Authors :
Yinkfu Randy Nkuh; Roland Nformi; Ngwani Awudu; Funwi Godlove Ngwa
Volume/Issue :
Volume 8 - 2023, Issue 11 - November
Google Scholar :
http://tinyurl.com/4jvffknk
Scribd :
http://tinyurl.com/mr4cvvru
DOI :
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10422703
Abstract :
Most mountainous environments are
repertoire of precious resources and characterized by
many physical challenges but man has always adapted to
these by his own strategies. The aim of the study was to
examine man’s adaptation measures to the biophysical
challenges on the eastern slope of Mount Cameroon. It
was an observatory and explanatory study that adopted
the mixed research design involving the use of
qualitative and quantitative techniques. By the simple
random sampling techniques, 200 households located on
the eastern slope of the Mount Cameroon were selected
as key informants. Primary data was extracted from
them through questionnaires, interviews, interrogations
and field surveys. More so, secondary data were gotten
from published related articles, Newspapers, online and
offline libraries. The collected data was inputted on
Excel Version 20.0 and exported to SPSS Version 19
where it was analyzed through the inferential and
descriptive statistical techniques. Frequencies,
percentiles, ranges and relationships were then derived.
Results show that there are two factors responsible for
the occurrence of biophysical challenges on the eastern
slope of the mount Cameroon, that is, the natural factors
and to a larger extent the anthropogenic factors. The
major physical challenges are steep slopes, landslide, soil
erosion and climate variability. Man has adapted to
these challenges by creating embankments, raising robot
structures and planting trees. All these measures have
been short-lived because of population concentration,
low level of technology and increasing magnetudes of the
challenges. The work concludes that the eastern slope is
a warehouse of resources and recommends that holistic
measures such as tree planting and land use planning be
done to control the emerging challenges.
Keywords :
Human adaptation measures, Biophysical constraints, eastern slope of mount Cameroon.
Most mountainous environments are
repertoire of precious resources and characterized by
many physical challenges but man has always adapted to
these by his own strategies. The aim of the study was to
examine man’s adaptation measures to the biophysical
challenges on the eastern slope of Mount Cameroon. It
was an observatory and explanatory study that adopted
the mixed research design involving the use of
qualitative and quantitative techniques. By the simple
random sampling techniques, 200 households located on
the eastern slope of the Mount Cameroon were selected
as key informants. Primary data was extracted from
them through questionnaires, interviews, interrogations
and field surveys. More so, secondary data were gotten
from published related articles, Newspapers, online and
offline libraries. The collected data was inputted on
Excel Version 20.0 and exported to SPSS Version 19
where it was analyzed through the inferential and
descriptive statistical techniques. Frequencies,
percentiles, ranges and relationships were then derived.
Results show that there are two factors responsible for
the occurrence of biophysical challenges on the eastern
slope of the mount Cameroon, that is, the natural factors
and to a larger extent the anthropogenic factors. The
major physical challenges are steep slopes, landslide, soil
erosion and climate variability. Man has adapted to
these challenges by creating embankments, raising robot
structures and planting trees. All these measures have
been short-lived because of population concentration,
low level of technology and increasing magnetudes of the
challenges. The work concludes that the eastern slope is
a warehouse of resources and recommends that holistic
measures such as tree planting and land use planning be
done to control the emerging challenges.
Keywords :
Human adaptation measures, Biophysical constraints, eastern slope of mount Cameroon.
