In Togo, the creation of the national system of protected areas took place between 1938 and 1958 and was gradually consolidated until the 1970s and 1980s with an ambitious program to expand the boundaries of certain protected areas. Thus, until 1990, Togo's national system of protected areas consisted of 83 protected areas (PAs), covering nearly 79,3288.81 ha, or 14.2% of the national territory. Three of these areas are established as national parks (373640 ha) and 9 as wildlife reserves (202405 ha), the remaining area (21,7243.81 ha) i.e. 71 protected areas have kept their name of creating “classified forests” (MERF, PAFN, 2011). The program to broaden the boundaries that took place during the 1970s and 1980s certainly made it possible to maintain exceptional wildlife diversity in the West African
subregion. On the other hand, the protectionist barriers erected in management mode have left a bitter taste among local populations. They considered that the management of protected areas was carried out without taking into account their socio-economic development needs, so that the forest administration and the local populations did not share the same vision on the reasons for the existence of these protected areas.
Little by little, protected areas will be purely and simply called into question, especially during the period of socio-economic turmoil in the 90s, which marked the process of democratization of the country. These disorders have led to the fragmentation of some PAs and thus threatened the natural habitats of wildlife and the loss of biodiversity. In view of the major challenges related to the conservation of biodiversity, climate change and the sustainability of the livelihoods of populations living near PAs, it is important to assess the state of conservation of PAs in Togo. By doing so, this will make it possible to better plan the future management of biodiversity in a context of achieving the national development goals enshrined in the PND and the SDGs.
This report is a summary of the analysis of the dynamics of land use in protected areas in Togo in 1987, 1997 and 2017. It also provides an overview of the degree of anthropogenic occupation of PAs and their vulnerability to climate change by 2050.