W Region Biosphere Reserve (Benin)

UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, inscribed 2002, in Benin. Situated in the West African savannah, the W Region Biosphere Reserve sits on an ancient massif above the Niger valley and is dissected by the Mékrou, Tapoa and Kourtiagou rivers linked to the Niger and Pendjari basins. The reserve presents a wide variety of natural landscapes from Ramsar-listed wetlands with aquatic meadows, to gallery forests, open dry woodlands and savannahs. As part of the W–Arly–Pendjari complex, a pioneering transboundary site in Africa, it underpins cross-border co-operation on conservation, development through community-involved resource management, and education and continuous monitoring.