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Estimating the Local Value of Non-Timber Forest Products to Pendjari Biosphere Reserve Dwellers in Benin

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Estimating the Local Value of Non-Timber Forest Products to Pendjari Biosphere Reserve Dwellers in Benin. This paper uses an indices method based on participant ranking of species to quantify use–values of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) and the socio-economic factors that influence these values for people living around the Pendjari Biosphere Reserve in Benin. There were 76 species identified that had a high index value to people. The 10 most valued species were Parkia biglobosa, Adansonia digitata, Vitellaria paradoxa, Tamarindus indica, Lannea microcarpa, Vitex doniana, Hibiscus asper, Melochia corchorifolia, Khaya senegalensis, and Diospyros mespiliformis. Species values were influenced by the vegetative form of the species as well as by the gender of a participant and his/her affiliation to the ethnic group. The study also illustrates that women had a preference for NTFP species with high commercial and nutritional values, while men preferred plants that provide construction material and medicine. Moreover, the ethnic group that historically had more contact and interaction with the vegetation valued NTFPs more than any other group. The difference in value attributed to species by people was also driven by the vertical transmission of ethnobotanical knowledge in the study area. For long-term biodiversity conservation, it will be useful to involve the needs of all of the local communities in the design of a management plan and focus attention on the most important species.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the International Foundation of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden, through a grant to Vodouhe G. Fifanou (N. D/4158-1). We also thank the “Maison des Sciences de l’Homme Ange-Guépin” and Man and Biosphere – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for their financial and technical assistance. We thank Gaoué Orou Gandé, Glèlè Kakaï Romain, Assogbadjo Achille, and Robert Voeks, for their helpful advice. The authors are grateful to all participants interviewed during this work for their time and willingness to share their knowledge.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire d’Ecologie Appliquée, Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques, Université d’Abomey-Calavi, 01 BP 526, Cotonou, Benin

    Fifanou G. Vodouhê & Brice Sinsin

  2. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Cotonou, Benin

    Ousmane Coulibaly

  3. Department of Geography, California State University Fullerton, Fullerton, CA, USA

    Charlotte Greene

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  1. Fifanou G. Vodouhê
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  2. Ousmane Coulibaly
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  3. Charlotte Greene
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Correspondence to Fifanou G. Vodouhê.

Appendix: Species Listed by Participant with Their Family, Major Uses, and Index Values

Appendix: Species Listed by Participant with Their Family, Major Uses, and Index Values

Species

Family

Preference Group

Use

Index Values

Anacardium occidentale

Anacardiaceae

I

1,2,5

0.05

Ozoroa insignis

  

1,2

0.04

Uvaria chamae

Annonaceae

 

1,2,5

0.01

Hyphaene thebaica

Arecaceae

 

1,4,6

0.08

Gymnema sylvestre

Asclepiadaceae

 

2

0.03

Leptadenia spp.

  

1,2

0.04

Crescentia cujete

Bignoniaceae

 

2

0.01

Ceiba pentandra

Bombacaceae

 

1,2,4,5

0.09

Cadaba farinosa

Capparaceae

 

1

0.04

Garcinia livingstonei

Clusiaceae

 

1,2,5

0.097

Cochlospermum planchoni

Cochlospermaceae

 

1,2

0.03

Combretum glutinosum

Combretaceae

 

1

0.02

Euphorbia poissonii

Euphorbiaceae

 

2

0.02

Jatropha curcas

  

2

0.02

Acacia gourmaensis

  

2,5

0.02

Acacia hockii

  

2

0.02

Acacia seyal

  

2,5

0.03

Afzelia africana

Leguminosae

 

2,4,5

0.06

Berlinia grandiflora

  

2,4

0.02

Cassia sieberiana

  

2

0.06

Cassia sp.

