Forestland Resource Dynamics in Hollow Frontiers of Sub-Saharan Africa: Empirical Insights from the Mungo Corridor of Cameroon

Natural resource-endowed landscapes in many parts of the Global South play a crucial role in the livelihoods of communities. Such resource-endowed areas attract current and prospective resource-use actors, making them veritable hollow frontiers. Hollow frontiers, as crucial resource attractions in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), have attracted significant interest in scientific and policy circles. While studies have explored the patterns of migration and population change around hollow frontiers, there is limited evidence on the resource-use dynamics and trajectories in hollow frontiers. This study uses the case of the Mungo Corridor of Cameroon, a hollow frontier par excellence, to (1) determine the variations in forestland resource-use practices, and (2) analyze changes in forestland resource space in the corridor. Data for this study was collected through key informant interviews (n = 37), focus group discussions (n = 15), household surveys using a structured questionnaire (n = 250), and Landsat images. Geospatial analysis, descriptive statistics, and the chi-square statistical technique were employed in the analysis. The study revealed that forestland resource-use practices (NTFPs harvesting) witnessed a significant decline due to the intensification of extraction rates. Furthermore, forestland witnessed a significant decline in Njombe-Penja and Loum (35.216% and 48.176%, respectively) between 1984 and 2024. The results provide novel insights on the pattern of resource use around hollow frontiers and further informs land management policy in the context of the regulation of land-based resources in the hollow frontiers of Cameroon and similar sub-Saharan African contexts. Future studies should explore forestland resource regeneration strategies in the Mungo Corridor.