Community Development

Around 230,000 people live in 95 villages on the periphery of W National Park. Agricultural expansion has massively increased over the last 20 years with 5% of savannah and forest lost to agriculture on the edge of the park. Regional transhumance presents additional challenges with an influx of people travelling from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger with their livestock.

Managing these challenges requires close collaboration with local communities. A workshop was organised to share results from the implementation of the annual community development plan with the community, who in turn presented their recommendations to be incorporated into the plan for the following year. A livestock management plan has defined two pastoral zones in the buffer zone around the park with input from local leaders to alleviate agricultural pressure. Environmental awareness has been developed through positive community engagement, enterprise initiatives have been supported, and infrastructure improved.

Community Engagement

Through a livestock management plan, 60 Eco-Tango team members have been locally employed to move in and around the park to engage herders on grazing access and to help conserve the core 3,000 km² area of the park which has been kept largely livestock-free.

Trained community facilitators have been employed to raise awareness of the park and wildlife conservation. Through over 2,000 organised community meetings including local leaders, customary authorities and leaders of socio-professional groups, over 45,000 people have been reached to improve communication and the understanding of community needs.

Education and Environmental Awareness

Over 1,000 schoolchildren have benefited from donations of school kits and educational materials since 2020. Over 6,000 school children have been reached through environmental education programmes and wildlife clubs – in 2023 alone, 3,160 students and 174 teachers in 77 schools took part in the environmental education programme. There are currently 18 wildlife clubs with 402 active members.  

Sustainable Enterprise Development

Income-generating associations have been formalised into cooperatives, with the four primary sources of income comprising beekeeping, shea, fishing and baobab products with the bulk of the income going to the communities and the remainder to the park. Balanites and neem oils also generate income for communities.

In 2023, 81 beekeepers operating 50 hives produced 97 litres of organic honey, while 45 fishermen and 20 fishmongers benefitted from fishing permits, harvesting 16 tonnes of fish. A total of 130 people reaped five tonnes of baobab fruit. The brand “Pur” for local WNP manufactured products, with a joint specification of “Pendjari” products, has been updated and submitted to the national authority.

Community Infrastructure Development

In 2022, at the request of local authorities, the 50 000m3 Community Guene Dam, on which the community is highly dependent for its daily water needs, was rehabilitated. Close to the dam, a five-hectare panicum grass fodder plot has been extended to support the restoration of grazing areas around the park, as part as the livestock management plan. Thirteen community boreholes across the park have been rehabilitated and over 16,000 seedlings planted on the park’s perimeter and around primary schools.

The annual vaccination campaign, part of the livestock health support plan, vaccinates some 25,000 cattle belonging to 653 herders a year, reducing the risk of disease transmission from cattle to wildlife.