Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Southeastern Community Forests in Togo (West Africa)

The present study aimed to provide the basics needed to reconcile the fightagainst poverty with the need of a good management of community resourcesin the context of local and sustainable development. It focused onthe identification of geographic location and spatio-temporal dynamics ofthese resources in the southeastern part of Togo. The methodological approachwas based on the spatial analysis of the area for the years 1988, 2000and 2018 by combining optical imagery from Landsat TM, ETM+ and Sentinel-2A MSI satellites with radar imagery from Sentinel-1A IW/GRDH.Spatial analysis showed a fragmented spatial structure undergoing majorchanges for the period 1988-2018. Plantations, riparian formations, agglomerations,water bodies and wetlands increased respectively by 4.61%,2.09%, 1.07%, 0.43% and 0.35% annually, while forests, savannahs, cropsand fallow lands decreased annually by 0.71%, 5.87% and 1.97%. For the“forests” class, seven community forests geographically organized in threesub-groups were identified and mapped. The analysis of their areas pointedto the fact that out of 667 ha of community forests in 1988, only 415 ha remainin 2018, which means a loss of 37.78% in forest areas over the 30 years,or an annual deforestation rate of 1.64%. The different spatial changes observedcould be attributed to several unsustainable human activities. Theland use maps for the years 1988, 2000 and 2018 will contribute to resourcelocalization and protection in sensitive areas or, in other words, to the integratedand rational management of these resources. The different identifiedand mapped community forests could serve as management units for managersin developing their management plans.