By NDIMUH B. SHANCHO
The Anglophone crisis, which has degenerated into an armed conflict, has forced many people out of their settlements into bushes and other areas, some of which are prone to natural hazards, especially with the increasing down pour.
This status quo has become worrisome to the South West Regional Delegation of Scientific Research and Innovation, MINRESI, which has worked with universities and NGOs, to establish hazard prone areas in the Region.“When hazards occur, they may have greater impacts the local population than they would have had if people did not move to those areas.Take a place like Lebialem, where people have left their normal settlements into the bushes, we don’t know what is happening there. Some of these are areas are very susceptible to landslide. We may have casualties that we are not aware of,” Regional Delegate of Scientific Research and Innovation for the South WestDr.GeorgeMafanyTeke, divulged in an interview, July 11, 2019.
Though a comprehensive map on disaster prone zones in the Region is yet to be established, the MINRESI South West boss cited the Lebialem Area, Mount Cameroon Area, Limbe and Rumpi Hills in the Ndian area as some hazard prone areas in the Region.
Apart from forcing people to settle in hazard-prone zones, some researchers have been forced to retreat from routine research work as a result of the Crisis. “At the Institute of Research and Agricultural Development, IRAD, there was a time the Crisis was very rife and most farms that were experimental farms were abandoned; at Barombi Camp. We equally have agroforestry antennae in Mamfe and Mundemba, which was given the mandate to operate. We have the Institute of Mining and Geological Research with the mandate to monitor activities at Mount Cameroon requiring frequent trips to the field like climb up the mount, go round the mountain collect data on how the mountain is changing but the conflict has made it difficult to collect such information,” he revealed.
The South West Research boss revealed that because of the Crisis, researchers, who were running experimental projects in the area of gari transformation, domestication of Non-Timber Forest Products, and in thelaboratory.on some particular kinds of culture can’t continuewith publicationsbecause of the interplay between research and conflict.
Meanwhile, research activities have been limited to desk study. “Where we cannot go to the field, we reduce activities to desk study to keep us abreast with what is happening. We have tried to redeployed staff to work in less violent areas. We desire to see things return to normal so we can continue with the research we are doing for the good of the population,” he stated.
The Delegate noted that the mandate of MINRESI is to execute Government’s policy on research. “So when we carry out research, especially in the area of hazards, what we do is report to the Minister and the Minister has other Ministerial Departments with whom they collaborate. The aspect of Management is the prerogative of the Minister of Territorial Administration and not MINRESI,” he noted.