**1. Introduction**

In recent years, many developing countries worldwide have been tapping renewable resources for food security. Such a tendency has been spurred by high demand in some commodities and also and increasing concerns in agriculture feedstock. Agriculture is one of the main causes of the degradation of natural ecosystems [1, 2]. It accounts for 24% of global greenhouse gas emissions [3]. The resulting climate changes affect the whole humanity [4]. Agriculture is also the primary anthropogenic cause of deforestation and desertification. It greatly participates in the degradation of water resources with the increased use of chemical inputs [5].

These negative impacts are mainly attributable to industrial agriculture, practised over large areas and without taking into account the basic principles of sustainability. Artisanal agriculture also presents unsustainable practices such as shifting slashand-burn agriculture [1, 6]. Among the most incriminated is oil palm cultivation [2, 7]. This plant, which is native to the Gulf of Guinea, has experienced strong expansion around the World [8, 9]. It is planted for its oil, which is currently the first vegetable oil seconded by soybean oil [10]. Southeast Asia (Malaysia and Indonesia) accounts for 80% of world production of palm oil [11]. Effort to render palm oil production sustainable (Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil and Belgian Alliance for Sustainable Palm Oil) has led to 19% of its worldwide production certified as organic [12]. In recent years, Africa has consolidated its position as the Third production pole. There is increasing rush for its production by national and international investors, attracted by the availability of land [13]. Such a rush raises concerns captured by this paper such as reconciling increasing production of palm oil and preserving the forest and biodiversity for the sustainability of the oil palm sector in Cameroon.

WWF report estimates that palm oil supplies 35% of the world's vegetable oil on just 10% of the land. In Cameroon, oil palm exploitation is taking a global scale. Since economic crisis of the year 1990s, Cocoa and coffee have already lost ground while the rubber tree is floundering. The palm oil is reassuring, because of its many uses.

People are getting more involved in the activity because of its economic importance (money like cash crop at any time, cultural uses and benefit, etc.). Estimations on oil palm plantations reach 375 000 ha shared between agro-industries, elites and small farmers. Annual palm oil production increased from 270,000 tons in 2013 to 413,000 tons in 2018 against a demand that peaked at 1.179 million tons in 2018 [14]. Oil palm expansion in Cameroon has been driven by rising global demand for vegetable oils for consumption and cosmetics. While making a significant contribution to national economies, the expansion of oil palm plantations is a cause for environmental concerns.

Most plantations, as well as CPO productive basins, are located in the rainiest area of the country, being South West, Littoral and some part of the Centre and South regions. Between 2000 and 2020, more than 10,000 ha of oil palm plantations were established annually. Gradually, new lands available were allocated for industrial plantations while concerns on deforestation were raised up.

This paper assesses and analyzes the environmental impacts and risks associated with this activity. The main assumption is that oil palm cultivation generates ecological and socio economic impacts which put its sustainability to question. The approach is based on field surveys carried out in various production basins, particularly in the South-West, Littoral and Centre Regions. The study reviewed resolutions of various workshops bringing together stakeholders on the matter of sustainability in the oil palm sector in Cameroon. It emerges that impacts are assessed in four domains: ecological, economic, social and institutional. The latter implies a better articulation of the tensions between development and environmental issues.
