Farmers and Pastoralists Participation in the Elaboration and Implementation of Sustainable Agro-pastoral Resources Management Plans in Northern Benin

Benin like many other West African countries has its economy mainly based on agriculture and livestock. These activities development depend heavily on natural resources in these countries. In the extreme northern part of Benin in Karimama district, farmers and pastoralists are constrained by the presence of the W park and the Niger river that occupy most of the grazing and arable lands. In order to sustainably manage these resources, the district and the W park management authorities decided to set up these resources’ management plans. This study investigated the involvement of farmers and pastoralists in the elaboration and implementation of the agro-pastoral resources management plans for their sustainable use. Therefore, 40 farmers and 40 pastoralists randomly selected in two villages of the Karimama district and several authorities were surveyed. Results show that both farmers and pastoralists recognized that Karimama district still has agro-pastoral resources for farming and livestock. However, they mostly stressed that they were not sufficiently involved neither in the elaboration nor in the implementation of their management plans. They also perceived negatively the plans set up because according to them beside their low implication, the facilities necessary for a good management of the buffer zones of the park and the Birds Island are not put in place, they are still unfairly arrested and fined and the areas delimitated for their activities is insufficient for them. The study concludes that the main challenge in the elaboration and implementation of agro-pastoral resources management plans is the genuine involvement of the different stakeholder categories in the process.