Socio-demographic dynamics and deforestation in the East Cameroon: a GIS integration of census and remote sensing data at different spatial scales

In this paper, we do an analysis of the socio-demographic and economics factors associated with land cover change and deforestation processes in the East province of Cameroon, a region that concentrates the biggest remnants of the western Cameroonian Equatorial Forest. The main objective is to analyze the role of demographic dynamics and socio-economic development upon deforestation processes, in the last 25 years, in this region and census tracts levels. We also look at role of conservation units and topography on deforestation. The methodology for the analysis is the integration of socio-demographic data (from Cameroonian demographic census – 1976 and 1987) and land cover change data (from satellite images – Landsat TM), at different levels of aggregation (spatial scales), in a geographic information system (GIS).