Joining forces to preserve the Basse Vallée de l’Ouémé Biosphere Reserve

The Biosphere Reserve, an environmental goldmine

Part of the UNESCO MAB World Network of Biosphere Reserves, the Lower Ouémé Valley Biosphere Reserve is a vast wetland located in south-east Benin, with an estimated surface area of over 974 km² covering the Ouémé River, Lake Nokoué and the Porto-Novo lagoon. It comprises a range of diverse plant ecosystems, including alluvial and marine plains, sedimentary plateaux, the sandy barrier beach, thickets, the Porto-Novo and Cotonou channels, the Porto-Novo lagoon, mangrove swamps, ponds and gallery forests.) Many wildlife resources are also present: mammals, fish and birds, reptiles and other threatened species such as the African manatee (classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List), the red-bellied monkey, the sitatunga, waterbirds, etc.

The wealth of natural resources available in the reserve provides important ecosystem services, in particular the supply of medicinal plants, fishery resources, lagoon sand and water for local populations.

Concerted and structured action between NGOs for the sustainable management of the Biosphere Reserve

The MAB-UNESCO label, obtained in October 2020, is the result of a joint initiative by the NGOs working in the reserve, with the support of the state authorities. In order to pursue the conservation objectives, the NGO BEES has set up a forum bringing together several NGOs to facilitate discussions and coordinate actions. In November 2023, a concerted action plan was drawn up and validated, specifying the responsibilities and activities of each organisation. Every quarter, the implementation of this plan is evaluated at meetings chaired by BEES. This forum also serves to mobilise resources to strengthen the synergy of actions within the protected area.

It should be emphasised that all these actions are carried out with the close involvement and collaboration of the various stakeholders (local communities, state authorities, etc.).

Together, the NGOs are the driving force behind initiatives and shared successes

Celebration of World Wetlands Day by the NGO collective

On Friday 02 February 2024, World Wetlands Day was held in Avagbodji, in the commune of Aguégués in Benin, on the theme of ‘wetlands and human well-being’. The event was organised by the NGO Jeunesse et Emplois Verts pour une Économie Verte (Youth and Green Jobs for a Green Economy), in collaboration with the Biosphere Reserve’s collective of organisations: BEES ONG, CREDI ONG, Nature Tropicale, ODDB, ACED-Bénin, Action Plus, AMAF-Bénin. The initiative has received the support of several partners, including the Programme de Petites Initiatives (PPI), the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), and local communities and authorities. The collective spared no effort to make this day a unique opportunity to promote the reserve and its many riches.

The Executive Director of the Organisation pour le Développement Durable et la Biodiversité (Organisation for Sustainable Development and Biodiversity), DAKPOGAN Chrystelle, gave her impressions of the day: ‘The celebration of World Wetlands Day by the collective of NGOs in the Reserve is a relevant and enriching initiative which contributes to the sustainable conservation of the Reserve and which deserves to be replicated and improved in the years to come’. She added that ‘the synergy of actions between the NGOs working in the reserve will enable each NGO to improve the quality of its interventions in the areas where it is active, in the sense that this synergy makes it possible to establish a melting pot for sharing experiences where the NGOs learn from each other’.

The day was marked by a number of activities. These included: a panel discussion on the relationship between wetlands and human well-being, the various ecological functions of natural resources that maintain and contribute to human survival and development, a carnival, a fair and competitions. The synergy of actions between the organisations demonstrates the importance of the collective in promoting the reserve and meeting the many environmental challenges that surround it.

Collective celebrates biodiversity week

The International Day for Biological Diversity, organised at Gnanhouizounmé in the commune of Bonou, under the leadership of the Organisation pour le Développement Durable et la Biodiversité (Organisation for Sustainable Development and Biodiversity), saw the active participation of the organisations of the RB-BVO collective, including BEES ONG and other players such as the local forest management committees of the communes of Bonou and Adjohoun, hunters’ associations, local elected representatives, sworn state agents and others. The main activities that marked this celebration were a travelling exhibition of images of the Reserve’s flagship species and ecosystems, and awareness-raising among local people in the village of Gnanhouizounmé. The travelling exhibition then travelled to seven communes (Bonou, Aguégués, Sô-Ava, Sèmé-Podji, Abomey-Calavi, Zè and Zogbodomey) which are home to the Reserve’s core areas. This activity provided an opportunity to show young pupils and schoolchildren, local authorities and the general public the richness of the reserve through a number of images of wildlife and specific ecosystems.

During the session, the roles of the various players in preserving the biodiversity of the reserve’s core areas were explained, as well as the difficulties they face. These difficulties are essentially centred on the degradation of crops by monkeys, uncontrolled vegetation fires that destroy agricultural fields and forests, and the poor application of management rules. Faced with these threats, the stakeholders reiterated their commitment to actively contribute to the sustainable conservation of the biosphere reserve’s biodiversity. To make the day exceptional, games of skill were organised for hunters from the villages bordering the Gnanhouizoun forests. At the end of these games, the best were rewarded.

The Director of the Organisation pour le Développement Durable et la Biodiversité (Organisation for Sustainable Development and Biodiversity) has this to say about the initiative: ‘In the light of this experience, it is clear that the involvement of all the NGOs is essential to the success of the exhibition and any other similar activity’.

To strengthen joint efforts, the NGO collective intends to better define the roles of each for future actions, and thus improve communication and coordination of activities. It is also useful to communicate in order to raise awareness among an ever-growing number of people.