The state of sacred forests in West Cameroon

• Cameroon’s sacred forests are culturally, socio-economic and ecologically valuable. • Sacred forest area declined on average 10 % between 1990 −2023 replaced by crops. • Agriculture (34 %), non-timber forest products ((31 %) and firewood (21 %) harvesting directly drive forest-loss and degradation. • Indirect drivers are population pressure, poverty, eroding customs and Christianity. • Effective plural, multi-level governance and policies are recommended. Sacred forests are forested areas associated with spiritual beliefs. In Africa, they serve as ritual and sacred sites with implications for biodiversity conservation. In West Cameroon, land use change has intensified with forests once classified as biodiversity hotspots becoming degraded and encroached by human activities. This study explores 24 sacred forests, examining changes in spatial areas, rates of change over time, and factors driving deforestation and degradation. Semi-structured questionnaires, focus group discussions, and cartographic mapping were used to gather data with Software ArcGIS version 2.18, ENVI, and SPSS employed for data analysis. Overall, there is a declining trend in forest cover between 1990 and 2023, on average 10.9 %, with a large variation between -0.6 % to -49 %. Degradation and deforestation drivers include agriculture (34 %) and unsustainable non-timber forest product and woodfuel harvesting (31 %). Religion (89 %) and eroded customary governance (11 %) are indirect drivers, as traditional authority decreases and customary spiritual beliefs that previously maintained the forests are replaced by Christian and Islamic values in which sacred forest use and protection plays no role. Given decreases in area, quality and status of sacred forests, despite their continued importance for many communities and traditions, and their contribution to in-situ biodiversity conservation, we recommend integrating sacred forests into broader land-use planning and conservation policies at local, regional and national levels, promoting sustainable harvesting of forest products, strengthening traditional governance systems and connecting them to statutory forest policies, and enhanced transmission of the cultural and spiritual values associated with these forests.