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East Province (Cameroon)
Encyclopedia
The East Region occupies the southeastern portion of the Republic of Cameroon
. It is bordered to the east by the Central African Republic
, to the south by Congo
, to the north by the Adamawa Region, and to the west by the Centre and South Regions. With 109,011 km² of territory, it is the largest region in the nation as well as the most sparsely populated. Historically, the peoples of the East have been settled in Cameroonian territory for longer than any other of the country's many ethnic groups, the first inhabitants being the Baka (or Babinga) pygmies
.
The East Region has very little industry
, its main commerce consisting of logging
, timber
, and mining
. Instead, the bulk of its inhabitants are subsistence farmers. The region is thus of little political import and is often ignored by Cameroonian politicians. This coupled with the low level of development in the province have led to its being dubbed "the forgotten province".
signed decrees abolishing "Provinces" and replacing them with "Regions". Hence, all of the country's ten provinces are now known as Regions.
of the East is predominantly ferrallitic, rich with iron
and red in colour. The southern three quarters of the region consists of metamorphic rock
such as gneiss
, schist
, mica
, and migmatite
. Starting at about the level of Bertoua
and going north, however, granite
becomes the dominate soil component. While the region supports an abundance of plant life, it is not particularly fertile due to leaching caused by the humid environment. Eastern dirt hardens quickly in the sun, and it is often used as a building material by poorer inhabitants.
, which drains the central-western area, the Dja
in the southwest, the Lom
in the northeast, the Kadéï
, which drains the northwest, the Boumba in the centre and southeast, and the Sangha
and Ngoko, which drain portions of the southeast and form the border with the Central African Republic and Congo respectively. Many of these rivers have carved out valleys that surround them. The rivers of the territory have only slight gradients, and floods can occur along them during the rainy season. The Lom and Nyong rivers eventually empty into the Atlantic Ocean
. All other rivers in the East form part of the Congo River basin.
that forms the southeastern half of the country. The elevation thus varies between 500 and 1000 metres above sea level except for lower-lying plain
s of 200 to 500 metres in the extreme southeast centered on the Dja, Boumba, Sangha, and Ngoko Rivers. The land consists largely of monotonous, gently undulating hills known as "half-oranges" due to their resemblance to that fruit.
s. Instead, there is a long dry season from December to May, a light wet season from May to June, a short dry season from July to October, and a heavy wet season from October to November. Humidity and cloud cover are relatively high, and precipitation averages 1500–2000 mm per year except in the extreme eastern and northern portions, where it is slightly less.
, iroko, mahogany
, obeche, and sapelli
, some of which grow to heights of 70 metres or more. There are also numerous fern
s and orchids. This forest is stratified into several levels. The first is composed of straight, thick-rooted trees averaging about 40-metres tall. After this grow shorter, thinner trees with highly placed clusters of leaves. Sparse grasses and other plants make up the ground layer. In areas closer to settlements and roads, human groups have harvested the larger trees, thus exposing the forest floor to more direct sunlight and allowing thick vegetation to thrive. The upper third of the province (beginning at about the latitude of Bertoua and Batouri
) is dominated by humid, wooded savanna
. Trees here are sparser, but still may grow to be as tall as 20 metres.
The government of Cameroon has established four forest and game reserves in the East: the Dja Reserve (Réserve du Biosphère de Dja) in the southwest of the province and extending into the South Province, Lobéké Park (Parc National de la Lobéké), the Boumba-Bek Reserve (Réserve de Boumba-Bek) and the Nki Reserve (Réserve de Nki) in the southeast. The Pangar Djérem Reserve (Réserve Pangar Djerem) protects one of the more heavily wooded parts of the Guinean savanna in the province's northwest and extends into the Adamawa Province.
Animal life is abundant and diverse. The forests are inhabited by numerous species of monkey
, as well as some of the last populations of gorilla
s and chimpanzee
s in Cameroon. Bat
s and bird
s of various species are also common, as are various rodent
s. A few forest elephants still live in the province, as well. Many of these animals are currently under threat of extinction
due to deforestation
and the bushmeat
trade.
. The bulk of the territory has a population density
of less than five persons/km². This is mostly a result of the area's thick forests, which inhibit settlement and support disease-carrying insects such as mosquito
es and blackflies
. These factors also make the East an unattractive target for development by both non-governmental organisations and the Cameroonian government, a fact that has only further prevented larger numbers of people from settling in the region.
The majority of the population is thus primarily situated in village
s and town
s along the few major roads that traverse the province. Along these routes, population density jumps to as high as 20/km² and to 20-60/km² on the Bertoua-Batouri corridor. The traditional Bantu dwelling is a rectangular house made of sun-dried bricks placed in a wooden frame. Raffia palm fronds are a common covering, though metal roofing has become more common.
Most East Province peoples are considered Bantu in origin. The second most numerous are the various Adamawa–Ubangi (Sudanese) tribes that inhabit much of the northern portions of the territory. A third important group are the Fulbe
(Fula), who have immigrated into the area in great numbers over the past few decades. Finally, the pygmies comprise another significant population.
Most eastern peoples speak their own distinctive languages, though educated individuals usually also know French
. Minor languages spoken include Bomwali, Bulu
, Kol
, Mbonga, and Vute
.
The people of the East are predominantly Christian
, and Presbyterianism
and Catholicism
claim the most members. Animist
beliefs are also followed by much of the population, often in conjunction with Christianity. The East also has a relatively high percentage of Muslims
, particularly in the areas closer to the Adamawa Province.
form the majority of this group and occupy much of the western territories on the border with the Centre Province, including the towns of Abong-Mbang
, Nguelemendouka
, and Doumé
. The Bajwe inhabit the territory immediately south of this, centred at Massaména. The Nzime
live at Mindourou
and its surroundings on the road that runs south from Abong-Mbang. Further south on this road are the Njem
, whose territory includes the settlements of Lomié
, Zoulabot, Zwadiba, and Ngoila
. The Mpo
occupy most of the territory surrounding the Ndélélé-Yokadouma road and the side-roads off of it, as well as much of the border with the Congo. The Mpoman have a small enclave at Lokomo
south of Yokadouma, and the Kunbabeeg live west of this Mpo-Mpoman territory. All of these groups speak distinct, but closely related, languages.
Though the capital, Bertoua, is a traditional Gbaya settlement, the region is today a melange of several tribes, including the Baki
, Pori
, Bajem, and Kwa. The southwestern portion of the Lom and Djerem division, just west of this, is peopled by the Eki
, who have more extensive territories in the Centre Province. Small areas on the road from Doumé to Gonga
belong to the Kwakum and Pori. The Kaka live to the south and the west of the Kadey River and have high centres at Batouri and Ndélélé. The Bageto have lands south of Ndélélé.
are the most populous Ubangi group in the East, and they inhabit most of the Lom and Djerem division (including Bertoua) and the northernmost third of the Kadey division along the Kadey River. They also have smaller population centres, including the village of Gari-Gombo
and Djampiel. The Kuo occupy the extreme northestern corner of the province, including Wendoka. The Gbete (Kepere) live northwest of Bertoua, including the territory from Bélabo
west to Yangamo. The Bangantu people live east of the Yokadouma-Moloundou
road in the province's southeastern corner.
