Conservation of biodiversity in the Mono Transfrontier Biosphere Reserve

The project is located in the Mono Transfrontier Biosphere Reserve (RBTM) in Benin. This reserve is made up of a network of 6 Community Biodiversity Conservation Areas (ACCB), two of which are newly created and have legal status. These are the ACCB of the Dévé swamp forest, located in the commune of Dogbo, and the ACCB of Lake Togbadji, located in Lokossa, 100 km from Cotonou, the capital (see map below).

The ACCB of Dévé (382 ha) is made up of meadows, swamp forests and mosaics of fields and fallows while the ACCB of Lake Togbadji (247 ha) is characterized by a plant cover made up of marshy meadows, thickets , mudflats made of floating vegetation, a few fragments of dense humid semi-deciduous forest, (sacred forest), and mosaics of fields and fallows.

The two ACCBs are home to a very rich and diverse biodiversity, several of which are threatened with extinction and listed on the IUCN Red List. We can cite the red-bellied monkey (Cercopithecus erytrogaster, EN), the Sitatunga (Tragelaphus spekii, EN in Benin), the Pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis, VU), the Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius, VU) as well as several species of flora including Milicia excelsa (VU), Kigelia africana (VU), Triplochiton scleroxylon (EN, red list of Benin), etc. We also note the presence of an abundant and diverse birdlife.

In addition, the ACCB of the Dévé swamp forest is a species migration corridor between the RBM in Benin and the Togodo National Park (Togo). These ACCBs are subject to strong anthropogenic pressures given the high density of riparian populations. Among other pressures and threats we can cite: the poaching of already vulnerable species, the clearing of land in the buffer zone for agricultural purposes, the exploitation of raffia, etc. The natural habitats of these ACCBs are very degraded and fragmented with a regressive trend of evolution in their area.

The objective of this project is to promote the sustainable management of the Community Biodiversity Conservation Areas (CCAs) of the Dévé swamp forest and Lake Togbadji in the Mono Transfrontier Biosphere Reserve in Benin.