Urban Expansion and Implications on the Exploitation of a Non Metallic Mineral (Rock) in the Yaounde Metropolis, Cameroon

Abstract

The rate at which non-renewable natural resources are being exploited in sub-Saharan Africa is alarming. This is being observed especially at a time when most of the countries in this zone are witnessing rapid population increase and urbanization. The exploitation of non-metallic minerals in the Yaounde metropolis exemplifies situations where expansion has imposed the excavation of non-renewable resources. Utilizing a research methodology that entailed deductive and inductive approaches with specific reference to field observation, analysis of questions from focus group discussions, topographical maps and aerial photographs, we could establish some findings. The results show that stone quarries have greatly led to the construction of the city of Yaounde amidst the rapid population increase.  The stones from these quarries are crushed to produce building materials. They are also used for the construction of roads, bridges and other public infrastructure. Quarries have equally grown from the simple artisanal cracking of rocks to the more sophisticated industrial exploitation by the use of explosives and crushing machines. Study equally found out that there has been a multiplication of the number Quarries. The massive exploitation of rocks has been imposed by population growth, from natural increase and in-migration. Meanwhile this situation has made some areas of the city to be stripped of vegetation and to even stand out with landmark scars. These scars serve today as topographic traps since they distort the homogeneity of the landscape. They also contribute to the existence of interstitial spaces in the city with their own ills. Since rocks are non-renewable resources, it means that they should be managed sustainably