TOGO: the National Office of Protected Areas is created, a step forward for SDG15
After setting up a National Sustainable Development Committee (CNDD) in February 2023, the government of Togo announces the creation of the National Office of Protected Areas (Onap) which should promote the conservation of its natural potential.
Togo continues to move towards achieving the 15th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on the preservation of terrestrial biodiversity. The Togolese government has just created the National Office of Protected Areas (ONAP). This decision comes a few months after the adoption of “a preliminary bill” relating to the creation and management of protected areas in this West African country.
The mission of this public body is to “implement the national forest policy in terms of sustainable management of national parks, wildlife reserves, habitat and species management reserves, natural resource management zones, of hunting interest and zoo-botanical gardens" , indicates the Togolese Ministry of the Environment which ensures technical supervision.
ONAP will therefore work to conserve Togo's protected areas. These include, for example, the national parks of Fazao Malfakassa (the largest in the country with 1,920 km 2 ) and Oti-Kéran located in the north, the wildlife reserves of the Oti valley rich in birds and Sirka recognized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). There are also the classified forests of Missahoé created in 1953 and Togodo on the northwest border of Benin.
This new step taken by Lomé should be welcomed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), which is one of its main partners in nature protection. The UN agency has already mobilized 1.6 billion CFA francs (2.4 million euros) to finance the conservation of the national system of protected areas, the development of national documentation on climate change and even the development of ecovillages in Togo.
