Is the Co-management Approach Effective for Mangrove Conservation in West Africa?
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Date
2021-12-08
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Research Square
Abstract
The conservation management literature has recently documented the increasing use of co-management
approach to effectively conserve natural resources. Although most research qualify the co-management as
highly effective, some authors also reported a number of uncertainties associated with the use of this
conservation approach. Using the Mono Transboundary Biosphere Reserve (MTBR) as a case study, this
work assessed the effectiveness of the co-management towards mangroves conservation in West Africa.
Data were collected in two protected sites of the reserve (one in Togo and the other in Benin). Exploratory
sequential mixed method via in-depth interviews (n=17), focus group discussions (n=14), household
survey (n=274) and expert-based survey (n=10) were carried out, and subjected to the InVEST-based
Habitat Risk Assessment (HRA) model, chi-square test and simple probability of likelihood. Results
indicated that under the current co-management regimes, the anthropogenic stressors recorded in the
reserve put the entire surface area of mangroves in Benin (100%) under low risk. Contrarily, 42% of the
mangrove cover are under low risk and 58% under medium risk in Togo. Local perception also portrayed a
large reduction of mangrove degradation in the study sites following the adoption of the co-management
approach in the two countries. This study suggests that the implementation of the co-management
approach has lowered anthropogenic stressors to mangroves in the reserve. However, there are some
peculiar challenges (e.g., financial support provision, regular community engagement), which need to be
thoroughly researched and addressed for a more effective conservation of mangroves in the MTBR.
Description
Is the Co-management Approach Effective for Mangrove Conservation in West Africa?.
Keywords
Denis Worlanyo Aheto, Romain Glèlè Kakaï, Co-management, Habitat Risk Assessment, Mangroves, Mono Transboundary Biosphere Reserve, West Africa, University of Cape Coast, Ghana, ACECOR
Citation
Gnansounou, C. S., Sagoe, A. A., Mattah, P. A. D., Salako, V. K., Aheto, D. W., & Kakaï, R. G. (2021). Is the Co-management Approach Effective for Mangrove Conservation in West Africa?.