Landfill Site Suitability Selection Using Geospatial Technology for the Yaounde Metropolitan City and its Environs: Case of Soa Subdivision, Cameroon

Abstract

The inappropriate location of landfill sites is a major call for concern in most urban and peri-urban areas in Africa and Cameroon in particular. Rapid and uncontrolled urbanization, scarcity and skyrocketing prices of urban land as well as lack of proper law enforcement due to high corruption causes the population to extend their settlements rapidly into areas where landfill sites are implanted. The objective of this paper is to propose a new landfill site for the Yaounde metropolitan city and its environs based on accepted norms. To attain this, 110 questionnaires were randomly administered to 99 households; satellite image processing, GIS multi criteria analysis with weighted overlay and the analytical hierarchy process were used to produce a suitability map. The outcome shows that human implantation covers 29% of the total surface area within 500m radius around the landfill with 85% of its households affected health wise. Results also portray that the suitable and most suitable areas cover 56.6% and 16.9% whereas the unsuitable and less suitable areas cover 4.5% and 22%. The environmentally healthy suitable and most suitable sites were selected along the eastern and northern parts of Soa which is relatively accessible to the Yaounde central town.