Landscape restoration in the degraded Afromontane region: A case study of the Bamboutos Mountains landscape in Cameroon

Existing knowledge on degraded mountain landscapes does not shed sufficient light on the socio-economic and ecological opportunities essential for successful restoration initiatives. To address this knowledge lacuna, a study was conducted on the Bamboutos Mountains landscape in Cameroon with the main objective being to analyse the opportunities for restoring this landscape in line with local, national and international development goals and to minimise the negative effects of land-use decisions. Following the Restoration Opportunity Assessment Methodology (ROAM) approach, five participatory reflection workshops were organized in the five target clusters of the landscape for data collection. The results of the study led to the development of a restoration map that presents five interventions: grassland management on an area of 4, 720 ha currently occupied by shrub savannah; the practice of fruit-based agroforestry on 3, 221 ha of agricultural fields; the planting of riparian forests on 451 ha of degraded watercourses; the revegetation and conservation of the Bamboutos Mountains forest reserve, sacred forests and relics of degraded forests on 435 ha of area; and the revegetation of 6 ha of degraded water sources. The carbon stocks vary from 2.66 to 345.15 tC/ha depending on the type of restoration intervention with a total carbon stock of 247, 367.45 tC/ha on the 8, 834 ha of area to be restored. This presents a very satisfactory economic cost-benefit, because for an investment of USD 5, 991, 269.84, a gain of USD 100, 439, 519.13 could be achieved after 20 years, i.e., an estimated profit of USD 94, 448, 249.29. These results provide an understanding of the types of restoration interventions possible in this landscape, a solid basis for planning a restoration initiative. The results equally provide guidance on priority areas from a social, economic, and ecological perspective.