Parks, politics, and pluralism: The demise of national parks in Togo

Authoritarian rule in Togo has provided no avenue for local people to participate in the creation of parks and protected areas. There has been a failure to consider local needs in official planning and management, and no effort has been expended to build local support for conservation; instead, conservation regulations have been capriciously and repressively enforced. These factors contributed to the destruction of protected areas, mostly at the hands of local people, when the central government first showed signs of weakening in 1990. Since 1987 the authors have spent a total of 3 years in Togo, much of that time in the northernmost Savanes region. This article focuses on that region and on the protected areas located there. Many of the phenomena described in this paper are based on anecdotal evidence, since a free press is a recent development in Togo and official information is difficult to obtain.

Keywords:

• conservation
• local needs
• national parks
• participation
• political change
• protected areas
• wildlife preservation