Welcome to the Laboratory of Applied Ecology (LEA) at the University of Abomey Calavi (UAC) in Benin Republic (West Africa)

Created by Professor Brice Sinsin in 1994, the Laboratory of Applied Ecology (LEA) is part of the Faculty of Agronomic Sciences (FSA) at the University of Abomey-Calavi (UAC) in Benin Republic (West Africa). Initially, its activities had been conducted within the Section of Applied Ecology and Aquaculture Products (SEAPA) of the FSA/UAC.

The Laboratory of Applied Ecology (LEA) has two offices: one located on the first floor of the building of the Institute of Advanced Biomedical Sciences (ISBA), at the fairgrounds (Campus of the Faculty of Health Sciences – FSS/UAC), Cotonou, and the other at the university campus of Abomey-Calavi. The LEA has computer equipment including several computers, printers, freezers for the conservation of seeds, lab equipment and important documentation on natural resources and environment.  As of 2010, the annual budget of the lab is over $40,000. Some of the services provided by the lab include:

• thematic maps using Geographical Information Systems
• satellite image processing
• design and printing of posters
• scientific consultation on biodiversity and environment
• etc.

Led by Professor Brice Sinsin, Ex Rector or Chancellor of the University of Abomey-Calavi (2012-2017), the Laboratory of Applied Ecology is one of the most advanced research institutions in natural resources in Africa. Activities at the LEA deal with capacity building through training and advanced research on applied ecology, etc. Since its creation, the LEA has attracted countless PhD, MS, BS students, visitors and partners across the globe. Scientific research at the LEA has resulted in hundreds of scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals, books, and conference proceedings.

As of 2018, some of the research projects the LEA has completed and/or has been involved in are:

• land use and land degradation,
• biodiversity and climate change,
• carbon stock measurement and monitoring of carbon sequestration,
• agriculture productivity and capacity building in organic agriculture,
• ethnobotany and new crops development,
• management of agroforestry systems,
• ecological restoration of degraded land,
• conservation and sustainable management of wild palms,
• management of Non Timber Forests Products,
• management of protected areas (National Parks, hunting zones, community conservation areas),
• monitoring of wildlife,
• red list of threatened plants and wildlife,
• sustainable management of natural resources,
• grassland ecology,
• domestication of fodder and food tree species in Africa,
• land and watershed restoration’
• organic agriculture research and training,
• bioenergy development,
  nutrient management,
• planning and management of rangelands and protected areas,
• monitoring of endemic and/or threatened flora and fauna species,
• and much more.

 

Some of the major achievements of the LEA are:

• climate change, vulnerability assessment and natural/climatic risk management in the coastal area of Benin,
• conservation and management of several forest genetic resources in Benin (e.g: Adansonia digitata , Blighia sapida, Caesalpinia bonduc, Irvingia gabonensis, Pentadesma butyracea, Sclerocarya birrea, Tamarindus indica, Borassus aethiopum, Raphia sudanica, Dialium guineense, etc.),
• management of several agroforestry systems involving medicinal plants in Northern Benin (e.g Community gardens of Papatia, Monts Kouffé, forest reserve, etc.),
• ecological restoration of many degraded areas (e.g. Lama forest reserve and Swampy forest of Lokoli in Southern Benin; semi decidious forest of Bassila and Wari Maro in Northern Benin; etc.),
• management of protected areas in Benin (e.g. Biosphere Reserve of Pendjari and W in Northern Benin, Trois Rivières forests reserves, Goungoun and Sota forests in Northern Benin, Lama forest reserve in Southern Benin, etc.),
• Red list of threatened plants and wildlife in Benin (IUCN Red Book of Benin),
• remote sensing and mapping of vegetation (Swampy Forest of Lokoli, Dense Forest of Lama; Biosphere Reserves of Pendjari and W; etc.),
• atlas of biodiversity of Benin,
• etc.

 

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