The rest of the province, that which is covered by thick forests and not serviced by roads, is inhabited by the Baka, Babaya, or Babinga pygmies. Though traditionally hunter-gatherer
s, in recent times, the Baka have established trade with their Bantu neighbours, exchanging wild game for crops or metal tools. This relationship is not always equal, however, and Bantu sometimes take advantage of the Baka, exploiting them for labour or ceding their territory to logging companies without compensation.
The Cameroonian government has tried to encourage the Baka to establish permanent settlements, and some pygmy villages exist in the territory. Most of the Baka remain nomadic, however, living in temporary shelters of leaves and sticks. A much greater force acting to end the Baka's traditional lifestyle is intermarriage and assimilation into neighbouring tribes.
s south of Bertoua and Batouri and maize
north of there. Farmers also raise many other crops in smaller quantities, including banana
s, groundnut
s, cocoyam
s, manioc, pineapple
s, oranges
, mango
es, and yams
. The dense forest and presence of the tsetse fly
prohibits much cattle
raising, but various livestock
are raised for subsistence purposes, including pig
s, sheep, goat
s, duck
s, and chicken
s, as well as horse
s and donkey
s in the extreme northeast. The Livestock Development Exploitation Organisation also runs a modern cattle ranch at Ndokayo in the province's northeast.
Farms are mostly small-scale affairs planted in clearings in the forest. Farmers clear an area during the dry season using traditional implements such as axes and machetes. The area is then burned, with care taken to preserve fruit trees such as mangoes or plum
s. At the start of the wet season, spices and common vegetables are planted close to the home and tubers, such as cocoyams and manioc, are placed with plantains in larger plots farther afield. Farmyard manure is used as fertiliser. Crops are then harvested at the beginning of the next dry season.
This method of slash-and-burn agriculture allows for high yields in the short term, but quickly exhausts the soil. Farms are thus moved every two to three years, and land must remain fallow for up to ten years once it has been drained in this way. With the East's low population density, however, this generally presents little problem.
Commercial crops also exist. Cocoa and coffee
are raised for profit in the areas of Abong-Mbang, Bertoua, and Yokadouma, as well as in the heavy forests south of these areas. Tobacco
is grown in the plains north of Batouri. No large-scale commercial livestock exists in the East, though cattle from the northern regions of Cameroon are herded through the province on their way to market in Yaoundé
.
and gathering, particularly in more rural areas. In fact, among the province's pygmies, these activities are carried out almost exclusively. While gathering of various wild plant species is primarily a female occupation, hunting is conducted by men with traditional implements such as bows and arrows, spear
s, blowgun
s, and traps. In addition, firearm
s are becoming much more common in modern times. Though most hunting is done on a small scale, larger-scale techniques are sometimes employed. In these bigger hunts, people set fire to areas of forest or grassland in order to flush out prey. Other hunters or dogs frighten the animals into running toward armed men who then kill them.
. The region has vast tracts of forest, and African and European companies have exploited these heavily. Because of the rapid rate of exploitation, however, lumber companies have been forced to push further and further into Central Africa
to find suitable trees. As a result, much of the logging that once took place in Cameroon has been relocated to neighbouring countries such as Congo and the Central African Republic. The massive logging vehicles still travel through the East on their way to Cameroon's ports, and it is possible that without the logging industry, the East might never have got the little transportation network that exists there now. The East is also the home of several timber
processing centres with major operations located around Bélabo
, Dimako
, and Mindourou
.
In recent years, speculators have found deposits of gold
near Bataré-Oya, cobalt
near Lomié, and iron
and aluminium
in other areas. Companies have since moved in to exploit these resources as well. Other industries have a much smaller presence, such as a groundnut-oil
mill located in Bertoua.
on the border with the Centre Province, then continues on through the towns of Abong-Mbang, Doumé
, Dimako, Bertoua, and Batouri before turning south at Ndélélé near the Central African Republic border to pass through Gari-Goumbo and Yokadouma before terminating at Moloundou
on the Congo border. Another major road begins in Abong-Mbang and heads south through Mindourou to Lomié. Neither of these roads is paved, causing travel conditions in most of the province to fluctuate with the seasons. The third major route through the province is a road from Bertoua to Garoua-Boulaï
on the border with Central African Republic. This road was paved in 1997 with funds from the European Union
. The only public transport
that covers these routes is privately owned bush taxis or mini-buses run by private groups known as GIC
s (French acronym meaning "group d'initiative commune").
The East is accessible via railroad, as well, through Camrail
, the state-owned train system. The train comes from Douala
and Yaoundé and passes through Bélabo before heading north to Ngaoundéré
in the Adamawa Province. There is a regional airport
in Bertoua that is officially part of state-owned Camair's network, but it has been out of service since 2003. In addition, the Nyong River is navigable from Abong-Mbang to the Centre Province town of Mbalmayo
during the rainy season.
project to pave the way for camera-toting tourists to come within a few metres of the animals to see them in their natural environment. However, government corruption
led to the cancellation of the initiative. Hunters may also pursue game through these reserves.
A presidentially appointed governor
heads the administration of the province from the capital city of Bertoua.
The East is divided into four departments (departements), each headed by a presidentially appointed senior divisional officer or prefect (prefet):
Each of these divisions is further divided into sub-divisions, each headed by a sub-divisional officer or sub-prefect (sous-prefet). Individual towns usually have a mayor
, and some villages have a traditional chief
, though this person usually holds little actual authority.
Cameroonian politicians have traditionally ignored the East. The region is simply too underpopulated to have much influence in countrywide elections. Eastern residents have in recent years called for more infrastructure improvements from the government, especially the paving of roads. Candidates for office and government officials do occasionally make stops in the region to address such issues, but their message is often simply an excuse for why such improvements would be detrimental to the region. For example, they often argue that paved roads would only allow the forests upon which the region depends to be cut down at an even faster rate.
s are located in larger villages or in towns, meaning that students from more remote areas must walk long distances, stay with relatives, or rent rooms during the school year. In addition, school fees keep many families from sending their children for an education.
, which remains a major cause of death in the region. Dengue fever
, filariasis
, typhoid fever
, and tuberculosis
are also endemic. In 1997 and 1998, health professionals recorded outbreaks of what may have been the Ebola
virus in the southwest near Ngoila. The World Health Organisation today doubts that this "bloody diarrhea
" was in fact that virus, however.
As with most of sub-Saharan Africa, poor sanitation
is a major source of illness for people in the East. Diseases spread this way include schistosomiasis
, brucellosis
, hepatitis A
, amoebic dysentery
, bacterial dysentery, and giardia
.
