The UNESCO - MAB / UNEP - GEF regional programme, which includes six biosphere reserves in West Africa, aims to improve the understanding of "societies - savannas" interactions in order to facilitate the dialogue between different stakeholders intervening in protected areas.

Man and his interactions with nature is at the centre of the MAB-UNESCO Project co-financed by the UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) and the GEF (Global Environmental Facility), launched in September 2004 for a duration of four years. Land occupation, plant species collecting, and exploitation of natural resources by local communities represent different types of pressure on biodiversity. This programme aims to reduce anthropogenic pressures by means of alternative economic activities for communities living in the vicinity of the reserves, taking full advantage of methods proposed by social sciences.

THE SITES
Six West African countries participating in the project proposed each one biosphere reserve on their territories: Pendjari (Benin), Mare aux Hippopotames (Burkina Faso), Comoé (Côte d'Ivoire), Boucle du Baoulé (Mali), W du Niger (Niger) and Niokolo Koba (Senegal). These sites situated in neighbouring countries share the same climatic and ecological characteristics. They represent, thus, a regional sub-network allowing exchanges of experiences and ideas.

The biosphere reserves are located in the West Sudano-Sahelian savanna biome characterized by a short wet season and a low precipitation. Flora and fauna are those of woodland areas with an understory of shrubs and herbs. Each site has an aquatic ecosystem (lake or river).

Terrestrial and aquatic fauna and flora are subject to collecting and exploitation by humans, characterized sometimes by growing pressure resulting from population movements and demographic increase. If from an ecological point of view the sites have much in common, the main economic activities are appreciable different.

In 2005 each country has identified one sustainable economic activity. All six countries are, thus, leading one key thematic area and will share experiences and outcomes with others: Benin - Hunting Burkina Faso - Fishing Côte d'Ivoire - Agroforestry Mali - Pastoralism Niger - Collecting Senegal - Crop culture	©Photo, Meriem Bouamrane
©Photo, Meriem Bouamrane	MAB National Committees Benin Burkina Faso Côte d'Ivoire Mali Niger Senegal

THE OBJECTIVES
The interaction indicators concept is set up during the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Agenda 21, adopted by the Summit, set out the objectives to attain sustainable development calling for the harmonization of efforts to allow the construction of sustainable development indicators. The regional programme makes use of this tool in six biosphere reserves of West Africa in order to reach three main objectives:

• improve the understanding of the interactions "societies-savannas" through the applied research;
• conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity;
• building scientific and technical capacities.

Improve the understanding of the interactions "societies-savannas"
Component 1 of the project "applied research" aims to improve the understanding of interactions between savannas ecosystems and societies. This component is divided into three research actions on the impact of human activities on savannas ecosystems, namely:

• Dynamics of land occupation and its impact on ecosystems;
• Impact of collecting activities (fishing, pastoralism, firewood, tourism, hunting) on ecosystems and interaction indicators construction;
• Local communities and ecosystems.

At regional level, in 2005 the scientific teams began conducting studies such as eco-functional zones (Amadou BOUREIMA of the University of Abdou Moumouni of Niamey, Niger) and property rights to natural resources and decentralisation policy in West Africa (Martin YELKOUNI of CENAGREF).

The interaction indicators construction process has been finalized in 2004 in three biosphere reserves: Mare aux Hippopotames, Burkina Faso, Boucle du Baoulé, Mali and W du Niger.

Conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity
Ministerial Declaration (English / Français), signed in January 2004, promotes the use of biosphere reserves as operational sites of the sustainable development. In this respect, interaction indicators, built within the framework of the Component 1, will be tested through the Component 2 in the demonstration sites which have been identified by each country in 2005.

The Component 2 of the project aims to find economic and social development strategies likely to reach the objective of conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

Building scientific and technical capacities
The objective of the Component 3 is to strengthen technical and scientific capacities of the individuals and institutions in each biosphere reserve. Trainings, technical workshops, forums and exchanges at national and regional levels take place regularly since the beginning of the MAB-GEF Project. Thus, training on dialogue and concertation in biosphere reserves has been organized in May 2003 in Benin, while in February 2006 France received six mediators for training in using role-playing.

 

PROJECT'S PARTNERS
In order to better implement activities planned in three components, the project cooperates with national and international experts.

MAB National Committees coordinate activities at national level in consultation with biosphere reserves managers, universities and research centres.

The main partners of the MAB-GEF Regional programme are the Ministries of environment in charge of biosphere reserve management through the decentralized services such as CENAGREF (National Centre for the Management of Fauna Reserves) in Benin or UCFs (Units of Conservation and Fauna) in Burkina Faso.

The partnership is concluded with national and international research centres (CIRAD -Agricultural Research Centre for Developing Countries, IRD - Research Institute for Development; INRA -National Institute for Agricultural Research; ENSAR - agricultural school of Rennes; University of Abdou Moumouni of Niamey); international programmes (ECOPAS - protected ecosystems of Sahelian Africa; PAGEN - partnership for natural ecosystem management programme); NGOs (IUCN - The World Conservation Union; WWF - …).