**7. Areas of intervention for sustainable management of the MGNP**

#### **7.1 Improving governance**

In the MGNP, in order to promote the effectiveness of integrated and participatory management that respects the norms, the State, which holds the property

rights, must set up a consultation framework involving the various stakeholders. Forest administration actors are also invited to promote it, for its true recognition as a reference for plant conservation in the Sudano-Sahelian zone, and to work for the provision of financial resources, within the framework of the carbon market. In this process, they should establish the necessary partnerships, ensure the involvement of scientific and technical expertise, exploit the available data on the park, and gather all the necessary means for appropriate management. Wicander [46] believes that state governance in sub-Saharan Africa has indeed the potential to achieve effective biodiversity conservation. He adds that with the requirement for greater transparency and accountability, it can be more effective, increasing social inclusion for greater societal legitimacy, to reduce conflicts and inequities, maximize resources, capacities and skills for the benefit of stakeholders.

However, in a context of state governance of protected areas, distrustful attitudes and bureaucratic red tape often hinder the involvement of some stakeholders in the management process [51]. Evaluations of management effectiveness should therefore be regular exercises, integrated into the management and planning cycles of protected area administrations [40].

Considering the many constraints to compliance in protected area management, some authors do not exclude the use of alternative and palliative measures, essentially contributing to the maintenance of resilience [8]. Other studies recognize the importance of non-scientific sources of knowledge in forest management practices [52, 53]. Thus, the authorities involved in forest management should invest as much as possible in maintaining a rigorous protection of the park, minimizing the negative impact of humans on its entire extent, especially with the activities of the terrorist sect "Boko Haram", which have led to a massive influx of displaced people and refugees in the area. The aim here is simply to apply the law, which prohibits encroachment or access to the park for the purpose of collecting any products whatsoever. The use of Geographic Information Systems and other innovative technological tools, could improve governance, even in the face of insufficient staff. Ecotourism promotion is also essential in this management. However, in practice, it must be recognized that it is very difficult to apply strict restriction measures on intrusions into the park, with the multiple existing paths or tracks. It would therefore seem more appropriate to manage the park sustainably, based on less restrictive or dissuasive initiatives, including above all a good awareness-raising of all influential actors.

Furthermore, for a long-term improvement of governance, it is not unrealistic to recommend the design and implementation of legal texts that would focus attention on the particularities of dryland ecosystem management and give more value to the conservation of natural resources in this area. Gautier *et al*. [51] have argued for a reform of forest governance applied in semi-arid zones. In order to address the lack of joint action in favor of the park, the creation of an agency dedicated specifically to the management of protected areas could be envisaged at the national level, with regional branches.

The lack of a buffer zone is a legal loophole, constituting one of the major threats to the sustainable conservation of the biodiversity of the MGNP. The currently known limits, which correspond to the edge of the vegetation, cannot constitute a brake on the poaching and destructive intentions of the population in the vicinity. This contiguity with the riparian population is very pronounced in some places, with the establishment of social infrastructures (schools, health centers, and roads), dwellings and crop fields in almost its entire border (**Figure 4**), with the exception of a degraded zone separating the villages of Karazawa and Gabas.

As information from farmers indicates that animals may move between the park and the surrounding mountains, an extension of the park into such a corridor *Implications of Ethnoecological and Phytoecological Studies for the Sustainable Management… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.98584*

**Figure 4.** *School (a) and cultivated area (b) at the periphery of the park.*

may be suggested. In this area and other peripheral spaces, degraded land will be restored and agro-sylvo-pastoral practices will be implemented, favoring the resources desired by the farmers. Such actions must be carried out according to an agro-ecological approach. It aims to reconcile, in the long term, the productivity of agricultural systems and the preservation of natural resources [54]. According to Lausche [33], the emergence of climate change requires the extension of existing protected areas, the creation of new ones and the strengthening of environmental connectivity. Regarding the planting of woody species in the buffer zone, minimum interspecific spacing of 4.5 m, or intraspecific spacing of 3 m, have been suggested in the Sudanian zone [55]. In his book on the reconfiguration of protected areas in Africa, Chardonnet [48] advocated the establishment of an alternative to buffer zones called peripheral areas or conservancies, contributing more effectively as a transition zone to both the maintenance of values and the development of local communities.