In recent years, the East has come into focus for its role in the AIDS
epidemic. This largely stems from the region's position as a transportation network for logging vehicles. In addition to the transportation network, the construction of the Chad/Cameroon pipeline has fueled the increase of Prostitution
along these routes, with professional sex workers operating in virtually every town and village along the province's roads. Government estimates report the HIV
rate among operators of these logging vehicles to be about 18% and that of the sex workers to be as high as 30%.
Government efforts in the 1980s to improve the number and quality of hospital
s in Cameroon have made healthcare more available in the region. Most hospitals and clinics are located in the larger towns, however, meaning that the seriously ill have little chance of getting to treatment in many cases. Traditional medicine
is still largely practiced in the East, as well, and many people ascribe various maladies to the workings of witches
or sorcerers
.
pushed in from the west to escape pressures from the Babouti. This second Bantu invasion did not get far, however, as the Fang-Beti soon encountered the Maka and Njem and were unable to press on further. Of these, the Maka-Njem moved into the territory first, after being forced from their home north of the Lom River
by migrating Beti-Pahuin
peoples, themselves fleeing the Vute, Mbum, Gbaya, and, ultimately, the Fulani. The Maka stayed to occupy the territories surrounding what is now Massaména and Abong-Mbang, and the Njem settled around present-day Mindourou and Lomié. The Kaka settled in the territory that is now Ndélélé.
The Adama-Ubangi peoples came into the territory as part of this same general migration, though they were usually the ones pushing the Bantu peoples further south. Gbaya tradition says that they moved into the region of Bertoua under a leader named Ndiba. His son, Mbartoua, was in power when the Germans arrived.
first reached the coast of present Cameroon, European explorers made little attempt to push into the intererior. The region was a source of slaves
, which were shipped out via the port at Douala or via the Congo River
, though the numbers of natives taken were much smaller than in areas closer to the coast.
The French
were the first Europeans to enter the region when they began exploring the Congo basin in the mid-19th century. It was the Germans
, however, who first gained formal control over the area, establishing the eastern border through negotiations with France between 1885 and 1908. Ironically, the earliest German colonists to the eastern forests were largely entering unknown territory. The Germans set to work building roads and establishing plantations, both endeavors requiring forced labor by the natives. This often led to violence, such as when the Gbaya under Mbartoua led a rebellion in the Bertoua region in 1903. Another revolt occurred when the Kaka protested their loss of lucrative trade opportunities that they had enjoyed in pre-colonial days.
At the end of World War I
in 1916, Germany was forced to cede its colony to France. The French divided Cameroon into nine administrative areas, and most of what is now the East Province fell into the Doumé-Loume-Yokadouma district with its capital in Doumé. The French largely continued the colonial practices of the Germans, with forced labor continuing into the early 20th century. They made further infrastructure improvements, as well, such as improving the road from Yaoundé to Bertoua and on to Garoua-Boulaï
.
The region has largely been ignored since independence. One of the few developments of note include the extension of the railroad from Yaoundé to Bélabo under the presidency of Ahmadou Ahidjo
.
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
. It is bordered to the east by the Central African Republic
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
, to the south by Congo
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by...
, to the north by the Adamawa Region, and to the west by the Centre and South Regions. With 109,011 km² of territory, it is the largest region in the nation as well as the most sparsely populated. Historically, the peoples of the East have been settled in Cameroonian territory for longer than any other of the country's many ethnic groups, the first inhabitants being the Baka (or Babinga) pygmies
Pygmy
Pygmy is a term used for various ethnic groups worldwide whose average height is unusually short; anthropologists define pygmy as any group whose adult men grow to less than 150 cm in average height. A member of a slightly taller group is termed "pygmoid." The best known pygmies are the Aka,...
.
The East Region has very little industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
, its main commerce consisting of logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
, timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
, and mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
. Instead, the bulk of its inhabitants are subsistence farmers. The region is thus of little political import and is often ignored by Cameroonian politicians. This coupled with the low level of development in the province have led to its being dubbed "the forgotten province".
2008 Presidential Decree Abolishes Provinces
In 2008, the President of the Republic of Cameroon, President Paul BiyaPaul Biya
Paul Biya is a Cameroonian politician who has been the President of Cameroon since 6 November 1982. A native of Cameroon's south, Biya rose rapidly as a bureaucrat under President Ahmadou Ahidjo in the 1960s, serving as Secretary-General of the Presidency from 1968 to 1975 and then as Prime...
signed decrees abolishing "Provinces" and replacing them with "Regions". Hence, all of the country's ten provinces are now known as Regions.
Land
The soilSoil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
of the East is predominantly ferrallitic, rich with iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
and red in colour. The southern three quarters of the region consists of metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rock is the transformation of an existing rock type, the protolith, in a process called metamorphism, which means "change in form". The protolith is subjected to heat and pressure causing profound physical and/or chemical change...
such as gneiss
Gneiss
Gneiss is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks.-Etymology:...
, schist
Schist
The schists constitute a group of medium-grade metamorphic rocks, chiefly notable for the preponderance of lamellar minerals such as micas, chlorite, talc, hornblende, graphite, and others. Quartz often occurs in drawn-out grains to such an extent that a particular form called quartz schist is...
, mica
Mica
The mica group of sheet silicate minerals includes several closely related materials having highly perfect basal cleavage. All are monoclinic, with a tendency towards pseudohexagonal crystals, and are similar in chemical composition...
, and migmatite
Migmatite
Migmatite is a rock at the frontier between igneous and metamorphic rocks. They can also be known as diatexite.Migmatites form under extreme temperature conditions during prograde metamorphism, where partial melting occurs in pre-existing rocks. Migmatites are not crystallized from a totally...
. Starting at about the level of Bertoua
Bertoua
Bertoua is the capital of the Eastern Province of Cameroon and has a population of 88,462 . It is home to an airport and Mission Cameroon of Polish Dominican Order.-External links:*...
and going north, however, granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
becomes the dominate soil component. While the region supports an abundance of plant life, it is not particularly fertile due to leaching caused by the humid environment. Eastern dirt hardens quickly in the sun, and it is often used as a building material by poorer inhabitants.
Drainage
The province contains several river systems: the NyongNyong River
The Nyong is a river in Cameroon. The river flows approximately 640 km to empty into the Gulf of Guinea.-Transport:The town of Mbalmayo, which has a railhead, lies on the north bank of this river. The towns of Akonolinga and Abong-Mbang also lie on it....
, which drains the central-western area, the Dja
Dja River
The Dja River is a stream in west-central Africa. It forms part of Cameroon–Republic of Congo border and has a course of roughly 450 miles ....
in the southwest, the Lom
Lom River
The Lom is a river in northwestern Bulgaria, a right tributary of the Danube flowing into it 1 km east of the town of Lom.The river takes its source from the foot of Midzhur , the highest peak of western Stara Planina, on the Bulgarian-Serbian border, and mainly flows northeast until its...
in the northeast, the Kadéï
Kadéï River
The Kadéï River is a tributary of the Sangha River that flows through Cameroon and the Central African Republic. Its total drainage basin is 24,000 km². The river rises from the eastern Adamawa Plateau, southeast of Garoua-Boulaï |East Province]]. The Kadéï is swelled by two tributaries, the...
