The Sitatunga Community Reserve is a wetland located in the communes of Abomey-Calavi and Sô-Ava, in southern Benin. The Reserve, part of the Sitatunga valley, which extends over more than 5,000 ha and is located within a RAMSAR complex, includes a humid forest of over 1,000 ha, bordering around a dozen riparian villages and hamlets.
This ecosystem serves as a refuge for diverse wildlife, notably the marsh antelope known as the sitatunga.
It faces pressure from widespread clearing of its banks, linked to population growth, and urbanisation driven by its proximity to the economic capital. The need to ensure food security amid conditions of severe poverty leads local populations to overexploit natural resources.
CREDI-ONG has been established in the area since 2006, and initiated the process of creating the Community Nature Reserve in 2008, which led to the Reserve’s official recognition by municipal decree in July 2010.
The “Community management of natural resources and poverty reduction around the Sitatunga valley” project proposes to continue this process by improving community-based natural resource management, without compromising local populations’ ability to achieve food self-sufficiency.
• Structure and mobilise strategic stakeholders for community management of the Sitatunga valley;
• Continue efforts to raise collective eco-citizenship awareness;
• Improve living conditions for the wellbeing of local populations.
