BEAUTY OF MOUNT CAMEROON

One sided leaf

Tree Trunk

Mint

Craters and Lava Deposit

1999 Craters

Lava Deposit

Contact:

globalhand7@gmail.com

mtcameroonecotour@gmail.com

ICE ON MOUNT CAMEROON

Temperature is a variable within Mount Cameroon. Temperature variability will depend on the vegetation,  landscape and altitude.This is the case when tourists leave the town passing through the farm lands to the forest and and the grass land (savanna). Usually it is know to have very cold temperatures from 2000m which is the entrance point to the grass land. As one keeps going up temperatures keep falling like wise the Oxygen level. 

Very often, in the early hours of the morning, temperatures from 2850m are very low and it get really cold from 3745m were the wind speed is also very strong. As one heads to the peak in the early hours of the morning it is very common to find the black volcanic sand covered with snow. 

WATER CRISIS: RECENT TREND

 Following temperature variation in Buea and the continuous, rapid and uncontrolled encroachment of water catchment, majority of the farming and infrastructural development is taken place within catchment areas.  In the process, massive cutting down of trees for the above mentioned purposes has influenced the  drying up of wet lands.

With the geometric increase in population, water remain a serious problem to the inhabitants. Very often the stand taps (public taps) are usually over crowded in the very early hours of the morning since water is rationed and do flow for a very short while.

In that regards, some of the inhabitants trek for long distance to get water (which is transported by head) while other use cars, bikes or pay operators to transport water for them.  

Some communities, depend on community water supply initiatives. Through this, some individuals can afford the cost to get a direct supply to their household. Even at that, when water is supplied in a particular community or quarter, others (siblings, neighbors and friends) chose to fetch water from households that have their private taps (supply by community water scheme). Through this process the mode of handling the water can become a problem because if  there is a disease prevalence or a contagious, it can easily be transmitted through the communities. After all the hurdles, the rains are now providing solution as most communities get to harvest rain water for farming and home consumption.   

PROLONG AND INTENS HEAT; VEGETATION

Just like every other part of the world, communities within the Mount Cameroon Area share an equal or similar faith. Mindful of the variability in the effects of climate change either as a result of intense heat (drought, temperature increase etc)  or rain fall (flood, erosion etc) the inhabitants of the over 79 communities in this area including the evergreen Tropical Rain Forest suffer in their own way.

With the intense and prolong heat trees shade their leaves to reduce the amount of water sent out in the process of transpiration but this was not enough as as trees turn to loss all their leave while some died in the process. Due to the intense and long process, the dark primary forest for the first time witness the penetration of direct sunlight. Through this process, the undergrowth also began to wither looking like a cleared field ready for planting.

With the coming of the very early rains in the month of March, the vegetation is regaining its place and the forest seems like nothing had happened.

Following the unprecedented characteristic of natural phenomena, concern is situated on doubts:
 
- What will happen is this repeats it self ? 
- What if the incident it goes longer than this one?
- What will be the position of the most vulnerable forest dependent communities?
- Will some organisms in the ecosystem lose their habitat?