This study was conducted in the Badénou protected forest, at the periphery and nearby the villages of Tiébila and Nafoun. The Badénou classified forest is exposed to imminent deforestation by local populations. This study aims to determine the floristic diversity of the western peripheral part of this forest. The data was collected using floristic inventories. Floristic diversity was assessed by determining species richness, number of genera and families, Shannon-Weaver diversity and Piélou equitabilty indices. The study identified 243 species grouped into 161 genera and 60 families. This flora contains 147 herbaceous species grouped into 92 genera and 34 families. The woody species, numbering 96, belong to 72 genera and 30 families. The Shannon-Weaver diversity index (3.76) showed an average diversity of woody flora. The Piélou equitabilty index (0.82) reflects an almost equitable distribution of woody individuals between species. The results of this study contributed to take stock of the flora of this forest.
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.