Enhancing biodiversity using traditional African knowledge in Benin

Enhancing biodiversity using traditional African knowledge in Benin

Share this:
Project detail:
Timeframe:
-
Status: Active
Partners: Survie de la Mère et de l’Enfant
Countries: Africa, Benin
Themes: Knowledge management

Context

In 2021, flooding in Bétécoucou, a commune of Dassa-Zoumé, prompted the community to reconsider its environmental management approaches and explore traditional methods for protecting local forests. Benin is home to mangrove forests in the south, which are culturally sacred and protected forests in its central region. However, in recent years, sustainable agricultural practices have been overshadowed by modern methods that prioritise economic gains, such as logging activities. This shift has led to environmental degradation and increased vulnerability to climate change. Traditionally, African communities have lived in harmony with their environment. Unfortunately, the influence of external values and the temptation of short-term economic benefits have caused significant environmental damage. This degradation seriously impacts local communities that rely on ecosystems for their livelihoods.

Project activities

Survie de la Mère et de l’Enfant (Survie) aims to establish an exchange and collaboration between scientists, local development actors and members of the local community, including youth and women’s groups, who can work together to integrate Indigenous and local approaches into subnational ecosystem management plans. The project will:

  • Document and evaluate the local environmental protection activities based on traditional knowledge.
  • Support the uptake of these management plans for other communities and national government actors.
  • Support the local community in making the best use of Indigenous knowledge to preserve the environment and biodiversity.

Survie has hosted meetings with local authorities, including the Mayors of the respective districts, the forestry inspectorate, the region prefect, decentralisation ministries, and local governance. The project has established a steering committee representing different grassroots communities and local groups.

The project launch ceremony was held on June 24th and was attended by around 150 people in Savalou and Savè. Crowned heads (spiritual leaders in the region) celebrated the importance of the project’s activities and engaged with young climate advocates from the community. The ceremony was captured by a local TV channel and features speeches from the different local authorities, who are committed to the project’s objectives and recognise how the project upholds Benin's cultural beliefs and values.

The project aims to gain support from local leaders to blend traditional practices with modern conservation methods and technologies, such as GIS mapping, within the local laws that govern forest management. Moreover, the project organises awareness sessions with community members to better understand their use of the forests and to explore how the initiative can promote forest conservation while protecting their livelihoods by:

  • Developing a database of innovative practices to protect the environment, biodiversity and forests.
  • Drafting a bill to protect biodiversity and forests for the National Assembly for consideration and vote.

Project outputs

The project has also been featured in local media outlets because of its innovative, locally aligned approaches to protecting forests.

Related

Feature
16th December 2024
Reflecting as we go: Lessons from CDKN’s open call for locally-led adaptation initiatives in Africa CDKN is providing Knowledge-to-Action (K2A) grants in Africa, Asia and Latin America. In Africa, an open call for locally-led adaptation (LLA) initiatives and a comprehensive selection process led to five K2A projects being chosen who received US$150,000 each in Benin, Cameroon, Kenya, Mozambique and South Sudan. We intentionally adopted a learning approach and here we share our insights from the selection process.