Benin, Burkina Faso, and Niger host a shared ecosystem, which is also home to various national parks. Recognising the benefits of coordinated management of their shared ecosystem, the three States developed a regional programme for participatory management of three parks in the shared ecosystem: W, Arly, and Pendjari. With its experience with Villagers’ Associations for Management of Wildlife Reserves (known by its acronym in French, AVIGREF), Benin plays an important role in this programme. With funding from the European Union, this program has yielded encouraging results to date, and the next phase will expand the park complex to Togo’s Oti National Park. Henceforth, one will speak about the WARPO (W, Arly, Pendjari, Oti) park complex.
The community-based participatory management approach of the AVIGREFs (see the case study on “Implementing MEAs in the Decentralized Context of Benin” following Guideline 42(b)
) will be generalised at the level of the bordering parks of these four States. So, communities around the parks in these States will participate in surveillance, management, and use of the parks. A portion (30 percent) of the proceeds from the parks goes to the local communities around the parks in the respective States.
Experience has shown that management of shared ecosystems that are organised on the scale of the ecosystem can yield better conservation of resources. It also fosters a climate of peace and collaboration among the communities in the different States. Finally, it can be more effective in fighting poaching. Such international cooperation is also important since the wildlife crosses the park and national boundaries regularly.
For more information, see http://www.cenagref.firstnet.bj or contact cenagref@firstnet.bj