There is therefore a possibility to create this transition zone, in accordance with the principle of ecological connectivity in such a space [56, 57], with real adhesion of the population, while respecting prior consultations and compensation measures concerning all expropriated persons. However, this is a solution that, although favorable to the MGNP, is limited by the high land pressure, already very visible in this densely populated area. The establishment of a dense natural protection barrier, such as a hedgerow, is another option to be considered in places where such an extension is not feasible.

## **7.2 Organization of environmental education of the stakeholders of influence of the park**

Awareness raising, education and capacity building are important principles in sustainable forest management in sub-Saharan Africa [31]. Environmental education, having a major contribution in the extension process**,** is an essential activity for the effectiveness of protected area management. It will be necessary to integrate in its organization, the diversity of actors without discrimination (activities, gender, ethnicity, religion). Chalabi and Mahamadou [58] make this an important issue for the conservation of protected areas in the Sudano-Sahelian zones.

To make people understand the ideal of conservation, the approach to be recommended in raising awareness among the population results from their perception of species that are disappearing, decreasing or increasing. It should emphasize on the responsibility of man in the evolution of vegetation, as well as non-destructive use rights in relation to forestry legislation. The organization of meetings and discussions in influential groups are ways of spreading awareness messages.

Also, with formal education, young people can be influenced by ways of thinking, a new understanding of nature, and a more concrete perception of environmental preservation [25]. Education also involves the media and new technologies, which, through the play of permanent messages, can lead people to adhere to the ideal of biodiversity conservation. In the end, a good compromise is needed between the development of the local population and the preservation of the environment.

Significant knowledge of regeneration patterns is essential. For example, managers need to be aware of interventions that can enhance the potential for regeneration by sexual (viable seed stocks) or vegetative means. The importance of vegetative regeneration (adventitious or proventive stump sprouts, suckers) is noted in the area compared to Guinean regions [28, 59]. Bellefontaine *et al*. [60] thus advocate the inseparability of sexual reproduction and vegetative propagation (asexual reproduction) for a true enrichment in woody plants. He encourages the practice of regeneration techniques that are more accessible to populations, at lower cost, notably suckering and terrestrial layering. Such techniques must

**Figure 5.**

*Base cutting of a Balanites aegyptiaca stem (left) and extensive debarking of Ziziphus spina-christi (right).*

**Figure 6.** *Tadpole cutting of one individual of Dalbergia melanoxylon.*

*Implications of Ethnoecological and Phytoecological Studies for the Sustainable Management… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.98584*

be popularized for the successful establishment of an agro-sylvo-pastoral zone, integrating agro-ecological practices, in the park's surroundings.

With the observation that totally destructive logging is sometimes practised, in the removal of ligneous and NTFPs (**Figures 5** and **6**), it would be essential to teach logging or cutting techniques that facilitate easy regeneration [60], in particular the so-called improved cuts that preserve rare species and individuals with small diameters. In the area, cutting and protection regimes (**Table 2**), including minimum exploitable diameter, duration of cutting rotation have been proposed by Catinot [59], Nouvellet [61], Peltier *et al*. [62], Ntoupka [63], Sokpon *et al*. [65], Faye *et al*. [64] and clearly, more species-specific cutting rotations are recommended for better stand recovery.

Managers must also become familiar with assisted natural regeneration techniques. Fire and grazing practices in a less degrading form, maintaining the fragile balance of the ecosystems, must also be known by the populations. These pressure factors have been reported to the MGNP [25]. **Figures 7** and **8**, show that these practices are present in the park. Several authors [66, 67] propose early annual fires as a possible solution, rather than late fires, as well as moderate grazing outside the rainy season.


#### **Table 2.**

*Examples of cutting regimes in the Sudanian or Sahelian zone.*

**Figure 8.** *Area attacked by a late fire caused by carelessness one year earlier.*

In addition, people need to be informed about the decline in quantity of several gallery forest species (Mayo-specific vegetation), so that they can take a greater interest in their conservation.