  

1,2

0.02

Daniellia oliveri

  

2,4,5

0.03

Strychnos spinosa

Loganiaceae

 

1,2

0.04

Ficus lutea

Moraceae

 

1,2,4,5

0.08

Ficus sur

  

1,2

0.02

Milicia excelsa

  

2,5

0.02

Imperata cylindrica

Poaceae

 

2,4

0.04

Oxytenanthera abyssinica

  

1,4

0.04

Securidaca longepedunculata

Polygalaceae

 

2

0.03

Crossopteryx febrifuga

Rubiaceae

 

2,5

0.005

Gardenia ternifolia

  

1,2

0.03

Mitragyna inermis

  

2,4

0.01

Blighia sapida

Sapindaceae

 

1,2

0.02

Paullinia pinnata

  

2,4

0.04

Cola laurifolia

Sterculiaceae

 

2,5

0.03

Dombeya quinqueseta

  

2

0.01

Sterculia setigera

  

2,3

0.005

Corchorus olitorus

Tiliaceae

 

1

0.07

Grewia venusta

  

1

0.04

Mangifera indica

Anacardiaceae

II

1,2

0.36

Sclerocarya birrea

  

1,2

0.13

Annona senegalensis

Annonaceae

 

1,2,4,5

0.40

Calotropis procera

Asclepiadaceae

 

1,2

0.17

Vernonia spp.

Asteraceae

 

1,2

0.15

Balanites aegyptiaca

Balanitaceae

 

1,2

0.11

Anogeissus leiocarpa

Combretaceae

 

2,3,4,5

0.18

Combretum collinum

  

1,2,5

0.14

Burkea Africana

  

1,2,3,4

0.16

Detarium microcarpum

Leguminosae

 

1,2,3,4,5

0.37

Piliostigma thonningii

  

1,2,4,5

0.30

Pterocarpus erinaceus

  

1,2

0.13

Moringa oleifera

Moringaceae

 

1,2

0.18

Eucalyptus camaldulensis

Myrtaceae

 

2,4,5

0.19

Ximenia americana

Olacaceae

 

1,2

0.27

Pennisetum spp.

Poaceae

 

4

0.45

Gardenia erubescens

Rubiaceae

 

1,2

0.13

Sarcocephalus latifolius

  

1,2

0.11

Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides

Rutaceae

 

1,2

0.30

Grewia flavescens

Tiliaceae

 

1

0.15

Cissus populnea

Vitaceae

 

1,2,4

0.15

Kaempheria spp.

Zingiberaceae

 

2

0.10

Lannea microcarpa

Anacardiaceae

III

1,2,4,5

2.42

Borassus aethiopum

Arecaceae

 

1,2,4,5

1.10

Adansonia digitata

Bombacaceae

 

1,2,3,4,5,6

7.18

Bombax costatum

  

1,2,4

0.55

Diospyros mespiliformis

Ebenaceae

 

1,2,3,4,5,6

1.51

Parkia biglobosa

Leguminosae

 

1,2,3,4,5

7.54

Tamarindus indica

  

1,2,3,4,5

2.77

Hibiscus asper

Malvaceae

 

1,2

2.23

Azadirachta indica

Meliaceae

 

1,2,4,5,6

0.65

Khaya senegalensis

  

2,4,5

1.61

Ficus sycomorus

Moraceae

 

1,2,4,5

0.93

Sesamum radiatum

Pedaliaceae

 

1,2

1.39

Vitellaria paradoxa

Sapotaceae

 

1,2,4,5,6

6.78

Melochia corchorifolia

Sterculiaceae

 

1,3,6

2.05

Vitex doniana

Verbenaceae

 

1,2,4,5,6

2.26

  1. Food (1); Medicinal (2); Ceremony (3); Construction (4); Fire wood (5); Other (6). I = Low preference (index values from 0.005 to 0.097); II = Intermediate preference (index values from 0.1 to 0.449) and III = High preference (index values from 0.5 to 7.54).

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Vodouhê, F.G., Coulibaly, O., Greene, C. et al. Estimating the Local Value of Non-Timber Forest Products to Pendjari Biosphere Reserve Dwellers in Benin. Econ Bot 63, 397–412 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-009-9102-7

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