The Cultural Centre of His Majesty Aka Amichia Pierre Amichia of Tiapoum welcomed a very strong delegation of more than 70 officials from Tiapoum, Nouamou and Noé, officials from the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, and Water and Forests, the Prefect of the region represented by the Secretary General of the Tiapoum Prefecture, sub-prefects, local elected officials, village chiefs, notables, presidents of regional councils and senators. They were present on this rainy morning of Wednesday 26 April 2023 for an important meeting, the culmination of more than 10 years of combined efforts: Workshop for the official launch of the operational phase of the Rural Autonomisation project for the sustainable management of the Tanoé-Ehy Swamp Forest and food security.

The opening speeches did not fail to underline the solemnity of this meeting.

Mrs YEO Yépiri épouse SENIN, Secretary General of the Tiapoum Prefecture, representing the Prefect of Tiapoum, did not fail to reiterate the importance of FMTE for the region and the determination of the Prefect to support this project of Autonomisation in Rural Areas.

In turn, Professor Inza Koné, Director General of the CSRS, confirmed the support of the authorities since the beginning, as well as that of the partners. He also returned to the specificity of FMTE: "It was an adventure that is unique in Côte d'Ivoire. It is true that there are other RNVs in Côte d'Ivoire today, but none of them is managed by 11 villages. Bringing 11 villages together around a vision was a big challenge! Managing a swamp forest that is so important for primate and biodiversity conservation was also a big challenge."

Indeed, it was a relentless struggle led by the CSRS, the Ivorian Office of Parks and Reserves of Côte d'Ivoire, national NGOs, communities of 11 riparian villages, the prefectural body, local elected officials, in particular the former General Council of Adiaké and the regional council of Sud-Comoé, that led to the signing of Decree No. 2021-920 of 22 December 2021 classifying the Tanoé-Ehy Marshes Forest (FMTE) as a Voluntary Nature Reserve. This decision formalizes the preservation of the ecological integrity of 12,000 hectares of forest, dozens of animal and plant species in danger of extinction. Indeed, from 2004 to 2006, through pedestrian surveys, researchers from the Programme de Recherche et Actions pour la Sauvegarde des Primates de Côte d'Ivoire (RASAPCI) of the Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, were able to identify the FMTE as a site of high biodiversity conservation value. Unfortunately, the biological, socio-economic, cultural and ecological richness of the site also made it the target of very strong pressures such as poaching, anarchic harvesting of natural resources and attempts to clear land for agricultural purposes. Consequently, its classification as a VNR can only be viable in practice if a holistic support framework is put in place requiring the harmonious and strong involvement of state actors, other partners and the populations of the 11 localities along the river.

During his presentation, Dr. André Djaha, coordinator of RASAPCI, went back over the various stages of the tedious process of classifying the FMTE as a VNR, the potential of the FMTE and the challenges for its conservation, as if to say that all these years of effort must not be lost, it is now that we must participate even more so that this victory is lasting.

Dr. Zadou Didié of RASAPCI made a presentation on the current management of FMTE with emphasis on the achievements, strengths and weaknesses of this management by the Federation of Inter-village Management Associations (FAIVG), present the opportunities offered by the AMR Project for the efficient management of FMTE, the Voluntary Nature Reserve (VNR) - Then Colonel Kouakou Kouadio Rémy, presented the role and functioning of OIPR. Dr. Bogui Bandama Elie illustrated the role of women in forest conservation through a cassava processing and marketing project.

To finance this project for the empowerment of rural communities in Côte d'Ivoire, one component of which concerns the sustainable management of the FMTE for the benefit of the forest's residents, the CSRS obtained partial funding from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) through the support of the Swiss Embassy in Côte d'Ivoire.

The sustainable management of the FMTE will thus make it possible to maintain the quantity and quality of the services that this forest provides to the region's economy while strengthening social cohesion around a common vision. It will last for 3 years from 2022 to 2025.

The workshop to officially launch the management activities of the FMTE RNV was co-organised by the CSRS and the Aboisso Regional Council. 

Through the exchanges that followed the presentations, it became clear that the objective of stimulating the commitment of stakeholders for the sustainable management of the FMTE RNV for the benefit of the riparian communities was fully achieved and allowed to highlight the important challenges to be solved, notably at the level of the uniformity of the legal protection that the FMTE benefits from in Côte d'Ivoire but not at the level of Ghana, even though it borders on this country.

AKA/Celcom