Environnement institutionnel et gestion traditionnelle des espaces forestiers : cas de la région des Monts Kouffé au Centre du Bénin

La gestion des ressources forestières mobilise en Afrique au sud du Sahara une multitude d’acteurs. Chaque type d’acteur élabore un système de représentation sociale de ces ressources qui varie selon ses intérêts. Pour évaluer les différentes normes traditionnelles de gestion des espaces forestiers afin de voir les possibilités de l’action concertée autour du massif forestier des monts Kouffé, la démarche utilisée est essentiellement basée sur des entretiens semi-directifs avec une centaine d’acteurs appartenant à différentes catégories socio-professionnelles. Le résultat de l’analyse des discours a permis de constater que les communautés locales, parce qu’elles constituent les premiers occupants, s’identifient aux forêts et ont implicitement une représentation sociale très forte. Alors que pour les allochtones, qui sont des colons agricoles, c’est une réserve de terre. Pour les pasteurs sédentaires ou transhumants, les végétations vertes des galeries des différents interfluves constituent des ressources pastorales dont le seul et principal propriétaire est Dieu. Or, pour les exploitants, c’est seulement une ressource ligneuse tarissable dont chacun doit prendre sa part avant d’aller dans une autre forêt et, pour l’État, les forêts classées sont constituées par les terres vacantes qu’il faut protéger. Ces différences perceptions socio-économiques des acteurs montrent les difficultés d’élaboration de normes de gestion en foresterie communautaire dans les régions subsahariennes en général et au Centre du Bénin en particulier.Institutional background and traditional management of forest areas : example of the Mounts Kouffé area. The forest stock management mobilizes in the south of the Sahara of Africa a multitude actors. Each actor works out a system of social representation of these forest stock which varies according to its interests. To evaluate the various traditional standards of management of forest areas in order to see the possibilities of action concerted around the forest solid mass of the Mounts Kouffé, the step used is primarily based on semi-directing talks with hundred actors of various social and economic categories. The result of the analyse speeches made it possible to note that the local communities, because they constitute the first living, identify with the forests and have a very strong social representation implicitly. Whereas for the immigrants who are agricultural colonists, this is a ground reserve. For the sedentary or migratory stockbreeders, the green vegetation of gallery forests of the various interfluves constitute pastoral resources whose only and principal owner is God. However, for the owners, this is only one woody resource liable to dry up of which, each one must take its share to go in another forest and for State, the classified forests are consisted the vacant grounds which is necessary to protect. These differences socio-economic perceptions of the actors show the elaboration difficulties of standards of management in Community forestry in the south of the Sahara’s areas and in the center of Benin in particular

Determination of the silvo-melliferous regions of Benin: a nationwide categorisation of the land based on melliferous plants suitable for timber production

Perennial plants are the main pollen and nectar sources for bees in the tropical areas where most of the annual flora are burned in dry seasons. Therefore perennial plants constitute the most reliable bio materials for determining and evaluating the beekeeping regions of the Republic of Benin. A silvo-melliferous region (S-MR) is a geographical area characterised by a particular set of homogenous melliferous plants that can produce timber. Using both the prevailing climatic and the agro-ecological conditions six S-MRs could be identified, i.e. the South region, the Common Central region, the Central West region, the Central North region, the Middle North region and the Extreme North region. At the country level, the melliferous plants were dominated by Vitellaria paradoxa which is common to all regions. The most diversified family was the Caesalpiniaceae (12 species) followed by the Combretaceae (10 species) and Combretum being the richest genus. The effect of dominance is particularly high in the South region where Elaeis guineensis alone represented 72.6% of the tree density and 140% of the total plant importance. The total melliferous plant density varied from 99.3 plants ha^(−1) in the Common Central region to 178.0 plants ha^(−1) in the Central West region. On the basis of nectar and pollen source, the best region for beekeeping is the CentralWest region with 46.7% of nectar producing trees, 9.4% of pollen producing trees and 40.6% of plants that issue both, this in opposition to the South region which was characterised by an unbalanced distribution of melliferous trees

Developing policy-relevant biodiversity indicators : lessons learnt from case studies in Africa

There is an increasing need for monitoring schemes that help understand the evolution of the global biodiversity crisis and propose solutions for the future. Indicators, including temporal baselines, are crucial to measure the change in biodiversity over time, to evaluate progress towards its conservation and sustainable use and to set conservation priorities. They help design and monitor national and regional policies on biodiversity; they also feed into national reporting on international agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Sustainable Development Goals. We analyse the methodological approach of five small African projects resulting from a call to promote indicator development, improve monitoring capacity and strengthen the science-policy interface in the field of biodiversity. We compared their approach to existing guidance provided by the international community, specifically the Biodiversity Indicators Partnership. To this end, we assess whether internationally recommended steps are effectively applied to national/local biodiversity monitoring in selected developing countries. We also present lessons learnt from workshop interactions between partners involved in these projects. Through our pilot projects we identified data availability and data accessibility, together with the involvement of stakeholders, as critical steps in indicator development. Moreover, there is a need for a better awareness and a wider application of the indicator concept itself. Hence, training of key actors both in the policy and science spheres is needed to operationalize indicators and ensure their continuity and sustainability. We hope that these case studies and lessons learnt can stimulate and support countries in the Global South to formulate policy-relevant biodiversity indicators.Peer reviewe

