Urban Ecosystem Services and Determinants of Stakeholders’ Perception for Sustainable Cities Planning in Cotonou (Benin)

Assouhan Jonas Atchadé (), Madjouma Kanda, Fousseni Folega, Joanes Atela, Marra Dourma, Kperkouma Wala and Koffi Akpagana
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Assouhan Jonas Atchadé: Regional Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Cities in Africa CERViDA_DOUNEDON, University of Lomé, Lomé 01BP1515, Togo
Madjouma Kanda: Laboratory of Botany and Plant Ecology (LBEV), Faculty of Sciences, University of Lomé, Lomé 01BP1515, Togo
Fousseni Folega: Laboratory of Botany and Plant Ecology (LBEV), Faculty of Sciences, University of Lomé, Lomé 01BP1515, Togo
Joanes Atela: African Research and Impact Network (ARIN), Nairobi P.O. Box 53358, Kenya
Marra Dourma: Laboratory of Botany and Plant Ecology (LBEV), Faculty of Sciences, University of Lomé, Lomé 01BP1515, Togo
Kperkouma Wala: Laboratory of Botany and Plant Ecology (LBEV), Faculty of Sciences, University of Lomé, Lomé 01BP1515, Togo
Koffi Akpagana: Laboratory of Botany and Plant Ecology (LBEV), Faculty of Sciences, University of Lomé, Lomé 01BP1515, Togo

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 12, 1-13

Abstract: Anarchic urbanization and land artificialization expose urban ecosystems and ecosystem services (ES) to threat. Urban ecosystems and trees play a crucial role in improving urban environments, and their management depends on the perceptions and preferences of urban residents. An assessment of the socio-ecological factors determining the perception of the actors allows for the proper design and planning of ecological urban policies and urban adaptation to climate change. The objective of this work was to determine the key determinants (factors) of urban stakeholders’ perceptions of ES in generating socio-ecological information for planning and preservation of ecosystems in Cotonou municipality. In this way, we assessed the perception and discriminating variables of the different stakeholders of urban ES provided in the city of Cotonou. Thus, 381 city dwellers were individually interviewed after statistical sampling. Focus group discussions with the stakeholders also made it possible to highlight the ES provided in the different land use units (LU). The results show that 73.23% of the city dwellers agreed that they were aware of ecosystem services. The hierarchical classification shows two homogeneous groups of perceivers with ethnicity, age, and education as statistically discriminating sociological variables (pv ˂ 0.001). Urban dwellers in the city of Cotonou perceived more SEs in the cultural and regulatory services category significantly (pv < 0.001; v-test > 3). The principal component analysis (PCA) reveals the varying availability of ES according to the different LU in the city. It will be worthwhile to apply this study in the processes of decision-making in climate and environment policy planning for sustainable cities in Africa and all over the world because it adds scientific value.

Keywords: urban ecosystem services; perceptions; socio-ecological analysis; urban adaptation planning; sustainable cities; Cotonou (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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