, which drains the northwest, the Boumba in the centre and southeast, and the Sangha
Sangha River
The Sangha River, a river in central Africa, is a tributary of the Congo River, which it joins at . Formed by the merging of the Mambéré River into the Kadéï River at Nola , the Sangha flows through the Central African Republic, along the border of Cameroon, and through the Republic of Congo.Its...
and Ngoko, which drain portions of the southeast and form the border with the Central African Republic and Congo respectively. Many of these rivers have carved out valleys that surround them. The rivers of the territory have only slight gradients, and floods can occur along them during the rainy season. The Lom and Nyong rivers eventually empty into the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. All other rivers in the East form part of the Congo River basin.
Relief
Almost the entire territory of the East Province lies on the South Cameroon PlateauSouth Cameroon Plateau
The South Cameroon Plateau or Southern Cameroon Plateau is the dominant geographical feature of Cameroon. The plateau lies south of the Adamawa Plateau and southeast of the Cameroon Range. It slopes south and west until giving way to the Cameroon coastal plain in the southwest and the Congo River...
that forms the southeastern half of the country. The elevation thus varies between 500 and 1000 metres above sea level except for lower-lying plain
Plain
In geography, a plain is land with relatively low relief, that is flat or gently rolling. Prairies and steppes are types of plains, and the archetype for a plain is often thought of as a grassland, but plains in their natural state may also be covered in shrublands, woodland and forest, or...
s of 200 to 500 metres in the extreme southeast centered on the Dja, Boumba, Sangha, and Ngoko Rivers. The land consists largely of monotonous, gently undulating hills known as "half-oranges" due to their resemblance to that fruit.
Climate
The East has a Type A wet equatorial climate (also known as a Guinea type climate), meaning that it experiences high temperatures (24˚ C on average) and a lack of traditional seasonSeason
A season is a division of the year, marked by changes in weather, ecology, and hours of daylight.Seasons result from the yearly revolution of the Earth around the Sun and the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the plane of revolution...
s. Instead, there is a long dry season from December to May, a light wet season from May to June, a short dry season from July to October, and a heavy wet season from October to November. Humidity and cloud cover are relatively high, and precipitation averages 1500–2000 mm per year except in the extreme eastern and northern portions, where it is slightly less.
Plant and animal life
Approximately the lower two thirds of the province is covered in rain forest, which grows progressively thicker as one travels south. The forests are composed of hardwood evergreens of species such as dibetu, ebonyEbony
Ebony is a dense black wood, most commonly yielded by several species in the genus Diospyros, but ebony may also refer to other heavy, black woods from unrelated species. Ebony is dense enough to sink in water. Its fine texture, and very smooth finish when polished, make it valuable as an...
, iroko, mahogany
Mahogany
The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored hardwood. It is a native American word originally used for the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban mahogany....
, obeche, and sapelli
Sapele
Sapele , also known as Sapelli or Aboudikro, is a large tree, Entandrophragma cylindricum, up to 45 m high and native to tropical Africa. The leaves are deciduous in the dry season, alternately arranged, pinnate, with 5-9 pairs of leaflets, each leaflet about 10 cm long...
, some of which grow to heights of 70 metres or more. There are also numerous fern
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
s and orchids. This forest is stratified into several levels. The first is composed of straight, thick-rooted trees averaging about 40-metres tall. After this grow shorter, thinner trees with highly placed clusters of leaves. Sparse grasses and other plants make up the ground layer. In areas closer to settlements and roads, human groups have harvested the larger trees, thus exposing the forest floor to more direct sunlight and allowing thick vegetation to thrive. The upper third of the province (beginning at about the latitude of Bertoua and Batouri
Batouri
Batouri is a town and commune in the East Province of Cameroon. It is the second largest municipality in the province after the provincial capital Bertoua. It is located on the main road connecting Bertoua to the Central African Republic and to the Cameroonian town of Yokadouma...
) is dominated by humid, wooded savanna
Savanna
A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...
. Trees here are sparser, but still may grow to be as tall as 20 metres.
The government of Cameroon has established four forest and game reserves in the East: the Dja Reserve (Réserve du Biosphère de Dja) in the southwest of the province and extending into the South Province, Lobéké Park (Parc National de la Lobéké), the Boumba-Bek Reserve (Réserve de Boumba-Bek) and the Nki Reserve (Réserve de Nki) in the southeast. The Pangar Djérem Reserve (Réserve Pangar Djerem) protects one of the more heavily wooded parts of the Guinean savanna in the province's northwest and extends into the Adamawa Province.
Animal life is abundant and diverse. The forests are inhabited by numerous species of monkey
Monkey
A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...
, as well as some of the last populations of gorilla
Gorilla
Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
s and chimpanzee
Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...
s in Cameroon. Bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
s and bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s of various species are also common, as are various rodent
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
s. A few forest elephants still live in the province, as well. Many of these animals are currently under threat of extinction
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
due to deforestation
Deforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
and the bushmeat
Bushmeat
Bushmeat initially referred to the hunting of wild animals in West and Central Africa and is a calque from the French viande de brousse. Today the term is commonly used for meat of terrestrial wild animals, killed for subsistence or commercial purposes throughout the humid tropics of the Americas,...
trade.
Demographics
Settlement patterns
The East had 517,198 inhabitants in 1987, and it remains the most sparsely populated of Cameroon's ten provincesProvinces of Cameroon
The Republic of Cameroon is divided into ten regions:In 2008, the President of the Republic of Cameroon, President Paul Biya signed decrees abolishing "Provinces" and replacing them with "Regions". Hence, all of the country's ten provinces are now known as Regions.Most of these provinces were...
. The bulk of the territory has a population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
of less than five persons/km². This is mostly a result of the area's thick forests, which inhibit settlement and support disease-carrying insects such as mosquito
Mosquito
Mosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...
es and blackflies
Blackfly
Blackfly, black-fly, or black fly may refer to:*Black fly, a fly of the family Simuliidae*Blackfly , a 2001 Canadian comedy series*Aphid or blackfly...
. These factors also make the East an unattractive target for development by both non-governmental organisations and the Cameroonian government, a fact that has only further prevented larger numbers of people from settling in the region.
The majority of the population is thus primarily situated in village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
s and town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
s along the few major roads that traverse the province. Along these routes, population density jumps to as high as 20/km² and to 20-60/km² on the Bertoua-Batouri corridor. The traditional Bantu dwelling is a rectangular house made of sun-dried bricks placed in a wooden frame. Raffia palm fronds are a common covering, though metal roofing has become more common.
People
Fula people
Fula people or Fulani or Fulbe are an ethnic group spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa, but found also in Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa...
(Fula), who have immigrated into the area in great numbers over the past few decades. Finally, the pygmies comprise another significant population.
