Constraints to Wise Use of Urban and Peri-Urban Wetlands: Evidence and Options for Sustainability in Bamenda, Cameroon

Abstract Wetlands are increasingly critical for urban development and Nature-based Solutions to societal challenges. However, despite sustainable management efforts, 60% of wetlands have been lost globally with increasing deterioration, particularly in urban and peri-urban areas. Worse still, the debate about wetland and urbanisation relationship has remained on impacts and consequences of urban development on wetlands, which limits our understanding of context-specific constraints and options for inclusive management. This study aimed to investigate the constraints to wise use of wetlands in Bamenda, Cameroon, and develop a locally adapted/integrated approach for inclusive wetland management. Data was obtained through 12 key informant interviews, a focus group discussion and workshop, coupled with the purposive administration of a questionnaire to 363 respondents to gather information about constraints to and options for sustainable wetland management. Document review and field observation were done to deepen understanding and ground truth threats to wetlands. Quantitative data was keyed into SPSS version 20 for wrangling and visualisation in R, while qualitative data was analysed narratively and via content analysis. Results show that significant constraints to wise use include inflexible management, inadequate awareness of wetland’s importance (42%), weak implementation of regulations (37%) underpinned by corruption, inadequate community engagement, stakeholders’ conflict (39%) and socio-political armed conflict, coupled with threats from urbanisation and malpractices in agriculture. The results orchestrated the development of a proposed Sustainable Wetland Management (SWEMA) framework which is informed by adaptive management, offering a new pathway to incorporate local people’s interests and achieve inclusive wetland management in Cameroon and beyond.