Cameroon Environment - 2024

Environment - current issues

waterborne diseases are prevalent; deforestation and overgrazing result in erosion, desertification, and reduced quality of pastureland; poaching; overfishing; overhunting

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: Nuclear Test Ban

Climate

varies with terrain, from tropical along coast to semiarid and hot in north

Land use

agricultural land: 20.6% (2018 est.)

arable land: 13.1% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 3.3% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 4.2% (2018 est.)

forest: 41.7% (2018 est.)

other: 37.7% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 59.3% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 3.43% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Food insecurity

severe localized food insecurity:due to civil insecurity, high food prices, and floods - according to a November 2022 analysis (the latest available), about 3.6 million people were estimated to be acutely food insecure between October and December 2022, as a result of conflict, sociopolitical unrest and high food prices, as well as floods that caused people displacements, damaged standing crops and prevented access to fields (2023)

Revenue from forest resources

2.5% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 56.37 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 8.29 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 30.71 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 3,270,617 tons (2013 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually: 13,082 tons (2009 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 0.4% (2009 est.)

Major lakes (area sq km)

fresh water lake(s): Lake Chad (endorheic lake shared with Niger, Nigeria, and Chad) - 10,360-25,900 sq km
note - area varies by season and year to year

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: Congo (3,730,881 sq km), Niger (2,261,741 sq km)
Internal (endorheic basin) drainage: Lake Chad (2,497,738 sq km)

Major aquifers

Lake Chad Basin

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 250 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 100 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 740 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

283.15 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)