Mono Department

Mono Department shares the UNESCO Mono Biosphere Reserve with Togo, creating a transboundary conservation area spanning 346,285 hectares across the Mono River delta. This shared governance reflects ecological reality: rivers and their ecosystems ignore political boundaries. The reserve encompasses mangroves, lagoons, floodplains, and forests, supporting nearly 2 million people who depend on fishing, small-scale farming, and forestry.

Palm and coconut cultivation dominate agricultural production, with oil processing providing employment across the department. Fishing in the lagoon system offers protein and income, though overfishing and habitat degradation threaten sustainability. The biosphere model attempts to balance conservation with livelihoods—permitting sustainable use while protecting core areas from exploitation. This zoning resembles how biological reserves function: intensive human activity on edges, protected cores in centers.

Extensive agriculture and artisanal mining pose environmental challenges. Population pressure drives land clearing, degrading the ecological services (flood control, fish nurseries, carbon storage) that mangroves and wetlands provide. The department's southern coastal position makes it vulnerable to climate change impacts including sea-level rise and intensifying storms. Managing the Mono Biosphere as a shared resource requires coordination that neither Benin nor Togo can achieve alone—a governance challenge that mirrors the ecological reality of integrated watershed management.