Tatiane Flore Mayo Ngouno
Kumba City Council, Cameroon
Title: The role of economic, policy, and ecological factors in estimating the value of carbon stocks in the Meme Conservation Area, South West Region, Cameroon
Biography
Biography: Tatiane Flore Mayo Ngouno
Abstract
Old growth forest in existing protected areas store more carbon than restored forests or plantations. Carbon storage in such forests has economic value independent of additionality, offering opportunities for policymakers to ensure their maintenance, and inclusion in climate change mitigation strategies. Old growth forests of the Meme Conservation Area (MCA), South West Region, Cameroon, though protected, face external stressors such as hydrological alterations because of flooding control structures and agriculture impacts. Moreover, decreased funding threatens the restoration of the Meme Conservation Area’s old growth forest. We evaluate several economic and ecological challenges confronting the economic valuation of total (vegetation plus soil) organic carbon (TOC) storage in the MCA old growth forest. Evaluated TOC stockpiling for this forested wetland ranges begins from 70 to 537 Mg C/ha and is higher than values revealed for tropical, boreal, and mild woodlands. We calculate the average abatement cost of C specific for MCA forest to value the TOC from 20–30.4 billion CFA. The valuation of the stored/legacy carbon is based on the: 1) ecogeomorphic attributes, 2) regional socio-economic milieu, and 3) status of the MCA old growth forest as a protected area. The assessment of C storage estimates and its economic value can change public perception about how this regulating ecosystem service supports human well-being and numerous economic activities. This perception, in turn, can contribute to future policy changes such that the MCA, the largest old growth forest conservation area in Cameroon, can be included as a potential alternative in climate change mitigation strategies.