Wetlands Definitions 

Generally, wetlands are lands where saturation with water is the dominant factor determining the nature of soil development and the types of plant and animal communities living in the soil and on its surface. Wetlands vary widely because of regional and local differences in soils, topography, climate, hydrology, water chemistry, vegetation, and other factors, including human disturbance. Indeed, wetlands are found from the tundra to the tropics and on every continent except Antarctica ( U.S. Environmental protection agency). 

From this above and for regulatory purposes under the sustainable resource management and Clean Water Act , the term wetlands in Douala estuary means "those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted (mangrove) for life in saturated soil conditions (with salty soil). Wetlands also include swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas." We don't forget some area in Douala itself and Lac Ossa complex.