Can sacred forests help save Africa’s birds?

21 November, 2023

A Red-billed Hornbill (Tockus erythrorhynchus) female perches on the ground in a sacred forest in northern Togo, West Africa. Photo by Nico Arcilla.

While many traditional nature conservation practices have been transformed by modern phenomena, such as industrial development and globalization, protecting nature as a matter of faith, fortunately, is a tradition that persists in many parts of the world. In countries including Benin and Togo, IBCP is working with collaborators to ask whether and how sacred forests protect trees and birds. This month, Nico Arcilla presented details of these and other IBCP projects in West Africa as part of the Fridays4Birds webinar series at the Swiss Ornithological Institute. A video of this presentation is available here.