The Southwest Region is a region with special status in Cameroon. Its capital is Buea. As of 2015, its population was 1,553,320. Along with the Northwest Region, it is one of the two Anglophone (English-speaking) regions of Cameroon.
Map of the Southwest Region of Cameroon
Geography and Environment
The Southwest Region is located in the western part of Cameroon. It covers a large area of about 25,410 square kilometers. That's roughly the size of a small country! The Southwest Region of Cameroon is blessed with a variety of natural resources such as; forests, water bodies (waterfalls, rivers, lakes, and ocean), mountains and abundant wildlife species.
These natural resources stand as touristic sites in Cameroon especially the Mount Cameroon that welcomes more than 4000 tourists annually for the Mount Cameroon race of hope. Mount Cameroon in Douala, Cameroon is 4,095 meters high and has erupted seven times since 1900. The last eruption in 2012 saw lava flows from Mount Cameroon’s western flank.
The Lobé Waterfalls forms 4 cascades that drop 8 meters into the Atlantic. The Lobé Waterfall Protected Area hosts 300 plant species and endangered manatee populations.
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Lobé Waterfalls
Moreover, climate in this region favors human habitation with temperature ranging from 16oC-26 oC and an annual rainfall of 1432.2 mm thus promoting agricultural practices. Two distinct climate zones split Cameroon’s agriculture: tropical south grows cocoa and cassava while arid north produces maize and sorghum.
One of the most special places in the region is Korup National Park. This park is famous for its very old rainforest. The park supports 1,100 identified plant species including 480 medicinal plants. Korup National Park in southwestern Cameroon preserves 126,000 hectares of Africa’s oldest rainforest, containing tree species dating to the Paleocene age. It has many different kinds of plants and animals. You might even spot rare birds or monkeys here!
Korup National Park
The region also has beautiful beaches, especially around the city of Limbe. Limbé in particular is a popular tourist resort notable for its fine beaches.
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Culture and Society
The Southwest Region has a rich culture and delicious food. People here enjoy many traditional dishes. Some popular foods include "Eru and Waterfufu," which is a tasty vegetable soup with a dough-like side.
The Southwest Region is divided into smaller areas called departments. Think of them like counties or districts. The region is led by a Governor. This person helps make sure everything runs smoothly.
AMAZING DELICIOUS FUFU AND ERU!
Environmental Challenges
Over the past 2 decades, this region has been exposed to climate change as a result of Greenhouse Gaz (GHG) emission. Consequently, the population are facing abnormal recurrence of extreme weather phenomena such as violent winds, high temperatures, irregular rainfall, floods and landslides which endanger communities’ ecosystems and the services they provide. These environmental hazards are as a result of uncontrolled human activities which are not in conformity to environmental principles and disciplines, hence causing global warming.
There is much scientific evidence that climate change is responsible for; increase in epidemics, food and water scarcity, changes in temperature and precipitation, leading to droughts and floods, poor agricultural yields and malnutrition (P. In response to this environmental crisis, ERuDeF seeks to reduce GHG emission in Southwest Cameroon through multi-partner cooperation and awareness raising.
Political and Social Issues
At the end of 2017, an Ambazonian separatist movement in the two English-speaking regions of the North-West and South-West initiated a wave of violence affecting the military, police, business leaders and workers. The separatist militiamen are trying in particular to prevent children from returning to school.
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Civilians in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon are at imminent risk of atrocity crimes due to continued violence between government forces and armed separatists. In 2016 English-speaking lawyers, students and teachers in Cameroon began protesting their cultural marginalization by the Francophone-dominated government, leading to a violent crackdown by security forces in the north-west and south-west regions, an area predominantly inhabited by the country’s Anglophone minority.
In October 2017 Anglophone separatists proclaimed independence and declared a new state of “Ambazonia” in the north-west and south-west regions. Since then, armed separatists and Cameroonian security forces have clashed, resulting in widespread atrocities against the civilian population.
During the conflict, security forces have perpetrated extrajudicial killings and widespread sexual and gender-based violence, burned Anglophone villages and subjected individuals with suspected separatist ties to arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment. Armed separatists have also killed, kidnapped and terrorized populations while steadily asserting control over large parts of the Anglophone regions.
Separatists and government forces have both perpetrated targeted attacks on health facilities and humanitarian workers, restricting the delivery of and access to vital aid and forcing various international humanitarian organizations to suspend their operations. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than 1.5 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in the Anglophone regions.
Despite the continuously volatile security and humanitarian situation, the government of Cameroon has consistently denied the severity of the crisis and has yet to take any meaningful action aimed at ending the conflict or addressing its root causes. The international community has also taken limited action.
The Council of the European Union, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and others have appealed for an end to the violence and urged government action while additional actors have previously offered to serve as mediators. Recently, President Paul Biya rejected a mediation attempt by former African presidents aimed at resolving the crisis in the Anglophone regions.
On 11 March clashes between armed separatist groups and government forces in Owe village, south-west region, forced more than 710 people to temporarily flee their homes, seeking refuge in nearby bushes and surrounding villages. During March OCHA reported 189 protection incidents affecting 140 individuals in the Anglophone regions.
The most common incident types included 63 victims of abductions for ransom, 31 of arbitrary arrests and detentions and 22 of physical assaults or abuse unrelated to sexual and gender-based violence. The security situation further deteriorated during April, according to the UN Refugee Agency’s (UNHCR) Global Protection Cluster, while OCHA reported close to 200 protection incidents.
Human rights violations continue unabated, fueled by recurring attacks, abductions, unlawful arrests, arbitrary detentions, theft and the deliberate destruction of personal property. Restrictions on freedom of movement and frequent lockdowns continue to disrupt daily life and severely undermine socio-economic activities.
The persistent use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on public roads and in densely populated areas continue to pose a threat to civilians and humanitarian workers. The conflict dynamics in the Anglophone regions have changed as the crisis has become increasingly financially lucrative, with separatist groups having expanded their sources of revenue through kidnapping and extortion.
Administrative Divisions
The region is divided into six divisions or departments: Fako, Koupé-Manengouba, Lebialem, Manyu, Meme and Ndian.
As part of the Major National Dialogue, the region was given a "special status" in December 2019, granting additional rights and responsibilities in relation to economic, health, social, educational, sports and cultural development. Under the special status the region has a bicameral Regional Assembly, made up of a 20-member House of Chiefs composed of traditional leaders and a 70-member House of Divisional Representatives nominated by municipal councils.
Key Facts About Cameroon
| Fact | Description |
|---|---|
| Official Languages | French and English |
| Capital | Yaoundé |
| Largest City | Douala |
| Currency | CFA franc |
| Independence | 1960 (French Cameroon), 1961 (British Southern Cameroons) |
| Terrain | Beaches, deserts, mountains, rainforests, and savannas |
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