The Lobé Waterfall, an exceptional geocultural heritage on the coast of cameroon between sustainable tourism and the conservation of cultural identities

Résumé 0

Situated mid-way along the west coast of Cameroon, the city of Kribi is a crucial location with regard to three aspects: industry, tourism and the environment. This area, endowed with abundant natural, cultural and tourist resources, remains undervalued despite timid initiatives by the local populations and the central administration to develop tourism. This article looks at the challenges of developing tourism around the Lobé Waterfall, a singular geosite at the crossroads of three coastal civilisations (Pygmy, Batanga and Mabi), proposed by the administration of Cameroon in 2006 for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Its definitive recognition as heritage is hindered by the prevarications of the decision-makers who favour industrialisation over integrated management and sustainable tourism, as recommended by the UNWTO and the UNIDO via the COAST STEP project. The objective of this text is to analyse the failure of this process, via observations, field work and interviews, taking into account at the same time the introduction of sustainable tourism in this beach area, the contribution of the stakeholders and the problems of development. The information collected provides evidence of the considerable and diversified potential for tourism (natural, cultural and historic) characterised by an attractive physical environment (relief, climate and vegetation) and the existence of motivated populations. However, the emergence of agricultural-industrial, extraction and mining activities, which do not consider the environment and social participation, and the anarchic spatial implementation of tourism, are factors that may compromise future tourism in Kribi and its geosite, with the corollary of the disappearance of the Pygmy culture.