Importance socio-économique de la forêt communautaire d’Edouwossi-copé dans la préfecture d’Amou au Togo

Abstract

The present study gathers information on the ethnobotany and socio-economic importance of Edouwossi-copé community forest located in the Amou prefecture, Togo. It aims to contribute to the sustainable management of the communal forest of Edouwossi-copé. Its specific aims are to: (i) identify different uses of community forest products and (ii) evaluate the diversity of honey plant species of the forest. The methodology was based on ethnobotanical and socio-economic semi-structured focus-group interviews.Also, a floristic inventory and pollen analyzes were carried out. Results showed that leaves, roots, bark and fruits are used primarily for food and health care purposes by residents. Beekeeping was found to be a practice for sustainable management and conservation of the forest. The cash income gained from this activity, estimated as an average of 2.450.000 FCFA, contributes to improve the living conditions of these actors. The pollen analysis based on the method of Erdtman had enumerated 380 pollen grains representing 22 pollen taxa from which 17 (77.3%) were identified to species level. These taxa can be grouped into 14 families. The most represented pollen families were Asteraceae and Mimosaceae. The pollen of about 88% of woody species inventoried within the target forest are used by bees for honey production. The socio-economic potential and ecological importance of this communal forest call for a sustainable management.

Keywords

• Community forest
• ethnobotany
• diversity
• beekeeping
• Cash income
• Edouwossi-copé
• Togo