Sacred Forests: a Sustainable Conservation Strategy? the Case of Sacred Forests in the Ouémé Valley, Benin
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Sacred forests: a sustainable conservation strategy? The case of sacred forests in the Ouémé Valley, Benin Author: Amandine Soury MSc of International Development studies Wageningen, 1 st March 2007 Thesis supervisor: Prof Dr. Kris van Koppen Environmental Policy Group (ENP) Department of Social Sciences Wageningen University, the Netherlands Field supervisor: M. Sévérin Tchibozo Manager NGO CERGET Laboratoire d’Ecologie Appliquée Cotonou, Benin ii Sacred forests: a sustainable conservation strategy? The case of sacred forests in the Ouémé Valley, Benin Author: Amandine Soury MSc of International Development studies Wageningen, 1 st March 2007 Thesis supervisor: Prof Dr. Kris van Koppen Environmental Policy Group (ENP) Department of Social Sciences Wageningen University, the Netherlands Field supervisor: M. Sévérin Tchibozo Manager NGO CERGET Laboratoire d’Ecologie Appliquée Cotonou, Benin iii CCColophon Soury, Amandine [email protected]; [email protected] Sacred forests: a sustainable conservation strategy? The case of sacred forests in the Ouémé Valley, Benin Master Thesis, Wageningen University Social Sciences, Environmental Policy group Supervisor : Dr. Kris Van Koppen; Field supervisor : M. Sévérin Tchibozo. The pictures presented on the cover are (from the left to the right) the Ouémé River - picture take between Akpadanou and Dékanmè-; The sacred forest of Kpinkonzoun and a Twin temple located in the sacred forest of Bidonouzoun, Abomey. All the pictures and figures in the report without specific indication of source are made by the author. All rights reserved. No section of the report may be reproduced in any form, by copy or print or any other mean, without explicit reference to the author. Copyright © 2007 by Amandine Soury iv ABSTRACT As opposed to the neighbouring countries, Benin counts only few areas covered by tropical forests. This is observable in the Ouémé valley where took place the research. The only remaining forests in the region are all sacred, due to vodoun , spiritual or historical reasons. The present study mainly examines the way the sacred forests located in the Ouémé valley are managed. Because they are the last forests remaining, several authors assume that the sacredness of forests ensure their sustainable management. The research also intends to investigate the threats facing sacred forests and the actual formal regulations promoting nature and forests conservation. Informations have been collected through structured interviews of local communities, local formal and informal authorities, as well as employees of several ministries. The survey has been conducted in the Ouémé valley mainly Adjohoun, Porto-Novo and Cotonou. Due to a general lack of information regarding sacred forests, we first had to inventory the sacred forests of the study area, identify the main activities occurring in them and investigate the general awareness of local communities about nature conservation and formal policies. The study reveals that sacred forests of the Ouémé valley are highly threatened; rural communities rely on these groves to meet their daily needs (food, wood, medicinal plants) and do not see any alternatives to forest exploitation. The situation is driven by people’s poverty, population growth, energetic needs and a limited access to fertile lands. Even if the holy aspect of forests has for decades enable their conservation, forests sacredness is not anymore enough to sustainably protect the remaining forests. The main challenge for project developers is to find alternatives for local communities in order to sustainably protect sacred forests. The action should notably focus on agricultural development, creation of tree nurseries and medicinal plant garden. Nationally we recommend the creation of a legal status for sacred groves. Keywords : Benin, Adjohoun, Ouémé, sacred forest, threats, management, nature conservation, vodoun , policy, survey, inventory, alternative. Contrairement aux pays voisins, une petite partie du territoire Béninois est couverte de forêt tropicale. Ce fait est notamment observable dans la vallée de l’Ouémé où a eu lieu cette étude. Dans la région, les quelques forêts restantes sont toutes sacrées, dû fait de la présence de vodoun à l’intérieur et des valeurs spirituelles et historiques qui leur sont associées. Ce rapport étudie principalement la façon dont les forêts sacrées situées dans la vallée de l’Ouémé sont gérées. Parce qu’elles sont les dernières forêts présentes dans la région, plusieurs auteurs ont conclu que leur valeur spirituelle assure leur gestion durable. L’étude a également évalué les menaces pesant sur les forêts sacrées et les législations existantes concernant la conservation des forêts et de la