Strengthening community management of ZOVICs bordering the Nazinga Game Ranch

The Nazinga Game Ranch, (91,300 ha), is a protected area located in south-central Burkina Faso and is home to significant flora and fauna biodiversity. In order to strengthen its protection, village zones of hunting interest, (ZOVIC), have been established as a buffer zone. 7 ZOVICs are located in the municipality of Guiaro, one ZOVIC in the municipality of Pô and 3 ZOVICs in the municipality of Biéha. The project area of ​​intervention consists of an ecosystem covering an area of ​​24,441 ha, made up of clear forests and steppes as well as several species of fauna and migratory birds located all around the Game Ranch of Nazinga.

The disorganization of traditional forest and wildlife resource management systems and poverty lead the riparian populations of the 11 ZOVICs and the Nazinga Game Ranch to a strong dependence on natural resources and unsustainable exploitation practices  of the last natural flora and fauna resources of these sites.

Several pressures and threats interact and exacerbate the situation of degradation of natural resources. These are poaching, bush fires, the abusive cutting of wood, the anarchic occupation of space by farmers and herders, the overexploitation of forest and wildlife resources of these ZOVICs, insufficient technical capacities. and operational aspects of village monitors, eco-guards and village wildlife management committees (CVGFs), the weakness of current community mechanisms for local management and governance of natural resources, the lack of sustainable funding, mechanisms for monitoring in these ZOVIC etc.

The general purpose of the project is as follows: The governance and management of the 11 riparian ZOVICs of the Nazinga Classified Forest (FC) are improved in order to strengthen the ecological integrity of the protected area.