Protected Forests and Sustainable Development in Burkina Faso: the Case of Dindéresso Forest Houet Province

To contribute to its development, Burkina Faso has enacted laws establishing the FOREST CODE and ratified conventions and numerous other legal instruments on the conservation of nature and natural resources. To this end, several forests and parks have been designated as protected areas. However, these protected forests, including the Dindéresso Forest, are subject to human activities such as logging, poaching, agriculture, and grazing, due to the settlement of people who have migrated from arid areas in search of land suitable for farming. The Dindéresso Protected Forest faces a second challenge contributing to its deforestation: its peri-urban location adjacent to the city of Bobo-Dioulasso. Managed through a project aimed at its restoration and protection, the Dindéresso Protected Forest is struggling to reverse its deteriorating condition. Although local communities derive benefits from the forest's resources, they still believe it should be used for agriculture and livestock farming and therefore continue to engage in clandestine activities that undermine the efforts of the project established to ensure that this forest contributes to the development of the local area.