nature. Les informations ont été collectées grâce à l’interview de riverains, d’autorités locales formelles et informelles ainsi que d’employés de différents ministères. La présente étude s’est déroulée dans la vallée de l’Ouémé principalement Adjohoun, à Porto-Novo et à Cotonou. En raison d’un manque général d’information concernant les forêts sacrées, nous avons dû recenser les forêts sacrées de la région d’étude, identifier les principales activités ayant lieu dans les forêts et évaluer les connaissances générales des communautés locales à propos de la conservation de la nature et des textes de loi. L’étude révèle que les forêts sacrées de la vallée de l’Ouémé sont très menacées; les communautés rurales dépendent de ces forêts pour satisfaire leurs besoins journaliers (aliments, bois, plantes médicinales) et ne voient pas d’alternatives possibles à l’exploitation des forêts sacrées. Ce sont principalement la pauvreté, la croissance de la population, les besoins énergétiques et l’accès v limité aux terres fertiles qui ont engendré la situation actuelle. Même si la valeur sacrée des forêts a permis leur conservation pendant plusieurs décennies, cette étude a pu démontré clairement que le coté sacré des forêts n’est plus un moyen suffisant pour les protéger durablement. Le principal challenge qui attend les développeurs de projets est de trouver des alternatives pour les populations locales dans le but de protéger durablement les forêts sacrées. Les actions envisagées doivent notamment inclure le développement agricole, la création de plantation d’arbres et de jardins de plantes médicinales ; et la création d’un statut légal pour les forêts sacrées. Mots Clés : Bénin, Adjohoun, Ouémé, forêt sacrée, menace, gestion, conservation de la nature, vodoun , politique, enquête, recensement, alternative. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENT To my family and my friends that have supported all my choices, all my travels and adventures; To Sévérin Tchibozo that offered me the great opportunity to work about sacred forests and to discover this mysterious world. He gave me a warm welcome and provided a great support for the fieldwork and the thesis writing; To Kris van Koppen that supervised the fieldwork and master thesis, whereas the different contretemps. He always gave me constructive advices during the fieldwork, for the proposal and thesis writing; To Marcellin Laleye my interpreter that explained me a lot about the Beninese culture, facilitated the contact with villagers, drove me everywhere, and supported my occasional bad mood; To Alain Onibon, Pascal Oudé, Hubert Madafime and Jean-Marc Sinassany that accepted to answer my questions. Despite their work for the ministries, they took time to discuss with me about sacred forests, the actual forests depletion, and their point of view regarding the possible alternatives; To all the information and notably the Houèssanou family that gave me a great welcome. I am glad to have spent time with them. They have been patient, generous and open to speak about a relatively secret subject. A large part of this report relies on their answers and the final report is also theirs. To all the persons I have met in Benin that made me discover and enjoy the country, that helped me for the research, more particularly Nathalie and Sylvèstre, Jean-Didier, Adi, Flauberte and Josée, the staff of the Laboratoire d’Ecologie Apliquée , Mariette, Emmanuel, etc. vii viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract.......................................................................................................................................v Acknowledgement....................................................................................................................vii Table of contents .......................................................................................................................ix Table of figures....................................................................................................................... xiii Glossary of acronyms ...............................................................................................................xv 1. Introductory Chapter...........................................................................................................1 1.1. Forest and deforestation: a critical issue.....................................................................1 1.1.1. Role of forests and threats ..................................................................................1 1.1.2. Main reasons of deforestation in Africa .............................................................2 1.1.3. Conservation and sacred forests in Benin...........................................................2 1.2. Research objective and related assumptions ..............................................................3 1.3.