Uses and conservation issues of the baobab (Adansonia digitata) in the municipality of Ziguinchor

The African baobab is an important resource available to the local population. This importance indicates its food, medicinal, cultural and artisanal value. The aim of this study was to determine people's perceptions of the baobab's uses and conservation issues. This quantitative and qualitative study was carried out in the commune of Ziguinchor, in lower Casamance, among 55 concessions with at least one baobab tree, traditional practitioners, the Water and Forestry Department, plant product processing structures and certain elderly people. It included surveys using a questionnaire and interview guides, to determine the various uses of the baobab, its ecological value and the population's perception of the species. The population of the Ziguinchor commune uses the various parts of the baobab for food, medicine, etc. The baobab, whose existence is the result of spontaneous dynamics, thus contributes to maintaining biodiversity.