Perceptions communautaires de la dynamique des ressources hydro-écologiques du sous bassin de l’Okpara dans la Commune de Tchaourou Centre du Bénin, Afrique de l’Ouest)

Abstract

Located in a tropical environment, the Okpara sub-basin is influenced by human actions and natural hazards while it plays an important socio-ecological role. On the basis of socio-anthropological investigations, this research analyzes community perceptions associated with the dynamics of hydro-ecological resources in this sub-basin and considers solutions for integrated and sustainable management of said resources.

The information used relates to community knowledge of hydro-ecological resources such as water, soil, vegetation and fauna (availability, uses, threat pressures, sustainability solutions). A sample of 240 people made up of the main actors, namely farmers, breeders, fishermen and hunters, was drawn up in a reasoned manner. The individual and group interviews as well as the field observations were organized, furnished the field investigations. Descriptive statistics parameters were used for data processing. Likewise, the Informant Consensus Factor (FCI) is used to test the consistency of responses.

According to respondents, the most used resources are water (100%), soil (100%), vegetation (85%) and wildlife (60%). According to the respondents, these different resources are necessary for the conduct of socio-economic activities such as agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing and hunting, which provide food, financial and medicinal resources. The degradation of plant cover (100%), the scarcity of woody species with high use values ​​(85%), the scarcity of water resources (85%), the disappearance of several animal species (75%), the of land (75), are the trends perceived by the communities. The human causes are the most cited as responsible without forgetting the drought and the runoff of water. Adaptation measures concern the adjustment of practices based on endogenous knowledge and suggestions from rural management, reforestation initiatives, the creation of community protected areas, irrigation schemes. Taking these initiatives into account will make it possible to design participatory measures for the sustainable management of hydro-ecological resources in the sub-basin studied.

Keywords: Okpara River (Benin), hydro-ecological resources, degradation, sustainable management measures