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On the cultural geographic area of the Agonlin people in Central Benin, environmental issues involve depletion of the vegetation cover, inadequate exploitation of water bodies, strong pressures on protected areas and soil depletion to mention a few. This study aims at analyzing the contribution of sacred forests to sustainable environmental management in a context increasingly marked by inappropriate modernization by stakeholders at local level.
Qualitative study methods (preservation and observation) were the basis for the collection of data on the practices, ideas, perceptions and arguments of the various types of actors, including medicine men and traditional cult chiefs, farmers, pastoralists and artisans among others. As a result, it should be noted that the labeling of forests as sacred and their dedication to ancestral deities have been an endogenous strategy to sustainably manage the environment. This arrangement has also favoured establishment of botanical and ecological gardens in which harvesting of forest products from the wild were done only for medicinal, nutritional and ritual purposes, thus integrating the synergy between forestry and agricultural systems. (Nature & Faune, Volume 26, Issue 2 - Enhancing natural resources management for food security in Africa - Volume 26, Issue 2 - The Forest-Agriculture interface: a zone for enhanced productivity? nature-faune@fao.org
http://www.fao.org/africa/publications/nature-and-faune-magazine/) |