The project operates in central Togo, in the Tchamba prefecture, covering the cantons of Alibi, Koussountou and Bago, 7 hours by car north-west of Lomé. The region is home to one of Togo’s most significant remaining forest patches, the Abdoulaye Classified Forest (FCA, 30,000 ha), surrounded by 10 cantons, including the 3 mentioned above.
The conservation challenges at play are well known: a lack of local governance, uncontrolled encroachment by local populations into the forests in search of wood, game and other non-timber forest products, and communities’ lack of genuine awareness of the forests’ physical boundaries. Protection of the FCA on its north-western side is provided by the presence of the Alibi community forest (5,300 ha), which, under a previous PPI project, gained official recognition and protection (3,377 ha reserved for conservation), along with a management plan, achieved through significant community mobilisation efforts.
This project aims to build on these previous achievements and, at the request of the cantons of Bago and Koussountou, located respectively south-west and east of the FCA, extend them to the 5,000-ha (Bago) and 3,000-ha (Koussountou) forest complexes. In total, this would help secure a forested area of 45,000 ha.
