Messamena (also spelled Messaména) is a town and
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
in
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
.
Location
The town of Messamena is the capital of the ''
arrondissement
An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands.
Europe
France
The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements' ...
'' (commune) of the same name. They are located in the
Haut-Nyong Department,
East Region.
[Messamena]
, ''Communes et villes unies du Cameroun'' (2014) Plan_Communal_de_Developpement'_(Yaoundé:_Centre_de_Reflexion_et_d'Action_pour_le_Developpement_Local,_July_2012),_pp._15-25).
The_commune_is_bounded_to_the_north_by_the_commune_of_Atok,_Cameroon.html" "title="ased on
Plan Communal de Developpement' (Yaoundé: Centre de Reflexion et d'Action pour le Developpement Local, July 2012), pp. 15-25).
The commune is bounded to the north by the commune of Atok, Cameroon">Atok
ATOK (エイトック /ˈeitokku/ or /ˈeɪtɔːk/) is a Japanese input method editor (IME) produced by JustSystems, a Japanese software company.
ATOK is an IME with roots from KTIS (Kana-Kanji Transfer Input System) come with JS-WORD, the Japane ...
(Maka-bebend), to the south by Somalomo, to the east by Mindourou, to the west by Akonolinga, and to the northeast by Abong-Mbang
Abong-Mbang is a town and commune in the East Region of Cameroon. Abong-Mbang is located at a crossroads of National Route 10 and the road that leads south to Lomié. Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, is 178 km to the west, and Bertoua, the ...
.
The commune is around .
History
Under German colonialism, Messamena was the principal town of its subdivision, and this arrangement was sustained under French rule. Messamena received the first administrative infrastructure on the eve of the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, in 1937, with a prison, district hospital (1937), and junior school (1940). It was formally constituted as a commune by decree on 7 June 1955, and the construction of a town hall, Protestant and Catholic churches (1957) and a post office (1958) followed.
In 1966–67, Messamena town had a population of 540 and the commune as a whole a population of 17,079. Its area was , with a population density of 3.43 per km2 (of which was considered to be an inhabited zone, with a population density of 4.58).[Centre ORSTOM de Yaoundé, ]
Dictionnaire des villages du Haut-Nyong
', Repertoire Geographque du Cameroun, Fascicule 15 (Yaoundé: ORSTOM, June 1968), p. 11.
Population
According to the local-government ''Diagnostic de l'Espace Urbain Communale'' and ''Diagnostic Participatif au Niveau des Villages'', as of around 2012, the Municipality of Messamena had a total of 32,282 inhabitants, including 10,790 men, 10,364 women and 11,128 young people, with an average density of 6 people per km2.
2,159 inhabit urban areas and 30,123 inhabitants rural ones. The municipality has 86 villages, including ten camps of the Baka people and four ''quartiers''.
The population is ethnically diverse, including people from the Bikélé, Badjoué, Kaka
Kaka may refer to:
People Nickname or given name Sports
* Carlos Augusto dos Santos da Silva (born 1987), Brazil-born Italy international futsal player
* Kaká (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite
* Kaká (football ...
, Pygmies
In anthropology, pygmy peoples are ethnic groups whose average height is unusually short. The term pygmyism is used to describe the phenotype of endemic short stature (as opposed to disproportionate dwarfism occurring in isolated cases in a pop ...
, as well as more recent arrivals, some from West Africa, including members of the Bamiléké
The Bamileke are a Central African people who inhabit the Western High Plateau of Cameroon.
Languages
The Bamileke languages belong to the Grassfields branch of the Niger-Congo language family, which is sometimes labeled as a " Bantuoid lang ...
, Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England.
Eton may also refer to:
Places
*Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England
* Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States
* Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...
, Hausa
Hausa may refer to:
* Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa
* Hausa language, spoken in West Africa
* Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states
* Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse
See also
* ...
, Ewondo, and Bulu.
Environment
The landscape of the district is characterised by low hills, draining huge amounts of runoff in the rainy season, which results in the formation of streams in the valleys.
Climate type
The climate is of Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
type Aw, tropical wet and dry, with average temperatures of up to . It is characterized by a short rainy season from March to June, a short dry season from July to August, a long rainy season from August to mid-November, and a long dry season from mid-November to mid-March.
Hydrology
The district is characterised by a dense river-system dotted with numerous lakes and swamps, of which the main river is the Nyong
The Nyong (formerly german: Yong) is a river in Cameroon. The river flows approximately to empty into the Gulf of Guinea.
Course
The Nyong originates east of the town of Abong-Mbang, where the northern rain forest feeds it. The river's leng ...
. Other major rivers include the Long Mafok, Lehé, and Mpomo.
