	98,15
MANYU	181039	91135	89904	101,37
Akwaya	85914	42456	43458	97,69
Eyumudjock	35999	18470	17529	105,37
Mamfe	31641	16136	15505	104,07
Upper Sanyang	27485	14073	13412	104,93
MEME DIVISION	326734	167554	159180	105,26
Kumba	166331	85222	81109	105,07
Konye	44711	22884	21827	104,84
Mbonge	115692	59448	56244	105,70
NDIAN DIVISION	19230	10717	8513	110,90
Bamusso	19230	10717	8513	125,89
Ekondo-Titi	56503	29374	72129	108,28
Dikome Balue	13364	6532	6832	95,61
Idabato	3482	2031	1452	139,97
Isangele	3476	1881	1595	117,93
Kombo Abedimo	2146	1127	1019	110,60
Kombo Itindi	2958	1830	1128	162,23
Muno Emba	14385	7451	6934	107,46
Toko	7035	3515	3520	99,86

Source: BUCREP, 2005 GPHC 

Administrative Organization

            South West Region is divided into Six Divisions; Fako, Kupe-Muanenguba, Lebialem, Manyu, Meme and Ndian. Buea, situated on the slopes of Mount Cameroon, is the Regional Head-Quarter. The Divisions divided into Sub-Divisions and Districts are under senior Divisional officers. Kumba and Limbe are urban council areas while the Sub-divisions and districts are rural council areas. 

Administrative Units

Division	Headquarter	Sub-Division
FAKO	Limbe	Limbe I, Limbe II, Limbe III, Tiko, Buea, Muyuka, West Coast.
Kupe-Muanenguba	Bangem	Bangem, Tombel, Nguti.
Lebialem	Menji	Fontem, Wabane, Alou.
Manyu	Mamfe	Mamfe, Akwaya, Eyumojock, Upper Bayang.
Meme	Kumba	Kumba I, Kumba II, Kumba III, Mbonge, Konye.
Ndian	Mundemba	Mundemba, Bamusso, Ekondo Titi, Isangele, Kombo Abedimo, Kombo Itindi, Idabato, Dikome Balue, Toko.

Economy: Primary Sector

A.     Agriculture

      South West Region was always referred to as “The Cradle of the Green Revolution”. This was and still is because of its great agricultural potentials resulting from the fertile soil and good climatic conditions. The majority of the population of South West Region depends largely on food crop production, which is the mainstay of the economy.

Major Crops

-          Perennial Crops:  Cocoa, coffee, oil palm coconuts, citrus and rubber.

-          Food and Vegetable Crops: Cassava, maize, Yams (Tuber), plantain, Cocoyam (tuber) Beans, Egusi, Potatoes, tomatoes, Okra, Cabbage also known as Brassica oleracea. , Groundnuts, Pepper, carrots, Lettuce.

-          Fruits: Mango, Guava, Banana, Pineapple and Plum.  

-          Animals: Fowls, Pigs,, Goats, Sheep, Cow, Horses, Rabbit, Dogs, Galago,   Etc.