The National Management of Wildlife Reserves Centre (CENAGREF) signed Thursday, March 24, 2016 in Cotonou, a partnership agreement with the Foundation of West African Savannahs (WASF). The agreement was signed between officials of the two organizations in the presence of the Minister of the Environment, marking the start of the Benin Foundation activities. It aims to finance the conservation of wildlife reserves of Niger, Benin, and Burkina Faso, on the whole complex formed by parks W, the Pendjari, and Arly.
But initially, the intervention of the WASF will make available to the CENAGREF a grant of 164 million CFA francs to repair the tracks, housing, and administrative buildings of Pendjari National Park. “Both partners will commit to work closely together to achieve their common mission of ecosystem conservation through efficient management of the reserves of fauna,” said Aline Odjè, the Board Chair of the WASF.
“The start of the WASF activities appears beneficial for Benin and beyond but for the countries that share the famous W-Arly-Pendjari complex (WAP); it’s of exceptional importance in terms of biodiversity,” said the Environment Minister, Théophile Worou, with appreciation.
Note the participation in the signing ceremony of the partnership agreement of a delegation from the German Embassy. German cooperation is part of the donor foundation, born in 2012 and headquartered in Benin since 2014.