Most eastern peoples speak their own distinctive languages, though educated individuals usually also know French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. Minor languages spoken include Bomwali, Bulu
Bulu language
Bulu is the language of the Bulu people of Cameroon. The language had 174,000 native speakers in 1982, with some 800,000 second language speakers in 1991. Colonial and missionary groups formerly used Bulu as a lingua franca in the region for commercial, educational, and religious purposes, though...
, Kol
Kol language (Cameroon)
Kol is a Niger–Congo language of the Bantu family. According to the , it is spoken in the East Province of Cameroon, in the vicinity of Messaména. Alternate names for Kol language include Bikele-Bikay, Bikele-Bikeng, Bekol.-Further reading:...
, Mbonga, and Vute
Vute language
Vute is a Mambiloid language of Cameroon, with a thousand speakers in Nigeria....
.
The people of the East are predominantly Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, and Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...
and Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
claim the most members. Animist
Animism
Animism refers to the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings, or at least embody some kind of life-principle....
beliefs are also followed by much of the population, often in conjunction with Christianity. The East also has a relatively high percentage of Muslims
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, particularly in the areas closer to the Adamawa Province.
Bantu
The speakers of Makaa–Njem languages are the largest group of Bantu peoples in the province. The MakaMaka people
The Maka or Makaa are an ethnic group inhabiting the southern rain forest zone of Cameroon. They live primarily in the northern portions of the Upper Nyong division of Cameroon's East Province. Major Maka settlements include Abong-Mbang, Doumé, and Nguélémendouka...
form the majority of this group and occupy much of the western territories on the border with the Centre Province, including the towns of Abong-Mbang
Abong-Mbang
Abong-Mbang is a town and commune in the East Province of Cameroon. Abong-Mbang is located at a crossroads of National Route 10 and the road that leads south to Lomié. Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, is 311 km to the west, and Bertoua, the capital of the East Province, lies 27 km to...
, Nguelemendouka
Nguelemendouka
-References:* * - Thèse de Donation Avele, Université Montesquieu Bordeaux IV * Charles Nanga, , Mémoire ENA....
, and Doumé
Doumé
-References:* * - Thèse de Donation Avele, Université Montesquieu Bordeaux IV * Charles Nanga, , Mémoire ENA....
. The Bajwe inhabit the territory immediately south of this, centred at Massaména. The Nzime
Nzime
The Nzime are an ethnic group inhabiting the rain forest zone of southeastern Cameroon. The Nzime live along the road running south of Abong-Mbang, through Mindourou and Lomié, and forking to Zoulabot and Zwadiba. Their territory lies south of the Koonzime in Djaposten, east of the Badwe'e, north...
live at Mindourou
Mindourou
-References:* * - Thèse de Donation Avele, Université Montesquieu Bordeaux IV * Charles Nanga, , Mémoire ENA....
and its surroundings on the road that runs south from Abong-Mbang. Further south on this road are the Njem
Njem
The Njyem are an ethnic group inhabiting the rain forest zone of southern Cameroon and northern Republic of the Congo. In Cameroon, the Njyem live along the road running south from Lomié, passing the government center of Ngoyla and going as far south as Djadom. From there, footpaths extend to...
, whose territory includes the settlements of Lomié
Lomié
Lomié is a town in the Lomié District in the Upper Nyong division of the East Province of Cameroon. An article in the Mail & Guardian Online describes it as having "no telephone connection to the outside world, and a single access road that is little more than a forest trail".In fact Lomié has been...
, Zoulabot, Zwadiba, and Ngoila
Ngoila
Ngoila, also spelled Ngoyla and Ngoida, is a village in the East Province of Cameroon, located at 2.617° N, 14.017° E. The primary ethnic group is the Njem. Ngoila is the capital of the Ngoila subdivision of the Haut-Nyong division.- References :...
. The Mpo
MPO
- Astronomy :* Mercury Planetary Orbiter, one component of the BepiColombo mission to Mercury* Minor Planet Circulars Orbit Supplement, an astronomical publication from the Minor Planet Center...
occupy most of the territory surrounding the Ndélélé-Yokadouma road and the side-roads off of it, as well as much of the border with the Congo. The Mpoman have a small enclave at Lokomo
Lokomo
Lokomo was a Finnish manufacturer of railroad equipment and steam locomotives, situated in Tampere, Finland. The Lokomo factories in Tampere produced the MIR submersibles for the Soviet Academy of Sciences.They later merged into the Metso Corporation....
south of Yokadouma, and the Kunbabeeg live west of this Mpo-Mpoman territory. All of these groups speak distinct, but closely related, languages.
Though the capital, Bertoua, is a traditional Gbaya settlement, the region is today a melange of several tribes, including the Baki
Baki
-Geography:* Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan * Baki, Somalia, the capital of the Baki district of the Awdal region*Baki, Afghanistan* Baki, Sukoharjo, a subdistrict in Sukoharjo Regency, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia....
, Pori
Pori people
The Pori is a tribe from the Centre and East Provinces of Cameroon....
, Bajem, and Kwa. The southwestern portion of the Lom and Djerem division, just west of this, is peopled by the Eki
Eki
Eki are the names of the Sun in the Basque language. In Basque mythology, Eki or Eguzki is seen as daughter of Mother Earth to whom she returns daily....
, who have more extensive territories in the Centre Province. Small areas on the road from Doumé to Gonga
Gonga
Gonga is a village in the Tikare Department of Bam Province in northern Burkina Faso. It has a population of 843....
belong to the Kwakum and Pori. The Kaka live to the south and the west of the Kadey River and have high centres at Batouri and Ndélélé. The Bageto have lands south of Ndélélé.
Adamawa–Ubangi
The GbayaGbaya people
The Gbaya live in Central African Republic, East-central Cameroon, the north of the Republic of Congo, and the northwest of the Democratic Republic of Congo. They numbered 970,000 at the end of the 20th century. They are the largest ethnic group in the Central African Republic, comprising 34% of...
are the most populous Ubangi group in the East, and they inhabit most of the Lom and Djerem division (including Bertoua) and the northernmost third of the Kadey division along the Kadey River. They also have smaller population centres, including the village of Gari-Gombo
Gari-Gombo
-References:* * - Thèse de Donation Avele, Université Montesquieu Bordeaux IV * Charles Nanga, , Mémoire ENA....
and Djampiel. The Kuo occupy the extreme northestern corner of the province, including Wendoka. The Gbete (Kepere) live northwest of Bertoua, including the territory from Bélabo
Bélabo
Bélabo is a town and commune in Cameroon, lying on the Yaoundé – N'Gaoundéré railway line. Near the town lies the Sanaga-Yong chimpanzee rescue centre.- References :...
west to Yangamo. The Bangantu people live east of the Yokadouma-Moloundou
Moloundou
Moloundou is an arrondissement in the Boumba et Ngoko Division of southeastern Cameroon's East Province. Mouloundou is close to Boumba Bek and Nki National Parks on the Dja River...
road in the province's southeastern corner.
Baka pygmies
Hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
s, in recent times, the Baka have established trade with their Bantu neighbours, exchanging wild game for crops or metal tools. This relationship is not always equal, however, and Bantu sometimes take advantage of the Baka, exploiting them for labour or ceding their territory to logging companies without compensation.
