How Far the Mono Transboundary Biosphere Reserve Protects Biodiversity in the Dahomey-Gap Corridor, West Africa?

Mono Transboundary Biosphere Reserve (MTBR) is rich in biodiversity associated with different multi-functional ecosystems in the Dahomey-Gap corridor in the southern border between Benin and Togo. The reserve has been facing many anthropogenic pressures since few years including the uncontrolled exploitation of forest resources, and fragmentation of habitats and permanent search for arable land. Thus, it becomes important to develop prospective analysis approaches in order to provide specific insights for a balanced biodiversity. This study aims to provide scientific evidence to better understand and project future changes in LULC in the MTBR at different spatial and temporal scales. Changes in LULC were used to map the MTBR in 1986, 2000, and 2015 and to predict the LULC in the future up to 2070 using Markovian chain analysis. During 1986–2000, urban agglomeration/bare soil (8.79 ha/year) increased, whereas the natural vegetation cover increased during the period 2000–2015, particularly mangroves (9.81 ha/year). Assuming the dynamic observed, the mangroves will increase by 2070 (6% of its cover). However, an important increase is also expected for farmland (13% of its cover). It is, therefore, important to strengthen the actions and strategies around and within the MTBR for sustainable management of biological resources

Co-management brings hope for effective biodiversity conservation and socio-economic development in Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve in Malawi

Co-management has been widely promoted in protected area management on the premise that it may simultaneously enhance biodiversity conservation outcomes and improve livelihoods of the park-border communities. However, the success of this management approach remains a growing debate raising the question of its effectiveness. To contribute to this debate, we used local community perceptions and secondary ecological data to assess the extent to which co-management has effectively contributed to biodiversity conservation and socio-economic development outcomes in the Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve. Face-to-face individual interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire were used to collect data on the perceptions of co-management from 160 purposively selected heads of households. A desk study was used to collect data on trends in animal populations, animal mortality, and prohibited activities including incidences of poaching for the past 30 years (pre-and post-introduction of co-management). Results showed that local communities have positive perceptions of the conservation work in the Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve. Further, there was an improved people-park relationship and a recovery of animal populations in the reserve after the introduction of co-management. These findings point to the success of co-management in the area. However, misunderstandings over revenue sharing were still a thorny issue, somehow creating mistrust between parties. We concluded that while it may still be early to achieve more demonstrable conservation outcomes, co-management appears to bring hope for effective biodiversity conservation and socio-economic development in the Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve. Participatory evaluation of co-management involving key stakeholders is recommended in the Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve based on the findings of this study and lessons learnt over the years

Traditional knowledge and cultural importance of Borassus aethiopum Mart. in Benin: interacting effects of socio-demographic attributes and multi-scale abundance

ResearchBackground: Eliciting factors affecting distribution of traditional knowledge (TK) and cultural importance of plant resources is central in ethnobiology. Socio-demographic attributes and ecological apparency hypothesis (EAH) have been widely documented as drivers of TK distribution, but their synergistic effect is poorly documented. Here, we focused on Borassus aethiopum, a socio-economic important agroforestry palm in Africa, analyzing relationships between the number of use-reports and cultural importance on one hand, and informant socio-demographic attributes (age category and gender) on the other hand, considering the EAH at multi-scale contexts. Our hypothesis is that effects of socio-demographic attributes on use-reports and cultural importance are shaped by both local (village level) and regional (chorological region level) apparency of study species. We expected so because distribution of knowledge on a resource in a community correlates to the versatility in the resource utilization but also connections among communities within a region. Methods: Nine hundred ninety-two face-to-face individual semi-structured interviews were conducted in six villages of low versus high local abundance of B. aethiopum spanning three chorological regions (humid, sub-humid and semiarid) also underlying a gradient of increasing distribution and abundance of B. aethiopum. Number of use-reports and score of importance of uses of B. aethiopum were recorded in six use-categories including medicine, food, handcraft, construction, firewood, and ceremonies and rituals. Data were analyzed using Poisson and ordered logistic modelsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Diverse views among scientists on non-native species

Conservation scientists have traditionally viewed non-native species (NNS) as potential threats to native biodiversity. Here, we question whether alternative views of NNS exist in the scientific community that stand in contrast to the dominant narrative that emerges from the literature. We asked researchers from the biological, social, and environmental sciences to participate in an anonymous poll regarding the perceived values and threats of NNS. Some 314 individuals responded, approximately half of whom were biologists and half were social or environmental scientists. We grouped responses into three statistical clusters defined by shared responses. We then analyzed the correlation of responses to individual questions and membership of clusters with predictor variables age, gender, and field of work. Overall, a majority of respondents in our sample supported statements that the species-component of biodiversity should include all species (55%) or some types of non-native species (an additional 32%), which contrasts with the manner in which major biodiversity assessments and indicators are constructed. A majority of respondents in our sample (65%) also supported that measurement of the impact of invasive species should be based on the net biological, social, and economic effects, which also represents a marked departure from current methods that focus only on the adverse effects of a subset of NNS considered as invasive. Field of work and age were correlated with clusters and numerous individual responses. For example, biologists were three-times more likely than non-biologists to support a definition of species richness that included only native species. Two clusters (Cluster 1 and Cluster 3), mainly composed of non-biologists and biologists, respectively, differed in their support for statements that NNS would provide useful ecosystem services in the future (66% and 40%, respectively). Thus, a key result of this study is that a variety of normative stances regarding NNS is present within the scientific community. Current international indicators of progress (e.g., Aichi Targets) capture only a “nativist” set of values, which, if our sample is representative of the scientific community, appears to be a minority view. Therefore, we argue that indicators should be modified to integrate the diversity of views that exist within the scientific community

