Habitat and protection of water resources in suburban areas in African cities

The low access to pipe-borne water in African cities results in the dependance of the population on well and spring waters, especially in suburban areas. The widespread practice of individual drainage of latrines leads us to examine the issue of underground water resource protection taking into account the characteristics of the habitat. From field data, authors show the importance of the issue of underground water pollution, This problem is underlined in the study of a watershed in Yaounde, Cameroon. The authors show that in these areas, complementary methods, notably, wells and springs may be validly conciliated with envisageable protection measures. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.