The natural vegetation strip along water bodies acts as a crucial barrier against the influx of nutrients and sediments. Consequently, the progressive degradation of the riparian vegetation around Banco Bay has led to the silting of the bed of this section of the Ebrié Lagoon. The primary objective of this study was to enhance the understanding of the quality of Banco Bay’s shores to identify priority intervention areas for potential re-vegetation efforts. To achieve this, a riparian quality index assessment protocol was applied. This involved delineating 200-meter-long and 10-meter-wide segments along the riparian vegetation strip. Within these sampling areas, a botanical survey was conducted to assign a coverage percentage to the different components of the riparian strip, allowing for the calculation of the riparian quality index. Data analysis revealed low floristic richness with 17 tree species, predominantly microphanerophytes and nanophanerophytes. The low IQBR values indicate a riparian zone in poor condition, with 92% of the segments classified as very low or low IQBR classes. Given the consequences of water silting, it is essential to use the results of this study as an awareness-raising tool for residents and decision-makers, encouraging collective action towards the re-vegetation of Banco Bay’s shores.

The Tanoe-Ehy swamp forest (FMTE) has been identified as a high-priority site for primate conservation in West Africa. In addition to a lack of knowledge of the plant communities, the site is subject to pressure from local populations both on the periphery and in the interior. The aim of this ethnobotanical study is therefore to determine the uses made of the plant species collected by the local populations. To achieve this, ethnobotanical surveys were carried out in seven localities on the outskirts of the forest. Generally speaking, direct interviews with local people enabled us to identify the techniques and practices used to plant crops and the plants harvested in the study area. A total of 160 people were interviewed, most of them male farmers. The survey showed that most of the plantation land had been acquired by inheritance and had been established on forest land. Monocultural plantations are the most abundant in the study area. It is worth noting that the preferred place for collecting plants is within the FMTE. Most of the plant species collected are used for traditional medicine. They include Landolphia membranacea, Tabernaemontana crassa, Combretum aphanopetalum, Parquetina nigrescens, Microdesmis keayana, Alchornea cordifolia, and Strophanthus hispidus with a rarity index of less than 80%. Given the importance of the FMTE in terms of a particular ecosystem and biodiversity conservation, it is desirable and urgent that, in addition to awareness campaigns for local populations, the process of its definitive classification be accelerated to put an end.