Institutional adaptive capacity and climate change response in the Congo Basin forests of Cameroon

Climate change presents additional challenges to a diverse country like Cameroon that shares the Congo Basin rainforest. Not only is the population vulnerable to the direct effects of climate change, forest-dependent communities are also vulnerable to changing environmental policy that may affect th...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Brown, H.C.P., Nkem, J., Sonwa, D.J., Bele, Y.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: 2010
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/20394
_version_ 1855517491465289728
author Brown, H.C.P.
Nkem, J.
Sonwa, D.J.
Bele, Y.
author_browse Bele, Y.
Brown, H.C.P.
Nkem, J.
Sonwa, D.J.
author_facet Brown, H.C.P.
Nkem, J.
Sonwa, D.J.
Bele, Y.
author_sort Brown, H.C.P.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Climate change presents additional challenges to a diverse country like Cameroon that shares the Congo Basin rainforest. Not only is the population vulnerable to the direct effects of climate change, forest-dependent communities are also vulnerable to changing environmental policy that may affect their access to forest resources. Using a qualitative approach to data collection through semi-structured interviews and content analysis of relevant documents, the perception of decision-makers within, and the response of the institutions of the state, the private sector and civil society to the complex challenges of climate change in the Congo Basin forest of Cameroon were analysed. Results indicate that while decision-makers’ awareness of climate change is high, a concrete institutional response is at a very early stage. Cameroon has low adaptive capacity that is further constrained by weak linkages among government institutions nationally and between different levels of government and with communities. Civil society institutions play a role in enhancing government capacity to respond, particularly in relation to new international policies on climate change and forests. Adaptive capacity would be further enhanced by facilitating institutional linkages and coordinating multilevel responses across all boundaries of government, private sector and civil society. A collaborative capacity builder could foster the transfer, receipt and integration of knowledge across the networks, and ultimately build long-term collaborative problem-solving capacity in Cameroon.
format Journal Article
id CGSpace20394
institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
publishDate 2010
publishDateRange 2010
publishDateSort 2010
record_format dspace
spelling CGSpace203942025-01-24T14:12:12Z Institutional adaptive capacity and climate change response in the Congo Basin forests of Cameroon Brown, H.C.P. Nkem, J. Sonwa, D.J. Bele, Y. climate change rain forests adaptive management perception institutions Climate change presents additional challenges to a diverse country like Cameroon that shares the Congo Basin rainforest. Not only is the population vulnerable to the direct effects of climate change, forest-dependent communities are also vulnerable to changing environmental policy that may affect their access to forest resources. Using a qualitative approach to data collection through semi-structured interviews and content analysis of relevant documents, the perception of decision-makers within, and the response of the institutions of the state, the private sector and civil society to the complex challenges of climate change in the Congo Basin forest of Cameroon were analysed. Results indicate that while decision-makers’ awareness of climate change is high, a concrete institutional response is at a very early stage. Cameroon has low adaptive capacity that is further constrained by weak linkages among government institutions nationally and between different levels of government and with communities. Civil society institutions play a role in enhancing government capacity to respond, particularly in relation to new international policies on climate change and forests. Adaptive capacity would be further enhanced by facilitating institutional linkages and coordinating multilevel responses across all boundaries of government, private sector and civil society. A collaborative capacity builder could foster the transfer, receipt and integration of knowledge across the networks, and ultimately build long-term collaborative problem-solving capacity in Cameroon. 2010 2012-06-04T09:13:19Z 2012-06-04T09:13:19Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/20394 en Brown, H.C.P., Nkem, J., Sonwa, D.J., Bele, Y. 2010. Institutional adaptive capacity and climate change response in the Congo Basin forests of Cameroon . Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change 15 :263–282. ISSN: 1381-2386.
spellingShingle climate change
rain forests
adaptive management
perception
institutions
Brown, H.C.P.
Nkem, J.
Sonwa, D.J.
Bele, Y.
Institutional adaptive capacity and climate change response in the Congo Basin forests of Cameroon
title Institutional adaptive capacity and climate change response in the Congo Basin forests of Cameroon
title_full Institutional adaptive capacity and climate change response in the Congo Basin forests of Cameroon
title_fullStr Institutional adaptive capacity and climate change response in the Congo Basin forests of Cameroon
title_full_unstemmed Institutional adaptive capacity and climate change response in the Congo Basin forests of Cameroon
title_short Institutional adaptive capacity and climate change response in the Congo Basin forests of Cameroon
title_sort institutional adaptive capacity and climate change response in the congo basin forests of cameroon
topic climate change
rain forests
adaptive management
perception
institutions
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/20394
work_keys_str_mv AT brownhcp institutionaladaptivecapacityandclimatechangeresponseinthecongobasinforestsofcameroon
AT nkemj institutionaladaptivecapacityandclimatechangeresponseinthecongobasinforestsofcameroon
AT sonwadj institutionaladaptivecapacityandclimatechangeresponseinthecongobasinforestsofcameroon
AT beley institutionaladaptivecapacityandclimatechangeresponseinthecongobasinforestsofcameroon