Assessing Indigenous and Colonial Forest Conservation Policies on the Kilum-Ijim Forest of the Bamenda Grassland, Precolonial to 1961

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume III, Issue XI, November 2019 | ISSN 2454–6186

Assessing Indigenous and Colonial Forest Conservation Policies on the Kilum-Ijim Forest of the Bamenda Grassland, Precolonial to 1961

Richard Tanto Talla, Canute A. Ngwa, Doreen Binain Mbain

Faculty of Arts, The University of Bamenda, Cameroon

Abstract: – Too often in the past, the contributions of indigenous people to forest conservation have largely been ignored or belittled by the colonial administrators. Yet indigenous people controlled most of the world’s natural forest through their traditional practices, and often strong conservation ethics. The study explores the role of the indigenous groups and the colonial government in the conservation of Kilum-Ijim forests. Based on information collected through oral interviews, archival materials, published and unpublished works, the study contends that the original practices in the conservation of forest by communities of the Kilum-Ijim and Bamenda Grasslands forest as a whole have been diluted over the years, following contact with exogenous forces such as colonialism which introduced colonial laws, encapsulated in Ordinances. The colonial powers believed that their policies were superior to local customs and traditions of Africans, as a result; they imposed forest policies, which over the years have gradually seen the disappearance of the hitherto rich cultural heritage. Hence, their involvement in forest conservation, preservation methods, difficulties encountered and the consequences of modern forest policies on the local forests in the Bamenda grassland, constitute the analysis of this paper.

Key Words: Indigenous, Forest, Conservation, Policies, Kilum-Ijim, Bamenda Grasslands

I. BACKGROUND

Forests are among the most valuable ecosystems on earth. They are an important source of bio-diversity, essential in the regulation of climate, and invaluable in maintaining biosphere integrity. Forests generate many economic goods and services such as timber, energy, food, water, pharmaceuticals and recreational opportunities. It plays an important role in the preservation of the culture of a people. The availability of forest also had an important influence on the activities of the indigenous people such as house construction, fishing, farming, traditional medicine and rituals.

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