Community Engagement in Protected Area Conservation and Livelihood Outcomes in the Dja Forest Reserve, Cameroon

For several decades, perspectives on community engagement in protected area conservation has gained traction in scientific and policy circles especially in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA). Yet, qualitative analysis of the livelihood outcomes of community engagement around pristine protected areas account for only a very negligible part of the literature. To bridge this qualitative knowledge gap, this paper using the Dja Landscape to (i) explore the dimensions of community engagement, mirrored through the interventions of community based organisations , and 2)analyses the pattern of change in livelihood capitals for 4 communities in the Dja landscape. Data was generated through focus group discussion FGD (n=5) and interviews (n=32). The directed content analysis revealed the following: