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Local Values, Social Differentiation and Conservation Efforts: The Impact of Ethnic Affiliation on the Valuation of NTFP-Species in Northern Benin, West Africa

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Abstract

Non-timber forest products contribute significantly to rural livelihoods in the West African savannas. This study investigates differences in use preferences for native woody species in six categories of plant use and their economic returns among five ethnic groups in Northern Benin. Ethnobotanical survey data from 230 households revealed that both ethnic affiliation and location significantly impact species’ valuation. Of a total of 90 species, 61 % were used for medicinal applications, 41 % as firewood, 39 % for construction, and 32 % as human foods. While certain plant species were used by all rural dwellers, others were used exclusively by particular ethnic groups. Vitellaria paradoxa, Parkia biglobosa and Adansonia digitata are key economic species for all groups. Conservation measures should consider multi-purpose trees fulfilling subsistence and cash needs while taking into consideration cultural differences in use preferences.

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Acknowledgments

The present study was conducted at the Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F), Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and funded by the research funding programmed “LOEWE – Landes-Offensive zur Entwicklung Wissenschaftlich-Ökonomischer Exzellenz” of Hesse’s Ministry of Higher Education, Research, and the Arts. The authors are grateful to Gnanando Saidou and Laurent Akissatom who assisted in field work and especially all respondents who took part in the survey. Sincere thanks go further to Prof. Brice Sinsin (University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin) for scientific and logistic support. Furthermore, we would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments on this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nature Conservation, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Sciences - UFZ, Permoserstraße 15, Leipzig, 04318, Germany

    Katja Heubach

  2. Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (LOEWE BiK-F), Senckenberganlage 25, 60325, Frankfurt/Main, Germany

    Rüdiger Wittig & Karen Hahn

  3. Department of Ecology and Geobotany, Institute of Ecology, Evolution and Diversity, J.W. Goethe-University, Siesmayerstraße 70, 60323, Frankfurt/Main, Germany

    Rüdiger Wittig & Karen Hahn

  4. Institute for Agricultural Policy and Market Research, Senckenbergstraße 3, 35390, Gießen, Germany

    Ernst-August Nuppenau

  5. Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre Frankfurt (BiK-F), Senckenberganlage 25, 60325, Frankfurt/Main, Germany

    Katja Heubach

Authors
  1. Katja Heubach
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  2. Rüdiger Wittig
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  3. Ernst-August Nuppenau
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  4. Karen Hahn
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Katja Heubach.

Appendix

Appendix

Table 9 Full list of plant species mentioned as useful by respondents
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Fig. 3
figure 3figure 3

Ordination plots for each of the eleven use categories. Shown are Eigenvalues and variance of the axes

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Table 10 Results of regressions, testing whether local provenance (village) and ethnic affiliation are affecting informants’ choices for plant species used in the eleven investigated use categories. (***p < 0.001; **p < 0.01; *p < 0.05; SE = Standard error)
Full size table
Table 11 Cash income: list of species covering the five most important tree species generating cash income by ethnic group. Shown are the absolute and mean (in parentheses) annual incomes by ethnic group and species as well as their respective share in total household income. Species were ordered according to their importance within the use category. Colours indicate the three most important species per category (dark grey = 1. rank; middle grey = 2. rank; light grey = 3. rank)
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Heubach, K., Wittig, R., Nuppenau, EA. et al. Local Values, Social Differentiation and Conservation Efforts: The Impact of Ethnic Affiliation on the Valuation of NTFP-Species in Northern Benin, West Africa. Hum Ecol 41, 513–533 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-013-9592-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-013-9592-x

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