Forest
The district stands in a zone of dense, evergreen, ecologically diverse equatorial forest, most often characterised (depending on local soil types) by ''Annona senegalensis
''Annona senegalensis'', commonly known as African custard-apple, wild custard apple, wild soursop, (Mandinka language), and (Wolof language) is a species of flowering plant in the custard apple family, Annonaceae. The specific epithet, ''seneg ...
'' and '' Bridelia ferruginea'', interspersed with pockets of shrubby savannah. Fallow land is characterised by the invasive ''Chromolaena odorata
''Chromolaena odorata'' is a tropical and subtropical species of flowering shrub in the family Asteraceae. It is native to the Americas, from Florida and Texas in the United States south through Mexico and the Caribbean to South America. It ...
'' and secondary forest.
The flora of the district is rich in species, many with economic potential—not only timber, but also other forest products such as medicinal species. Local people harvest non-wood forest products such as ''djansang
''Ricinodendron'' is a plant genus in the family Euphorbiaceae first described as a genus in 1864. It includes only one known species, ''Ricinodendron heudelotii'', native to tropical Africa from Senegal + Liberia east to Sudan and Tanzania and ...
'' (''Ricinodendron heudelotii
''Ricinodendron'' is a plant genus in the family Euphorbiaceae first described as a genus in 1864. It includes only one known species, ''Ricinodendron heudelotii'', native to tropical Africa from Senegal + Liberia east to Sudan and Tanzania and ...
''), wild mangoes (''Irvingia gabonensis
''Irvingia gabonensis'' is a species of African trees in the genus ''Irvingia'', sometimes known by the common names wild mango, African mango, or bush mango. They bear edible mango-like fruits, and are especially valued for their fat- and prote ...
''), ''bita kola'' (''Garcinia kola
''Garcinia kola'' (bitter kola (a name sometimes also used for '' G. afzelii'') is a species of flowering plant belonging to the Mangosteen genus Garcinia of the family Clusiaceae (a.k.a. Guttiferae). It is found in Benin, Cameroon, The Gambia, ...
''), and ''cola des sanges'' (''Coula edulis
''Coula edulis'' is a tree in the genus ''Coula'', native to tropical western Africa from Sierra Leone to Angola. It is plentiful in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. It prefers tropical regions and is tolerant of light ...
'').
However, the forest is constantly facing deforestation by people due to housing, population growth, the expansion of agricultural activities, and logging (legal and illegal).[Lutte contre l'exploitation illégale dans la commune de Messamena](_blank)
September 2009. It is home to animals such as rats, bats, deer, boas, hares, vipers, hedgehogs, antelopes, porcupines, monitor lizards, moles, wild boar, sloths, turtles, ''serpent noir'', monkeys, chimpanzee
The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative th ...
s, gorilla
Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or fi ...
s, and fowl. Many of these animals are already endangered. No part of the commune falls within a national park, but there are ''unités forestières d’aménagement'' (forest management units), a communal forest, and some community forests (such as Bibom and Nkonzuh).
Soil types and minerals
Soil types are shaped by the dense, humid forest. As a result, heat and humidity alternate and lead to the decomposition of humus to great depths. As a result, soils tend to be iron-rich, thick, acidic, and red or yellow in colour. In some places, soil comes in clay-sandy form. The permeability of these soils makes them fertile, suited to the production of food and cash crops, and variation in soil-types is accordingly of considerable economic importance.
Sand and gravel are the main mineral resources of the commune, used for the construction of infrastructure and housing.
Social infrastructure
Governance
The commune has a council whose members are ethnically diverse. It is headed by a mayor, who presides over four commissions: General Affairs, Economy and Finance, Health, Social and Cultural Action, and Forestry. A 2012 report identified the following concerns in Messamena: abusive exploitation of the forest, poaching, limited harnessing of natural resources, under-exploitation of tourist sites, insufficient communication channels, and the domination of economic activity by the informal sector.
Health and education
The municipality has numerous schools and clinics.
Sports
The town of Messamena has a football ground, hosts local championships; various villages have green spaces set up as sport areas.
Economy
Economic activity in Messamena is focused on agriculture: 80-90% of the population rely on it directly. Unemployment is very high and, as in most of Cameroon, most economic activity is informal. The informal sector includes small trades such as street vendors of raw or prepared food, shoemakers, and mechanics.
Markets
Market activity is focused on the town of Messamena, which has a municipal market in the town centre. The town's population focuses on buying and selling food products and cash crops (cocoa, coffee) supplied by the villages. Large quantities are sold on to Bertoua
Bertoua is the capital of the Eastern Region of Cameroon and of the Lom-et-Djerem Department. It has a population of 88,462 (at the 2005 Census), and is the traditional home of the Gbaya people. It is home to an airport and Mission Cameroon (in ...
and Yaounde.
