Globally, the rules and policies governing maritime and land-based operations are neither well-coordinated nor appropriately linked. The state of the seas, which in turn affects terrestrial ecosystems and the well-being of coastal communities, is affected by changes on land linked to anthropogenic activities like agro-industries or extractive industries. As a result, including land-sea interactions in policy is crucial to ensuring the welfare of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people while preserving biodiversity and coastal marine ecosystems. It was to initiate reflections on the management of Land-Sea Interactions (LSI) that RELUFA organized an exchange workshop on January 24, 2023, in the Lokoundjé district, near Kribi, as part of the LandCam project financed by the European Union. The workshop featured presentations centered on four major issues: land-sea interactions in the Ocean division of Cameroon’s Southern region, land-use planning and the consideration of land-sea interactions, fisheries policy and legislation, and policies and legislation on extractive industries (oil, gas, and mining).
Joel Kamdoum Ngueko, a specialist in marine spatial planning and integrated coastal zone management, gave a presentation on land-sea interactions in the Ocean division of Cameroon. In his presentation, he emphasized that coastal management must first consider maritime activities since activities at sea can develop without access to land, but not all activities on land can have access to the sea. An official from the Ministry of the Economy, Planning, and Land Development (MINEPAT), Mr. Patrice Nsegbe, gave the second presentation. He centered his talk on land-use planning and interactions between land and the sea. He explained that the ocean and seas can affect land areas and that the land-use planning process must be carried out by a set of official texts governing spatial planning (urbanism), natural resource management (forests, wildlife, and fisheries, water), the environment, land affairs and domains, and decentralization in Cameroon.
Mr. Makobe Francis Eugène, Director of the Kribi Community Fishermen’s Center (CECOPAK), gave the third presentation on Fisheries Policies and Legislation and Land-Sea Interactions. Inspired by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, the speaker identified several points regarding land-sea interactions like the participation of representatives of fishing communities in the decision-making process about the development of coastal zones and mechanisms for preventing and managing conflicts between users of fishery resources. He proposed an update on the law regarding fisheries, considering the relevant provisions of regional and international agreements about certain legal loopholes concerning fishing activities. Dr. Maginot ABANDA AMANYA delivered the last presentation on “Policies and Legislation on the Extractive Industries” and analysis of Land-Sea interactions. Additionally, he pointed out several extractive activities in the Ocean department that caused interactions between the land and marine zones and emphasized that extractive legislation only considers these interactions insignificantly.
From these exchanges, there were seven recommendations made. These include documenting and monitoring Land -sea Interactions and their impacts, informing and raising awareness of Land -Sea Interactions, setting up multi-stakeholder consultation frameworks at local and national levels, implementing integrated coastal zone management, and building the capacities of decentralized local authorities. The various land-use planning procedures should also take residents’ livelihoods into account.
