African cities are experiencing rapid, unregulated growth, characterized by high land pressure and growing demand for housing and urban infrastructure. New arrivals often settle in vulnerable areas (wetlands, hills, flood) where land is cheaper and unregulated by public authorities. This type of settlement is accompanied by numerous land conflicts, exacerbated by the coexistence of formal and customary land tenure systems, which struggle to harmonize. In this context, public land regulation policies often remain centralized and ill-adapted, revealing their limitations in ensuring equitable and sustainable management of urban land. Faced with this gap, our systematic study explores the socio-environmental dynamics of this normative pluralism in land governance within Cameroonian cities. Our findings highlight the tensions and opportunities of this complex coexistence, which vary significantly according to city size (small, medium, and large), the colonial heritage (Francophone and Anglophone), and the dominant legal framework (civil law and common law). The analysis highlights the need to take into account historical, linguistic, and politico-administrative roots, which profoundly influence local forms of the institutionalization of normative pluralism and the associated socio-environmental vulnerabilities. This normative plurality underlines the importance of a hybrid system of land governance capable of integrating local specificities while ensuring land security for all. Future research will include comparisons with other African countries in order to understand transferable mechanisms for better land governance.

Introduction: This article analyzes the latent conflicts that structure the relationship between a mining company and affected local communities in the municipality of Yorodougou in western Côte d’Ivoire. Methods: Based on a qualitative approach combining 26 individual interviews and 24 focus groups, the study examines how community expectations, fragile agreements, and uncertainty shape local perceptions of the project. Results: The findings show that latent conflict stems not only from a lack of investment, but primarily from a persistent misalignment of expectations within a context of uncertainty and fragile arrangements governing the project’s benefits. Tensions arise from differing perceptions of roles and responsibilities among stakeholders, as well as from weak accountability, participation, and dispute-resolution mechanisms. Community demands for drinking water, roads, electricity, school and sanitation facilities, employment, and training reveal both a local governance issue regarding benefits and a challenge for urban and regional planning. Discussion: Drawing on the 2030 Agenda, the article links these expectations to the Sustainable Development Goals and argues that the persistence of latent conflict depends less on the volume of social actions than on the spatial coherence of investments, the credibility of commitments, and the capacity of local institutions to reduce social vulnerability. From an inclusive urban resilience perspective, the article proposes linking Impact and Benefit Agreements with nature-based and community-oriented approaches to co-produce more equitable infrastructure and services and to strengthen the long-term acceptability of the project.

Résumé: Dans un contexte régional alimenté par la multiplication des tensions autour de l'accès, de l'usage et du contrôle des ressources naturelles, les mangroves de Douala se révèlent être un terrain emblématique pour apprécier la conflictualité socio‐environnementale à l'échelle urbaine. En mobilisant le cadre d'analyse stratégique de la gestion environnementale de Mermet (2011) et une méthodologie mixte, combinant analyse spatiale diachronique (1990‐2024), observations de terrain et 27 entretiens semi‐dirigés, cette étude met en évidence une perte estimée à plus de 7300 hectares de mangroves en 34 ans. En mettant en lumière la diversité des modèles d'action (organisés, dispersés et discrètes), les résultats démontrent que cette dégradation ne résulte pas uniquement de l'urbanisation informelle et du manque de régulation étatique. En effet, elle s'inscrit dans une configuration d'acteurs pluriels, porteurs de visions concurrentes et évoluant dans un cadre de gouvernance multi‐niveaux fragmenté. Au‐delà du constat écologique, la gestion des mangroves apparaît à Douala comme une arène politique, révélatrice des tensions entre développement et conservation. Cette étude invite à repenser la gouvernance de ces espaces à travers des dispositifs collaboratifs capables de dépasser les logiques sectorielles pour construire des accords partagés sur l'avenir de ces écosystèmes stratégiques .