Sale of manufactured goods is dominated by West African immigrants and Cameroonian nationals with shops in the town centre and the commune's villages. Manufactured products are supplied from Yaoundé, Abong-Mbang
Abong-Mbang is a town and commune in the East Region of Cameroon. Abong-Mbang is located at a crossroads of National Route 10 and the road that leads south to Lomié. Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, is 178 km to the west, and Bertoua, the ...
and Bertoua.
Farming
The dominant agricultural practise is shifting slash-and-burn agriculture in fallows two to three years old. Despite the abundance of land, farming techniques remain traditional and subsistence-level, focused on peanuts, maize, cassava, plantain, and macabo, making productivity and income levels very low. Alongside this, there is cash-cropping of cocoa, coffee, and palm oil. A poor road network limits the sale and marketing of these crops to improve the income of producers.
Fruit production involves papaya, lemon, oranges, ''safouts'', mangoes (and foraging for wild mangoes), various colas, ''djansang'', and production of palm wine.
Animal-breeding is not widely practiced; anima rearing remains traditional and mostly subsistence-level. The species raised are hens, pigs, goats, and sheep, which generally roam freely.
Hunting and fishing
Notwithstanding legal restrictions and the presence of checkpoints for flora and fauna, hunting game for sale by means of traps, firearms, spears and dogs is common, with targets including deer, pangolins, monkeys, wild boar, and hares, some of which are endangered.
Most of the rivers are full of fish and the local population practice traditional, subsistence-level fishing for species such as catfish, tilapia, carps, crabs, Nile perch and ''tachetés''. For commercial fishing, the Nyong River is the main site, and the population along the river derives diverse sources of income from it. Fishing takes place year-round and techniques used include nets, dams, traps, and line-fishing.
Logging and production
Manufacture focuses on craft production in carpentry, sewing, basketry, and manufacturing rattan
Rattan, also spelled ratan, is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the closed-canopy old-growth tropical forests of ...
and raffia
Raffia palms (''Raphia'') are a genus of about twenty species of palms native to tropical regions of Africa, and especially Madagascar, with one species (''R. taedigera'') also occurring in Central and South America. ''R. taedigera'' is the sour ...
bamboo furniture. The demand for handicrafts is high but production is low due to the small number of craftsmen.
Itinerant logging, licensed and unlicensed, is carried out.
There is processing of cassava and maize into flour.
Infrastructure
Energy
The town of Messamena was not, as of 2012, supplied by the AES / SONEL high-voltage electrical network, but the town did have two generators. Rural electrification had not yet begun. The majority of communities in Messamena still use petroleum-based storm lamps for illumination; some rely on firewood.
Water supply
As of 2012, 10% of the population of the commune formally had access to potable water, others relying on riverwater or other resources. The municipality did not have a local CDE distribution network and as of about 2012, the SCANWATER network was not operational. The commune had 74 state-supported wells and boreholes, some of which were fitted with human-powered pumps.
Transport
The town of Messamena has a road network consisting of of unmetalled roads, connecting to the national Yaoundé
Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,50 ...
-Bertoua
Bertoua is the capital of the Eastern Region of Cameroon and of the Lom-et-Djerem Department. It has a population of 88,462 (at the 2005 Census), and is the traditional home of the Gbaya people. It is home to an airport and Mission Cameroon (in ...
road, route 10. As of 2012, the commune overall had of official roads, with further road- and bridge-building underway.
Telecommunications
Telephone landlines have not been installed in the commune, but radio and television is available, along with extensive mobile phone coverage via MTN and Orange.
See also
*Communes of Cameroon
The Arrondissements of Cameroon are the third-level units of administration in Cameroon. The arrondissements are organised by divisions and sub divisions of each province (now Regions).
As of 2005 (and since 1996) there are 2 urban commu ...
References
Further reading
* H. Koch, "Le petit bétail chez les Badjoué et Bikélé de Messamena", ''Bulletin de la Société d'études camerounaises'', 1946, , Numbers: 13–14,
Site de la primature - Élections municipales 2002
Contrôle de gestion et performance des services publics communaux des villes camerounaises
Thèse de Donation Avele, Université Montesquieu Bordeaux IV
* Charles Nanga,
La réforme de l’administration territoriale au Cameroun à la lumière de la loi constitutionnelle n° 96/06 du 18 janvier 1996
', Mémoire ENA. {{in lang, fr
''Étude socio économique forêt communale Messaména/Mindourou''
Réalisation ONG PAPEL/CTFC, November 2009, 130 p.
''Plan communal de développement de Messamena'' (PCD)
PNDP, July 2012, 142 p.
Populated places in East Region (Cameroon)
Communes of Cameroon