Tayap is a small village of Cameroon located in the Centre Region, between the country's capital Yaounde (86 km) and Douala (164 km). The village of Tayap is part of the Ngog-Mapubi district of the Nyong-et-Kéllé department. Situated in the north-western zone of the forest of the Congo Basin, the world's second-largest rain forest after the Amazon, the village of Tayap has suffered from deforestation in Cameroon caused by different factors like the increase in population growth, the development of logging, the collection of firewood and the practice of slash-and-burn. Since 2011, Tayap has been the site of a pilot project of agroecology and ecotourism aiming to protect its biodiversity and lands and to develop activities which generate income for its residents. The village of Tayap is located at 3°49°2.067’’N and 10°54'5.106’’E. Tayap borders the villages of Omog and Mamb to the North, Mamb Kelle and Song Mpeck to the West, Lamal Pougue to the East and Nlep be and Ngong to the South. Tayap is situated 86 km from Yaounde (12 km from Boumnyebel on motorway N3 Douala-Yaounde) and extends along a bush road a dozen kilometers long joining the main Douala-Yaounde road. Tayap is connected to the N3 Douala-Yaounde motorway by a path which is not regularly maintained, which makes travel difficult in the rainy season. The village of Tayap is situated 6 kilometers from Omog. Tayap enjoys a humid climate of the equatorial type in four seasons: two dry seasons and two wet seasons. The main wet season takes place between August and October, and the minor wet season from March to May. The main dry season is from November to February and the minor dry season in June and July. The nearest meteorological station is at Eseka about 20 km to the South-West of Tayap. The mean annual temperature is 25C. Rainfall varies between 1,500 and 2,500 mm a year. The village of Tayap is characterized by a mean altitude of about 350 meters and by hills with steep slopes. It demonstrates an undersoil rich in silicate rock (quartzite) and magnetic rocks like pyrites and micaschist.
Pascal Pierre Michon, Clément Cattin, Sara Sonia Formery Regazzoni