Benin - Overview

Status and trends of biodiversity, including benefits from biodiversity and ecosystem services

The content of this biodiversity profile is still draft. The text below has been prepared by SCBD and remains subject to final approval by the Party concerned.

Benin is located in West Africa, on the northern coast of the Gulf of Guinea. Agriculture is the primary form of economic activity, contributing 33.2% to the GDP in 2009 and occupying about 70% of the workforce; it is however the main factor in the degradation of plant cover... More »

Main pressures on and drivers of change to biodiversity (direct and indirect)

The content of this biodiversity profile is still draft. The text below has been prepared by SCBD and remains subject to final approval by the Party concerned.

Drivers of change have been identified as habitat loss, climate change, poaching, agricultural expansion, the use of prohibited fishing gear, overexploitation of terrestrial and aquatic resources, destruction of mangroves, extraction of lagoon sands, transhumance (climate change and changes in land use cover are causing herders to move increasingly towards the coast which has resulted in the overexploitation of pastoral resources in the course of their movements)... More »

Implementation of the NBSAP

The content of this biodiversity profile is still draft. The text below has been prepared by SCBD and remains subject to final approval by the Party concerned.

Benin adopted its first NBSAP in 2002 with the specific objectives to: (i) restore natural biological resources and their components to a level that exceeds the needs of the population and that can contribute significantly to economic development (ii) modernize agriculture in an ecologically sustainable manner by 2015 (iii) consider biodiversity in all actions related to socioeconomic development and education (iv) value biodiversity and its genetic resources with consideration given to opportunities for fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from the use of genetic resources, and (v) create a viable framework for consultation, monitoring, coordination and guidance in relation to national actions for managing biodiversity... More »

Actions taken to achieve the 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets

The content of this biodiversity profile is still draft. The text below has been prepared by SCBD and remains subject to final approval by the Party concerned.

Examples of actions taken are highlighted throughout this text.

Support mechanisms for national implementation (legislation, funding, capacity-building, coordination, mainstreaming, etc.)

The content of this biodiversity profile is still draft. The text below has been prepared by SCBD and remains subject to final approval by the Party concerned.

In 2014, Benin became a Party to the Nagoya Protocol on ABS.

In 2012, Benin adopted its new Forest Policy to 2025 which has been aligned with other national development strategies... More »

Mechanisms for monitoring and reviewing implementation

The content of this biodiversity profile is still draft. The text below has been prepared by SCBD and remains subject to final approval by the Party concerned.

The specific objective contained in the first NBSAP (2002) to “create a viable framework for consultation, monitoring, coordination and guidance in relation to national actions for managing biodiversity” has not been achieved... More »