Modes de gestion des terres dans la zone tampon de la réserve de biosphère de la Pendjari

Objectif: La présente étude relative à l'impact des méthodes de gestion des terres riveraines mises en oeuvre dans le parc de la Pendjari vise à mettre en évidence les conséquences des pratiques mises en oeuvre sur la conservation dudit parc.Méthodologie et résultats: Pour ce faire, une enquête a été réalisée et portait  sur 130 producteurs dans neuf (9) villages riverains du parc, sur les deux axes Tanguiéta-batia et Tanguiéta porga stratifié autour du parc. Elle s’est focalisée sur les systèmes de culture observés et leur impact sur la conservation des écosystèmes. Le traitement des données a été effectué sur la base d'une matrice brute de données sur 130 producteurs riverains. Dans un premier temps, la matrice brute a été soumise à un AFC (Factors Components Analysis), une classification hiérarchique, des tests de variance tels que le test non-paramétrique de kruskal wallice et les tests d'indépendance de khi 2 (x2). Les principales menaces à la conservation des ressources du parc identifiées sont la dégradation physique des sols due à l'utilisation de machinerie lourde (tracteur) entraînant le compactage du sol et une diminution de leur porosité et également la dégradation chimique des sols due à l'utilisation croissante de surdoses d'engrais minéraux (chimiques) provoquant l'acidification et l'asphyxie du sol. Il ressort également de l'analyse socio-économique que les catégories de producteurs les plus menaçantes pour la conservation de la biodiversité dans cette réserve sont, d'une part, les producteurs de l'axe Tanguiétaporga (1ère auréole) qui ont largement adopté la culture du coton et la mécanisation avec l'utilisation de tracteurs qui ont un impact négatif sur les sols. En outre, ils menacent la biodiversité en convertissant l’écosystème forestier en terres agricoles.Conclusion et application des résultats: Les principales menaces qui pèsent sur les écosystèmes autour du parc de la Pendjari sont la dégradation physique et chimique qui est principalement due à l'adoption généralisée de la culture du coton qui induit l'utilisation de machines lourdes et de produits chimiques. Ainsi, la prise en compte de ces menaces par l’organe de gestion du parc (CENAGREF-Centre National de Gestion des Réserves de Faune) et l'adoption d'une agriculture plus biologique pourrait améliorer la conservation de cet écosystème forestier. Dans un but d’approfondissement, une étude sur la qualité des eaux (rivière Pendjari et mares) du parc devrait être envisagée pour évaluer l’état de l’écosystème suite aux activités anthropiques, gage de la conservation de la faune sauvage.Mots clés: écosystème forestier, systèmes de culture, parc Pendjari, agriculture extensiveEnglish AbstractObjective: The present study related to the impact of the riparian land management methods implemented in the Pendjari Park aims to highlight the various consequences of these implemented methods or technics on this Park ecosystem conservation.Methodology and Results: To achieve this, a survey was carried out in nine (9) villages bordering the park on the two Tanguiéta-batia and Tanguiéta porga axes laminated around the park and concerned 130 producers. They focused on the observed cropping systems and their impact on ecosystem conservation. Data processing was done on the basis of a raw matrix of data from 9 surveys. As a first step, the raw matrix was subjected to an AFC (Analysis Factors Components), a Hierarchical Classification, a tests of variance such as the nonparametric test of kruskal wallice and the tests of independence of khi 2 (x2) in order to highlight the typology of the producers and the different relations among them. It shows that riparian populations greatly influence the sustainable conservation of the reserve through practices such as: the high rate of mineral fertilization, short fallow periods, extensive agriculture and illegal exploitation of Park resources. The main threats to the conservation of park resources identified are the physical degradation of soils due to the use of heavy machinery (tractor) causing soil compaction and a decrease in their porosity. Also chemical soil degradation due to the increasing overdose use of mineral (chemical) fertilizers causing acidification and soil asphyxiation. It is also apparent from the socio-economic analysis that the most threatening categories of producers for the conservation of biodiversity in this reserve are, on the one hand, the producers of the Tanguiéta-porga (1st halo) axis who have largely adopted Cotton cultivation and mechanization that induces the use of tractors that have a negative impact on soils. In addition, they threaten biodiversity by converting large forest ecosystem to agricultural land.Conclusion and application of the results: The main threats to ecosystems around the Pendjari Park are the physical and chemical degradation that is mainly due to the widespread adoption of cotton cultivation which induces the use of heavy machinery and chemicals. Thus, the consideration of these threats by the park management office (CENAGREF) and the adoption of more organic agriculture could improve the conservation of this forest ecosystem. For deeper understanding of impacts, a water quality study of Pendjari river and related ponds of the park should be considered to assess the state of the ecosystem as a result of anthropogenic activities, a guarantee of wildlife conservation.Keywords: Forest ecosystem, cropping systems, Pendjari Park, extensive agricultur