BETWEEN POLICY TEXTS AND FIELD PRACTICES: PUBLIC POLICIES, INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS AND STAKEHOLDER PRACTICES IN THE SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF FOREST RESOURCES IN BENIN

Background: Forests in Benin sustain biodiversity, protect soils and support a large share of rural livelihoods, yet they remain under continuous pressure from farmland expansion, wood harvesting, charcoal production and land-use change. Over three decades the country has accumulated an extensive body of forest law and policy, from the 1993 Forest Regime Act to the 2023-2032 Forest Policy and the draft Forest and Wildlife Code transmitted to the National Assembly in November 2025. Whether this accumulation of texts translates into sustainable management on the ground remains an open question.