OBSERVATION OF BUFFER ZONES, HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT UNDER CAMEROONIAN LAW; in Environmental Law and Policy in Cameroon –Towards making Africa the Tree of Life

1 Introduction

The following passages are meant to serve as an introduction for the reader who may not be familiar with Cameroon, its human and natural environment, as well as the history and the legal setup of the country. As is already indicated by the title “Cameroon in a nutshell”, this chapter most obviously does not claim to be conclusive in any sense.

2 The human environment

According to the world population review, Cameroon is a culturally diverse coastal country in Africa, which lies on the western side of Africa on the Eastern Atlantic Ocean. Cameroon is bordered by Chad, Nigeria, the Central African Republic, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and the Republic of the Congo. The 2018 population is estimated at 24.68 million.1 This makes Cameroon the 54th most populous country in the world. The country is sparsely populated, however, with just 40 people per square kilometre, which ranks 167th in the world. The urbanisation rate is currently 3.3%; 58% of the country is urbanised and that percentage continues to grow annually. Yaoundé is Cameroon’s capital. It was founded in the latter part of the 19th century by German traders during the ivory industry’s peak. Yaoundé’s population is approximately 2.5 million, which makes it the second-largest city in the country after Douala, which has more than 3 million residents. Douala is said to be the 27th most expensive city on earth, and the most expensive African city.