Managing a Reconstituted Rainforest Remnant and its Threatened Plants in Benin

Background In Benin, in the savannah of the Dahomey Gap, sacred forests of <0.5 ha. preserve the rainforest flora of the adjacent forest blocks ‘Upper Guinea’ and ‘Congo Basin’. Research Aims To protect these threatened plants, we reconstituted a rainforest patch of 14 ha, the ‘Sanctuaire des Singes’, out of fallow land and followed its regeneration during 28 years under threatening urbanization and climate change. Methods The growth of saplings of three common tree genera and the changes in the composition of the flora developing from seeds and roots were analyzed. Species collected in other rainforest patches were introduced. Management consisted in hand irrigation and mulching of young plants during dry periods and the removal of strangling climbers. The first author’s residency in the forest and support to the local, mostly poor (by UN standards) population with its vodun culture is highlighted. Results The forest, under IITA property, harbors 590 plant species; another 64, mostly from drier origins, disappeared during the study. A total of 257 species were introduced; 58 are threatened according to IUCN criteria, twelve of them critically endangered. Most species (56.6%) have only <4 specimens. Among common trees, about 1% died each year , while common herbs and woody plants of pan-African or pantropical origin, which thrive in the vicinity of the forest, disappeared from the closed forest. Conclusion This is the first reconstituted forest in Benin, a ‘reference forest’. Implications for Conservation The ‘Sanctuaire’ is of high educational and scientific value. Because of its easy access and despite increasing urbanization, it receives numerous visitors (mostly attracted by the critically endangered red-bellied monkey) - a timid start for ecotourism. The forest serves as an example for better managing sacred forests in the nearby Ouémé floodplain, a UNESCO World Heritage site; but increasing storm damage threatens its survival.