The Campo-Ma¹an rain forest in southern Cameroon covers approximately 770 000 hectares of the Guineo-Congolian Regional Centre of Endemism‹a species-rich area of rain forest with many species found nowhere else in the world. While the human population density is quite low, the area supports a host of economic activities, many of which threaten the area¹s ecosystems, including logging, shifting agriculture, and commercial agro-forestry. These forces contribute to the deforestation rate in southern Cameroon, which is among the highest in central Africa.

In the 1973 image the forest appears as largely intact. However, the impact of the agro-forestry industry, which is dominated by rubber and palm plantations, can be seen clearly in the centre of the 2001 image. Plantations, roads and cultivated areas dominate the landscape. These large-scale agro-industrial operations have replaced approximately 7.5 per cent of the area¹s forest cover.

Campo-Ma¹an is an important focus of conservation efforts in Cameroon, and in 2000 the Campo-Ma¹an National Park was created to protect its diverse flora and fauna. The park covers 26 400 hectares of diverse forests stretching from the coast to roughly 100 km inland.