The Cameroonian government has tried to encourage the Baka to establish permanent settlements, and some pygmy villages exist in the territory. Most of the Baka remain nomadic, however, living in temporary shelters of leaves and sticks. A much greater force acting to end the Baka's traditional lifestyle is intermarriage and assimilation into neighbouring tribes.
Agriculture
The vast majority of the inhabitants of the region are subsistence farmers. Major crops are plantainPlantain
Plantain is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa. The fruit they produce is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana...
s south of Bertoua and Batouri and maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
north of there. Farmers also raise many other crops in smaller quantities, including banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
s, groundnut
Peanut
The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
s, cocoyam
Cocoyam
Cocoyam can mean:* Taro - old cocoyam* Malanga - new cocoyam...
s, manioc, pineapple
Pineapple
Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...
s, oranges
Orange (fruit)
An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
, mango
Mango
The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...
es, and yams
Yam (vegetable)
Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea . These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania...
. The dense forest and presence of the tsetse fly
Tsetse fly
Tsetse , sometimes spelled tzetze and also known as tik-tik flies, are large biting flies that inhabit much of mid-continental Africa between the Sahara and the Kalahari deserts. They live by feeding on the blood of vertebrate animals and are the primary biological vectors of trypanosomes, which...
prohibits much cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
raising, but various livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
are raised for subsistence purposes, including pig
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
s, sheep, goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
s, duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
s, and chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
s, as well as horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s and donkey
Donkey
The donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E...
s in the extreme northeast. The Livestock Development Exploitation Organisation also runs a modern cattle ranch at Ndokayo in the province's northeast.
Farms are mostly small-scale affairs planted in clearings in the forest. Farmers clear an area during the dry season using traditional implements such as axes and machetes. The area is then burned, with care taken to preserve fruit trees such as mangoes or plum
Plum
A plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and solitary side buds , the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one...
s. At the start of the wet season, spices and common vegetables are planted close to the home and tubers, such as cocoyams and manioc, are placed with plantains in larger plots farther afield. Farmyard manure is used as fertiliser. Crops are then harvested at the beginning of the next dry season.
This method of slash-and-burn agriculture allows for high yields in the short term, but quickly exhausts the soil. Farms are thus moved every two to three years, and land must remain fallow for up to ten years once it has been drained in this way. With the East's low population density, however, this generally presents little problem.
Commercial crops also exist. Cocoa and coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
are raised for profit in the areas of Abong-Mbang, Bertoua, and Yokadouma, as well as in the heavy forests south of these areas. Tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
is grown in the plains north of Batouri. No large-scale commercial livestock exists in the East, though cattle from the northern regions of Cameroon are herded through the province on their way to market in Yaoundé
Yaoundé
-Transportation:Yaoundé Nsimalen International Airport is a major civilian hub, while nearby Yaoundé Airport is used by the military. Railway lines run west to the port city of Douala and north to N'Gaoundéré. Many bus companies operate from the city; particularly in the Nsam and Mvan neighborhoods...
.
Hunting and gathering
Crop growing is often supplemented by huntingHunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
and gathering, particularly in more rural areas. In fact, among the province's pygmies, these activities are carried out almost exclusively. While gathering of various wild plant species is primarily a female occupation, hunting is conducted by men with traditional implements such as bows and arrows, spear
Spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as flint, obsidian, iron, steel or...
s, blowgun
Blowgun
"Blowpipe" and "blow tube" redirect here. For other uses of the terms, see GlassblowingA blowgun is a simple weapon consisting of a small tube for firing light projectiles, or darts....
s, and traps. In addition, firearm
Firearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
s are becoming much more common in modern times. Though most hunting is done on a small scale, larger-scale techniques are sometimes employed. In these bigger hunts, people set fire to areas of forest or grassland in order to flush out prey. Other hunters or dogs frighten the animals into running toward armed men who then kill them.
Industry
The major industry of the East is forestryForestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
. The region has vast tracts of forest, and African and European companies have exploited these heavily. Because of the rapid rate of exploitation, however, lumber companies have been forced to push further and further into Central Africa
Central Africa
Central Africa is a core region of the African continent which includes Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda....
to find suitable trees. As a result, much of the logging that once took place in Cameroon has been relocated to neighbouring countries such as Congo and the Central African Republic. The massive logging vehicles still travel through the East on their way to Cameroon's ports, and it is possible that without the logging industry, the East might never have got the little transportation network that exists there now. The East is also the home of several timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
processing centres with major operations located around Bélabo
Bélabo
Bélabo is a town and commune in Cameroon, lying on the Yaoundé – N'Gaoundéré railway line. Near the town lies the Sanaga-Yong chimpanzee rescue centre.- References :...
, Dimako
Dimako
Dimako is the name of a sub-division district and small town situated in Upper Nyong Division of the East Province of Cameroon, Africa. It lies a little way south of East Province capital of Bertoua. The local language is Kwakum, spoken by the population of around 10,000.National Road 10 passes...
, and Mindourou
Mindourou
-References:* * - Thèse de Donation Avele, Université Montesquieu Bordeaux IV * Charles Nanga, , Mémoire ENA....
.
In recent years, speculators have found deposits of gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
near Bataré-Oya, cobalt
Cobalt
Cobalt is a chemical element with symbol Co and atomic number 27. It is found naturally only in chemically combined form. The free element, produced by reductive smelting, is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal....
near Lomié, and iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
and aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
in other areas. Companies have since moved in to exploit these resources as well. Other industries have a much smaller presence, such as a groundnut-oil
Peanut oil
Peanut oil is an organic material oil derived from peanuts, noted to have the aroma and taste of its parent legume....
mill located in Bertoua.
Transportation
For its vast size, the East has very little transportation infrastructure. With the exception of a few private logging roads, travel through the province is only feasible along the three main roads that cover the territory. The first of these, National Road #10, heads east from Yaoundé, passes through AyosAyos
-References:* * - Thèse de Donation Avele, Université Montesquieu Bordeaux IV * Charles Nanga, , Mémoire ENA....
on the border with the Centre Province, then continues on through the towns of Abong-Mbang, Doumé
Doumé
-References:* * - Thèse de Donation Avele, Université Montesquieu Bordeaux IV * Charles Nanga, , Mémoire ENA....
, Dimako, Bertoua, and Batouri before turning south at Ndélélé near the Central African Republic border to pass through Gari-Goumbo and Yokadouma before terminating at Moloundou
Moloundou
Moloundou is an arrondissement in the Boumba et Ngoko Division of southeastern Cameroon's East Province. Mouloundou is close to Boumba Bek and Nki National Parks on the Dja River...
on the Congo border. Another major road begins in Abong-Mbang and heads south through Mindourou to Lomié. Neither of these roads is paved, causing travel conditions in most of the province to fluctuate with the seasons. The third major route through the province is a road from Bertoua to Garoua-Boulaï
Garoua-Boulaï
Garoua-Boulaï is a town and commune in Cameroon. The town is on the border with the Central African Republic. Across the border, the nearest CAR settlement on the road is Baboua.-References:* * - Thèse de Donation Avele, Université Montesquieu Bordeaux IV...
on the border with Central African Republic. This road was paved in 1997 with funds from the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. The only public transport
Public transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
that covers these routes is privately owned bush taxis or mini-buses run by private groups known as GIC
GIC
The acronym GIC can refer to :* Guaranteed Investment Certificate, a financial instrument* Guaranteed Investment Contract, an insurance contract* Gender Identity Clinic, for the treatment of disorders related to gender variance...
s (French acronym meaning "group d'initiative commune").
