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Local cult and wetlands protection go together

All workshop participants commit to greater impact in protecting wetlands. (c) Eco-Bénin

(c) Eco-Bénin

Benin – Join For Water is operating in Grand Popo, a municipality in the south that hosts about a third of Benin’s mangrove areas, as well as valuable wetlands. To protect these, our partner Eco-Bénin responds to local cultural and religious customs.

Grand Popo is located in the Bouche du Roy reserve, which belongs to the RAMSAR 1017 area, an internationally recognised valuable area to be protected.

Severe pressure on protected areas

Benin ratified all international conventions to protect these mangroves and wetlands. But despite the numerous measures, the wetlands and mangroves in the reserve face heavy pressure. Population growth leads to higher demand for the services they provide, such as food, water and timber. Consequence: mangrove trees are cut down en masse for firewood, gullies are made to improve fishing, wooden structures for fishing cause silting up, more houses are built…

These interventions reduce the supply of timber and food such as fish and crabs, they cause a rise in water levels in the lagoon which in turn leads to degradation of vegetation… The local people see their income reduced and face water pollution.

The situation is only getting worse due to a lack of

  • frameworks for social dialogue and citizen control;
  • knowledge about ecosystem services and the rights and duties around water resources;
  • commitment of local stakeholders to proper management of natural resources.

Cultural ecosystem service provides a lifeline

Eco-Bénin brings together religious and local leaders to combine the sacralisation of a zone with its protection.

An important service of water-related ecosytems, besides food and water supply, for example, is cultural service. This includes recreation, but also spiritual practice. And therein lies part of the answer for this area.

Benin Sacralisatie beschermde zones
Eco-Bénin brings together religious and local leaders to combine the sacralisation of a zone with its protection. (c) Eco-Bénin

Since 2015 already, Eco-Bénin has achieved remarkable success in a number of vulnerable areas, such as the reserve’s mangrove zones. Indeed, Eco-Bénin is capitalising on a well-organised ritual of local communities to protect natural ecosystems by placing them under the watchful eye of the Zangbeto deity, also known as the ‘night watchman’. Certain areas are sanctified, designated as sacred sites, providing extra protection.

In the Bouche du Roy reserve, nine sites have been sanctified in 10 years, covering 500 hectares of mangroves under the protection of the Zangbeto deity. No violations have been reported at these sites.

Everyone is involved

Join For Water supports Eco-Bénin to support and improve practices in the sacralisation process. In 2024, Eco-Bénin and Louvain Coopération organised workshops for locally elected representatives, religious leaders, influential groups and reserve managers. This increases the involvement and cooperation of all parties. The process of declaring an area sacred involves several steps, which were analysed and improved. Sensitisation and education ensure understanding of the importance of protection, which can go hand in hand with a cult.

Thanks to these meetings, new sites eligible for sacral use were also identified with everyone’s participation. And all stakeholders committed to work towards protection.

These meetings also allowed different bodies to exchange experiences: ‘What we heard here encourages us to make all mangrove areas in the reserve sacred’, said Maximilien Agnidozan, dignitary of the Zangbéto cult.

The workshops concluded with a selection of 30 potential new sacralisation sites, about half of which will effectively be recognised as sacred sites.

Our partner Eco-Bénin