Growing Diversity – West Africa

TITLE OF EXPERIENCE: Sustainable management of wild fauna and medicinal plants in the hills region

AUTHOR: Association of Culture, Communication and Development (ACCD)

COUNTRY AND REGION: Benin, Ilèma – Department of Hills

ECOLOGICAL ZONE: Savannah and hills

ABSTRACT

The cultural traditions in the IDAASHA territory find their origin in the history and geography of the region. The geographic setting and the population of Idaasha are intimately linked as it is its appeal which brought people to settle there. Hunters created the majority of villages and farms in Idaasha country. Hunters and their fellow settlers have always nearly completely relied on traditional healers to treat their illnesses. These two groups of people are the main local managers of biological diversity in the region.

In 1996 the hunting support group officially asked the ACCD for support. The origin of the hunters' organisation is a traditional system of respect based on a clearly identified social hierarchy, with different local, regional and ethnic (maxi or Idaasha) levels. At the heart of the hunters' organisation, there is an ethical and professional code of conduct which is respected by all. There are many rules, for example, killing female or young animals must be avoided. In the past, animals were only hunted to feed the family and not to sell.

The support group of traditional healers, like that of the hunters, belongs to a world where the spoken word reigns and writing is absent. In this world, words and gestures have emotional meanings. Their meanings are subjective and depend upon the personality of the speaker. Many of the traditional healers' groups are found in the ACCD supported hunters' groups with members known for their positive contribution to the local population. Species of medicinal plants are becoming rarer as a result of demographic pressures and as a result most traditional healers own a garden or botanic farm. At the same time, the establishment of a communal medicinal botanical garden for the healers of Idaasha has been initiated.

CONTACT:

Association Culture Communication et Développement (ACCD), BP 125 – Dassa-Zoumé – Tél. 229 53 00 75 – Frax 229 53 00 75 / 53 01 37, Email : radioilema@voilà.fr