| Summary: | Cameroon which is situated at the gulf guinea between 2° and 13° at latitude North and between 9° and 16° at latitude East, like many other developing countries, presents many problems attached to the management of water resources. In fact, several political, social, economic and environmental factors hinder its effective management. These factors deal particularly with the passivity of the actors in charge of water problems, an overlap of competences, the lack of financial means, the sectorial approach of solving problems related to water, the unilateral policy from “up to down”, the inefficiency of the main dealer of potable water distribution, the socio-political context characterised by a pseudo-stability, the lack of human capacities and the lack of appropriate texts and adequate structures. The consequences are extremely dramatic on the development process. Thus, the inescapable scarcity of water, its constant quality degradation and inequal distribution are as much palpable signs which indicate a bad water management, and contribute in a significantly to the population impoverishment in terms of health, urbanisation economy and exchange. Some bilateral and multilateral actors initiatives which are centered on water supply, the irrigation programme support, fishing, energy, tourism, etc., throw light on the dark board of water management in Cameroon. Adhesion of Cameroon to different organisations in charge of basins management (the Niger Basin Authority, the Lake Chad Basin Commission, the Congo Basin Commission) and the ratification of different international treaties on questions related to water constitute the advantages for improvement of the integrated water resources management within the national bounds. An implementation of the strategy of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is imperative nowadays in Cameroon. The IWRM is a strategic and important framework for a double targeted process concerning the Millenium Objectives for the Development (MOD) and the strategy of sustainable development as recommended during the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg in 2002. The government’s duty is to implement this strategy because the gist of what said Kofi Anan is that MOD should be reached in each state members thanks to the efforts of both governments and populations.
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