Nouhou Ndam and Mahop Tonye Marcelin 49
Further studies on the natural regeneration of Prunus in the wild with the
establishment of permanent plots for regular monitoring will solve several problems
and therefore improve the state of research on P. africana (Ndam 1998). Another
interesting development being implemented by ICRAF is the ‘effective selection of
P. africana using active ingredient content’ (Nkuinkeu 2001), a study which intends
to supply farmers around Mount Cameroon with superior planting materials (clones).
In addition, the study underway aiming at developing a legislative framework
for the setting of exploitation and exportation quota, in compliance with the
Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna
(CITES) requirements for developing Non-Detriment findings for species in the
international trade will be a serious step forward towards getting laws and regulations
developed that will have positive impacts on raw material production and
consequently promote the sustainability of the species (Cunningham et al. 1997).
Other issues of relevance in the Prunus sector relate to the integration of
household income into the cash economy within the production-to-consumption
system. The provision of this particular information, which might come from in-
depth socio-economical investigations in the area, will guide conservationists and
development agencies in their approach particularly to the management of wild
populations. The link between the communities around Mount Cameroon and this
particular resource could then be fully evaluated.
Still in connection to this relationship between resource and community, while
checking how the rural population in the Mount Cameroon area depends
economically on the income generated from P. africana activities, traditional
matters that have so far been overshadowed by the various stakeholders
(communities, researchers, conservationist, policy makers) should henceforth be
considered as issues of high concern. Like any other community, the people around
Mount Cameroon area have inherited customary rules from their ancestors, rules
which have from time immemorial been applied in their traditional system of
natural resources management. However, the populations in this area have not
yet affirmed themselves regarding traditional rules governing specifically the
exploitation of P. africana. Along this line, more emphasis should be put on the
enhancement of local communities’ awareness of their traditional rights to
resources.
In the trade and marketing components, two main operators can be mentioned
without going into first, second or third order trader. There was the main buyer,
Plantecam, and the local communities, i.e., the harvesters, as the supplier of
raw material. Other actors are the Mount Cameroon Project/Limbe Botanic Garden
and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, playing the roles of facilitator and
controller and helping the principal actors in the set-up of and compliance with
equitable benefit sharing schemes. Occasionally, illegal exploitation and trade
are reported in the area adding difficulties to the provision of absolute numbers
of operators involved in these activities around the mountain. It is consequently
understandable that the assessment of the size of trade in the raw material
production area and the related issues of the size of national trade and of the raw
and semiprocessed products export trade are unclear and need further attention.
Apart from Plantecam, which was the sole processing industry established
in the raw material production area and known as being an extension of Groupe
Fournier, no other clear relationship between the communities and any other03prunus.p65 49 22/12/2004, 11:04