The East is accessible via railroad, as well, through Camrail
Camrail
Camrail is a company that has been granted a 20 year concession to operate the Cameroon National Railway. This Cameroonian company is a subsidiary of French investment group Bolloré. The railway has been operated by Comazar, a subsidiary of Bolloré, since 1999...
, the state-owned train system. The train comes from Douala
Douala
Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Province. Home to Cameroon's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Airport, it is the commercial capital of the country...
and Yaoundé and passes through Bélabo before heading north to Ngaoundéré
Ngaoundéré
Ngaoundéré or N'Gaoundéré is the capital of the Adamawa Region of Cameroon. It had a population of 152,698 . It lies at the northern end of the railway to Yaoundé and is also home to an airport. The current city was founded in approximately 1835 by the Fulani leader Ardo Njobdi, although the...
in the Adamawa Province. There is a regional airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
in Bertoua that is officially part of state-owned Camair's network, but it has been out of service since 2003. In addition, the Nyong River is navigable from Abong-Mbang to the Centre Province town of Mbalmayo
Mbalmayo
Mbalmayo, chef-lieu du département du Nyong –et – So’o est une ville d’environ 120 000 habitants sur les bords du Fleuve Nyong, située à 38km de Yaoundé....
during the rainy season.
Tourism
Due to the remoteness of the region and the difficulty of travel within it, the East sees very few tourists. The area boasts huge tracts of relatively untouched rain forest, however, and non-governmental organisations such as Ecofac and the World Wildlife Fund have in recent years endeavored to make the area a viable destination for eco-tourism. Their efforts have centered on the East's national parks and forest reserves, particularly the Dja Reserve. In 2003, for example, CIAD and other NGOs began a gorilla habituationHabituation
Habituation can be defined as a process or as a procedure. As a process it is defined as a decrease in an elicited behavior resulting from the repeated presentation of an eliciting stimulus...
project to pave the way for camera-toting tourists to come within a few metres of the animals to see them in their natural environment. However, government corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
led to the cancellation of the initiative. Hunters may also pursue game through these reserves.
Government
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
heads the administration of the province from the capital city of Bertoua.
The East is divided into four departments (departements), each headed by a presidentially appointed senior divisional officer or prefect (prefet):
- Boumba-et-NgokoBoumba-et-NgokoBoumba-et-Ngoko is a department of East Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 30,389 km² and as of 2001 had a total population of 116,702.The capital of the department lies at Yokadouma. -Subdivisions:...
(Boumba and Ngoko) takes up the southeast and has its centre in YokadoumaYokadoumaYokadouma is a town in south eastern Cameroon, lying near the border with the Central African Republic. It is popular as a base for visiting the local rainforest....
. - Haut-NyongHaut-NyongHaut-Nyong is a department of East Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 36,384 km² and as of 2001 had a total population of 216,768.The capital of the department lies at Abong-Mbang.-Subdivisions:...
(Upper Nyong) occupies the southwestern portion and is centred on Abong-MbangAbong-MbangAbong-Mbang is a town and commune in the East Province of Cameroon. Abong-Mbang is located at a crossroads of National Route 10 and the road that leads south to Lomié. Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, is 311 km to the west, and Bertoua, the capital of the East Province, lies 27 km to...
. - KadeyKadeyKadey is a department of East Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 15,884 km² and as of 2001 had a total population of 192,927...
(also spelled Kadéï or Kadei) forms the central-eastern portion of the territory and is governed from BatouriBatouriBatouri is a town and commune in the East Province of Cameroon. It is the second largest municipality in the province after the provincial capital Bertoua. It is located on the main road connecting Bertoua to the Central African Republic and to the Cameroonian town of Yokadouma...
. - Lom-et-DjéremLom-et-DjeremLom-et-Djerem is a department of East Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 26,345 km² and as of 2001 had a total population of 228,691.The capital of the department lies at Bertoua.-Subdivisions:...
(Lom and Djérem) consists of the north of the province and has its capital in BertouaBertouaBertoua is the capital of the Eastern Province of Cameroon and has a population of 88,462 . It is home to an airport and Mission Cameroon of Polish Dominican Order.-External links:*...
.
Each of these divisions is further divided into sub-divisions, each headed by a sub-divisional officer or sub-prefect (sous-prefet). Individual towns usually have a mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
, and some villages have a traditional chief
Tribal chief
A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...
, though this person usually holds little actual authority.
Cameroonian politicians have traditionally ignored the East. The region is simply too underpopulated to have much influence in countrywide elections. Eastern residents have in recent years called for more infrastructure improvements from the government, especially the paving of roads. Candidates for office and government officials do occasionally make stops in the region to address such issues, but their message is often simply an excuse for why such improvements would be detrimental to the region. For example, they often argue that paved roads would only allow the forests upon which the region depends to be cut down at an even faster rate.
Education
School attendance rates are difficult to determine for the East, but are generally higher in the towns than in the villages. Primary schools are fairly widely distributed, but most of the region's secondary schoolSecondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
s are located in larger villages or in towns, meaning that students from more remote areas must walk long distances, stay with relatives, or rent rooms during the school year. In addition, school fees keep many families from sending their children for an education.
Health
Due to its thick forests and equatorial climate, the East is home to a host of tropical diseases. Chief among these is malariaMalaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
, which remains a major cause of death in the region. Dengue fever
Dengue fever
Dengue fever , also known as breakbone fever, is an infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles...
, filariasis
Filariasis
Filariasis is a parasitic disease and is considered an infectious tropical disease, that is caused by thread-like nematodes belonging to the superfamily Filarioidea, also known as "filariae"....
, typhoid fever
Typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...
, and tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
are also endemic. In 1997 and 1998, health professionals recorded outbreaks of what may have been the Ebola
Ebola
Ebola virus disease is the name for the human disease which may be caused by any of the four known ebolaviruses. These four viruses are: Bundibugyo virus , Ebola virus , Sudan virus , and Taï Forest virus...
virus in the southwest near Ngoila. The World Health Organisation today doubts that this "bloody diarrhea
Diarrhea
Diarrhea , also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having three or more loose or liquid bowel movements per day. It is a common cause of death in developing countries and the second most common cause of infant deaths worldwide. The loss of fluids through diarrhea can cause dehydration and...
" was in fact that virus, however.