Diverse views among scientists on non-native species

Conservation scientists have traditionally viewed non-native species (NNS) as potential threats to native biodiversity. Here, we question whether alternative views of NNS exist in the scientific community that stand in contrast to the dominant narrative that emerges from the literature. We asked researchers from the biological, social, and environmental sciences to participate in an anonymous poll regarding the perceived values and threats of NNS. Some 314 individuals responded, approximately half of whom were biologists and half were social or environmental scientists. We grouped responses into three statistical clusters defined by shared responses. We then analyzed the correlation of responses to individual questions and membership of clusters with predictor variables age, gender, and field of work. Overall, a majority of respondents in our sample supported statements that the species-component of biodiversity should include all species (55%) or some types of non-native species (an additional 32%), which contrasts with the manner in which major biodiversity assessments and indicators are constructed. A majority of respondents in our sample (65%) also supported that measurement of the impact of invasive species should be based on the net biological, social, and economic effects, which also represents a marked departure from current methods that focus only on the adverse effects of a subset of NNS considered as invasive. Field of work and age were correlated with clusters and numerous individual responses. For example, biologists were three-times more likely than non-biologists to support a definition of species richness that included only native species. Two clusters (Cluster 1 and Cluster 3), mainly composed of non-biologists and biologists, respectively, differed in their support for statements that NNS would provide useful ecosystem services in the future (66% and 40%, respectively). Thus, a key result of this study is that a variety of normative stances regarding NNS is present within the scientific community. Current international indicators of progress (e.g., Aichi Targets) capture only a “nativist” set of values, which, if our sample is representative of the scientific community, appears to be a minority view. Therefore, we argue that indicators should be modified to integrate the diversity of views that exist within the scientific community

Latitudinal distribution, co-occurring tree species and structural diversity of the threatened palm Borassus aethiopum (Arecaceae) in Benin, West Africa

Background and aims – Borassus aethiopum Mart. is a wild palm species with high subsistence importance in West Africa. Extensive agriculture and overharvesting of its stem and fruits for multiple uses have caused a decrease of its natural populations in its native range. For conservation purposes, the distribution, abundance and structural diversity of the species were investigated across ten phytodistricts in three biogeographical zones in Benin. Two hypotheses were tested (i) tree floristic composition of B. aethiopum natural habitat changes with phytodistricts and (ii) structural diversity of B. aethiopum changes with phytodistricts, both as potential adaptation strategies to changing ecological conditions. Methods – Geographical coordinates of the species occurrence were recorded. Abundance was assessed in 852 one-ha plots. Structural diversity was studied using structural indices on data from ecological inventories and neighbourhood survey in 70 one-ha plots. Key results – The two hypotheses proved true. B. aethiopum was found in all phytodistricts but with strong variations in abundance. Overall, floristic composition of its natural habitats showed dissimilarities among phytodistricts. Three main vegetation types sheltered B. aethiopum : mixed grass and shrub savannas, savanna woodlands and woodlands, all of which were found in gallery forest landscapes. The density of B. aethiopum was lower in grass savannas but larger, shorter and distant individuals were found there than in savanna woodlands and woodlands. In the latter vegetation types, its density was high with thin, tall and closely spaced individuals. B. aethiopum tolerates mingling with several other tree species but increased mingling tends to lead to positive differentiation in diameter and height. Conclusions – Borassus aethiopum is a sun-demanding species and establishes successful populations in various ecological conditions. It could be mixed with other tree species in tree plantations and modern agroforestry systems as long as water requirements are met. However, it would be preferable that the species is associated with shade tolerant or medium sun-demanding species

Latitudinal distribution, co-occurring tree species and structural diversity of the threatened palm Borassus aethiopum (Arecaceae) in Benin, West Africa

Background and aims – Borassus aethiopum Mart. is a wild palm species with high subsistence importance in West Africa. Extensive agriculture and overharvesting of its stem and fruits for multiple uses have caused a decrease of its natural populations in its native range. For conservation purposes, the distribution, abundance and structural diversity of the species were investigated across ten phytodistricts in three biogeographical zones in Benin. Two hypotheses were tested (i) tree floristic composition of B. aethiopum natural habitat changes with phytodistricts and (ii) structural diversity of B. aethiopum changes with phytodistricts, both as potential adaptation strategies to changing ecological conditions. Methods – Geographical coordinates of the species occurrence were recorded. Abundance was assessed in 852 one-ha plots. Structural diversity was studied using structural indices on data from ecological inventories and neighbourhood survey in 70 one-ha plots. Key results – The two hypotheses proved true. B. aethiopum was found in all phytodistricts but with strong variations in abundance. Overall, floristic composition of its natural habitats showed dissimilarities among phytodistricts. Three main vegetation types sheltered B. aethiopum : mixed grass and shrub savannas, savanna woodlands and woodlands, all of which were found in gallery forest landscapes. The density of B. aethiopum was lower in grass savannas but larger, shorter and distant individuals were found there than in savanna woodlands and woodlands. In the latter vegetation types, its density was high with thin, tall and closely spaced individuals. B. aethiopum tolerates mingling with several other tree species but increased mingling tends to lead to positive differentiation in diameter and height. Conclusions – Borassus aethiopum is a sun-demanding species and establishes successful populations in various ecological conditions. It could be mixed with other tree species in tree plantations and modern agroforestry systems as long as water requirements are met. However, it would be preferable that the species is associated with shade tolerant or medium sun-demanding species