Impacts socio culturels du barrage de Memve’ele dans la vallée du Ntem

Abstract

This work on the "impacts socio culturels du barrage de Memve’ele dans la communauté Nyabizan" looks at the various dynamics caused by the dam's construction, from the point of view of beliefs, customs, techniques, traditions and their institutions. This research has raised several questions, notably: what are the socio-cultural impacts of the Memve'ele dam on the Nyabizan community in the Ntem valley, South Cameroon region? What were the cultural practices and habits of the local people before the structure was built? What are the socio cultural impacts and dynamics after the construction of the hydroelectric dam? The hypotheses were therefore that the socio cultural impact of the hydroelectric dam on the community of Nyabizan is economic, social and demographic. The answers to these questions were made possible thanks to the qualitative method and its data collection techniques: docu mentary research, in depth individual interviews and field observations. These research techniques enabled us to come up with the following results: before the dam was built, the socio -cultural activities of the Mvae and Ntumu were mainly marked by fishing, hunting and agriculture, etc. There was also an absence of fishing and hunting activities. Electricity and the telephone network were also absent. In addition, there were few public schools before the dam was built. After the dam was built, businesses were set up and schools and accommodation facilities were built. In addition, the construction of the Nyabizan dam and its corollaries have led to a metamorphosis in cultural habits (acculturation, new forms of culture, destruction of ritual sites, destruction of tombs, people's break with their traditional environment). On the economic front, income-generating activities have multiplied. The impact is also observable on the social level, notably the displacement of populations, infrastructural and structural change, etc. On the environmental front, we note the destruction of fishing grounds and waterways. Many other mutations and dynamics can be observed on the political level, etc.