As with most of sub-Saharan Africa, poor sanitation
Sanitation
Sanitation is the hygienic means of promoting health through prevention of human contact with the hazards of wastes. Hazards can be either physical, microbiological, biological or chemical agents of disease. Wastes that can cause health problems are human and animal feces, solid wastes, domestic...
is a major source of illness for people in the East. Diseases spread this way include schistosomiasis
Schistosomiasis
Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease caused by several species of trematodes , a parasitic worm of the genus Schistosoma. Snails often act as an intermediary agent for the infectious diseases until a new human host is found...
, brucellosis
Brucellosis
Brucellosis, also called Bang's disease, Crimean fever, Gibraltar fever, Malta fever, Maltese fever, Mediterranean fever, rock fever, or undulant fever, is a highly contagious zoonosis caused by ingestion of unsterilized milk or meat from infected animals or close contact with their secretions...
, hepatitis A
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A is an acute infectious disease of the liver caused by the hepatitis A virus , an RNA virus, usually spread the fecal-oral route; transmitted person-to-person by ingestion of contaminated food or water or through direct contact with an infectious person...
, amoebic dysentery
Amoebic dysentery
Amoebic dysentery is a type of dysentery caused primarily by the amoeba Entamoeba histolytica. Amoebic dysentery is transmitted through contaminated food and water. Amoebae spread by forming infective cysts which can be found in stools, and spread if whoever touches them does not sanitize their...
, bacterial dysentery, and giardia
Giardia
Giardia is a genus of anaerobic flagellated protozoan parasites of the phylum Metamonada in the supergroup "Excavata" that colonise and reproduce in the small intestines of several vertebrates, causing giardiasis, commonly known as Beaver fever...
.
In recent years, the East has come into focus for its role in the AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
epidemic. This largely stems from the region's position as a transportation network for logging vehicles. In addition to the transportation network, the construction of the Chad/Cameroon pipeline has fueled the increase of Prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
along these routes, with professional sex workers operating in virtually every town and village along the province's roads. Government estimates report the HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
rate among operators of these logging vehicles to be about 18% and that of the sex workers to be as high as 30%.
Government efforts in the 1980s to improve the number and quality of hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
s in Cameroon have made healthcare more available in the region. Most hospitals and clinics are located in the larger towns, however, meaning that the seriously ill have little chance of getting to treatment in many cases. Traditional medicine
Traditional medicine
Traditional medicine comprises unscientific knowledge systems that developed over generations within various societies before the era of modern medicine...
is still largely practiced in the East, as well, and many people ascribe various maladies to the workings of witches
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
or sorcerers
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
.
Early population movements
Archaeological finds around Batouri, Bertoua, and Bétaré-Oya attest to human presence in the territory of the East Province since prehistoric times. The earliest inhabitants of the region are commonly assumed to have been the Bambenga pygmies, part of the larger Twa group who may be descendants of the pygmies mentioned in Egyptian and Classical sources. The pygmies were followed by waves of migrating Bantus in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Maka stayed to occupy the territories surrounding what is now Massaména and Abong-Mbang, and the Njem settled around present-day Mindourou and Lomié. The Kaka settled in the territory that is now Ndélélé. A later wave of immigration came in the 19th century when the Beti-PahuinBeti-Pahuin
The Beti-Pahuin are a group of related peoples who inhabit the rain forest regions of Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and São Tomé and Príncipe. Though they separate themselves into several individual ethnic groups, they all share a common history and culture. They were...
pushed in from the west to escape pressures from the Babouti. This second Bantu invasion did not get far, however, as the Fang-Beti soon encountered the Maka and Njem and were unable to press on further. Of these, the Maka-Njem moved into the territory first, after being forced from their home north of the Lom River
Lom River
The Lom is a river in northwestern Bulgaria, a right tributary of the Danube flowing into it 1 km east of the town of Lom.The river takes its source from the foot of Midzhur , the highest peak of western Stara Planina, on the Bulgarian-Serbian border, and mainly flows northeast until its...
by migrating Beti-Pahuin
Beti-Pahuin
The Beti-Pahuin are a group of related peoples who inhabit the rain forest regions of Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and São Tomé and Príncipe. Though they separate themselves into several individual ethnic groups, they all share a common history and culture. They were...
peoples, themselves fleeing the Vute, Mbum, Gbaya, and, ultimately, the Fulani. The Maka stayed to occupy the territories surrounding what is now Massaména and Abong-Mbang, and the Njem settled around present-day Mindourou and Lomié. The Kaka settled in the territory that is now Ndélélé.
The Adama-Ubangi peoples came into the territory as part of this same general migration, though they were usually the ones pushing the Bantu peoples further south. Gbaya tradition says that they moved into the region of Bertoua under a leader named Ndiba. His son, Mbartoua, was in power when the Germans arrived.
The coming of the Europeans
For the five centuries or so since the PortuguesePortugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
first reached the coast of present Cameroon, European explorers made little attempt to push into the intererior. The region was a source of slaves
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
, which were shipped out via the port at Douala or via the Congo River
Congo River
The Congo River is a river in Africa, and is the deepest river in the world, with measured depths in excess of . It is the second largest river in the world by volume of water discharged, though it has only one-fifth the volume of the world's largest river, the Amazon...
, though the numbers of natives taken were much smaller than in areas closer to the coast.
The French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
were the first Europeans to enter the region when they began exploring the Congo basin in the mid-19th century. It was the Germans
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, however, who first gained formal control over the area, establishing the eastern border through negotiations with France between 1885 and 1908. Ironically, the earliest German colonists to the eastern forests were largely entering unknown territory. The Germans set to work building roads and establishing plantations, both endeavors requiring forced labor by the natives. This often led to violence, such as when the Gbaya under Mbartoua led a rebellion in the Bertoua region in 1903. Another revolt occurred when the Kaka protested their loss of lucrative trade opportunities that they had enjoyed in pre-colonial days.
At the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in 1916, Germany was forced to cede its colony to France. The French divided Cameroon into nine administrative areas, and most of what is now the East Province fell into the Doumé-Loume-Yokadouma district with its capital in Doumé. The French largely continued the colonial practices of the Germans, with forced labor continuing into the early 20th century. They made further infrastructure improvements, as well, such as improving the road from Yaoundé to Bertoua and on to Garoua-Boulaï
Garoua-Boulaï
Garoua-Boulaï is a town and commune in Cameroon. The town is on the border with the Central African Republic. Across the border, the nearest CAR settlement on the road is Baboua.-References:* * - Thèse de Donation Avele, Université Montesquieu Bordeaux IV...
.
Post-independence
The boundaries of the East Province were finalised after Cameroon gained independence in 1961. The capital was moved from Doumé to Bertoua in 1972.The region has largely been ignored since independence. One of the few developments of note include the extension of the railroad from Yaoundé to Bélabo under the presidency of Ahmadou Ahidjo
Ahmadou Ahidjo
Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo was the first President of Cameroon from 1960 until 1982.-Early life:Ahidjo was born in Garoua, a major river port along the Benue River in northern Cameroun, which was at the time a French mandate territory...
.