Captured manatee.

Ouinhi district in Southern Benin appears to be one of manatee’s sanctuaries. Trichechus senegalensis is facing a high risk of extinction due to hunting, capture in fishing nets, destruction of its habitats and water pollution. This project aims to study West African manatee (Trichechus senegalensis) ecology, behaviour, ethno zoology and to design tools and strategies for their management with high involvement of local communities.

Specifically, the project will achieve the following goals:

- Improve the knowledge on Trichechus senegalensis distribution, ecology, behaviour, ethno zoology and threats facing manatees in Ouinhi.

- Create a group of stakeholders that will positively influence Trichechus senegalensis conservation and management at different levels.

- Elaborate action plan for manatees conservation in Ouinhi district.

The goals of the project will be achieved through involvement of all the stakeholders at different levels (local, municipal, national, regional, etc.) so as to change the technical and institutional framework conditions that affect the windows of opportunity that manatee management offers for biodiversity conservation and for the benefit of local communities. The project pursues innovation that could change the interaction in key networks of development actors. The group of stakeholders will be settled and will strongly contribute to collect additional data on endogenous knowledge, to make adjustments in fishing and hunting practices through 20 education and awareness sessions, to reduce conflicts with manatees, to adopt new cropping systems respectful towards environment, and to design with all the stakeholders an action plan for Trichechus senegalensis conservation and Management in Ouinhi in Benin. In addition, an official document will be designed by the group of stakeholders and will serve as guidance for collective consciousness, decision making and capacity building process at local, municipal, national and international level towards the conservation of West African manatee in Benin.

This project will efficiently contribute to the conservation of the remaining of Trichechus senegalensis in Benin by organizing all the stakeholders around manatees management and conservation in Benin. What makes this study unique in Benin is that it adopts a holistic approach by developing innovative tools and by combining biological and social sciences to tackle Trichechus senegalensis conservation and management in Benin.