Forced migration and pressure on agro-pastoral resources in the Far-North Region Cameroon.

Abstract

One of the major consequences of insecurity in the Lake Chad Basin is the massive displacement of populations towards secure territories. The influx of forced migrants is accompanied by increased exploitation of agro-pastoral resources. This is the case in the northern part of Cameroon, which since 2014 has hosted more than 100,000 refugees and 350,000 internally displaced persons, most of whom have agriculture and livestock farming as their main activities. The aim of this article is to show how forced migration contributes to the pressure on agro-pastoral resources (agricultural land, grazing land, wood resources). The study is based on field observation, supplemented by reports from organizations responsible for supervising migrants. Field surveys of a sample of 262 individuals, representative of the population under consideration were carried out in the territories of Moskota, Mozogo, Mokolo, Koza and Tokombéré bordering Bornou in Nigeria. Primary data were completed with data from the International Organization for Migration's Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), and UNHCR reports on statistics relating to refugees and internally displaced people in northern Cameroon. The results of data analysis show that settlement of forced migrants has exacerbated the degradation of grazing land, forest reserves and the conflicts between farmers and breeders linked to the difficult access to agriculture plots (25% of conflicts), grazing land (58% of conflicts), water and firewood.