Kochoni, Babatondé Innocent, Salako, Kolawolé Valère, Danquah, Jones Abrefa, Sinsin, Corine Bitossessi Laurenda ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5488-1761, Mensah, Sylvanus and Glèlè Kakaï, Romain (2025) Contribution of the Ramsar convention to the conservation of West-African mangroves: a case study in Benin. Wetlands Ecology and Management, 33 (1). p. 15. DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-024-10026-z.

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Abstract

Given the essential role played by mangroves in the well-being of humanity, their conservation and wise use are essential to ensure their sustainability. The Ramsar Convention, an intergovernmental treaty that provides a framework for national action and international collaboration for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources, falls within this context. In Benin, mangroves are restricted to two main blocks, designated Ramsar sites in 2001. However, the evolution of mangroves before and after the declaration of Ramsar sites in Benin is not well understood in terms of the effectiveness of the Ramsar Convention in the conservation and sustainable management of mangroves. This study analyzed the changes in mangrove extent before and after their designation as Ramsar sites. Mangroves were identified based on random forest algorithm using landsat images for 1986, 2001, and 2022. Overall accuracies of images classification ranged from 0.91 to 0.96. The country’s mangrove area was 5117 ha (94.6% on site 1017) in 1986, 2538.5 ha (95.4% on site 1017) in 2001, and 3052.4 ha (96.4% on site 1017) in 2022. From 1986 to 2001, 50% and 57.4% of mangroves were lost in Ramsar sites 1017 and 1018, respectively. In contrast, from 2001 to 2022, a gain of 21.4% was noted in Ramsar site 1017 and a loss of 5.3% in Ramsar site 1018. This differential dynamics of mangroves on both sites might be linked to differences in human activities and restoration initiatives. It further suggests that the designation of mangroves sites as Ramsar sites could have contributed to reduce mangrove loss.

Document Type:	Article
Programme Area:	PA2
Research affiliation:	Ecology > Mangrove Ecology
Refereed:	Yes
Open Access Journal?:	No
DOI:	https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-024-10026-z
ISSN:	0923-4861
Date Deposited:	22 Oct 2025 08:13
Last Modified:	22 Oct 2025 08:13
URI:	https://cris.leibniz-zmt.de/id/eprint/5822

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