Sacred Forests as Socio-ecological Institutions: Governance, Customary Regulation and Conservation in Central Benin, West Africa

Abstract

Sacred forests are culturally protected forest patches in which spiritual beliefs, customary rules and local institutions regulate access to natural resources. They form some of the last forest remnants of the Dahomey Gap, the natural interruption of the West African forest belt, where sacralization has long substituted for formal protection regimes. Yet the mechanisms linking perceived sacredness, local governance and conservation outcomes remain insufficiently quantified in central Benin. This study assessed how local socio-cultural and spiritual values are associated with governance, resource-use regulation and the conservation condition of sacred forests in the districts of Dassa-Zoume, Glazoue and Savalou. Data were collected in 28 sacred forests distributed across 22 villages and 15 districts using a stratified multistage design. A total of 894 respondents were interviewed between 2023 and 2024. Composite indices of sacredness and conservation were constructed from ordinal indicators and examined using multiple correspondence analysis (MCA), hierarchical clustering on principal components (HCPC), Spearman correlations, principal component analysis (PCA), Kruskal-Wallis tests and multiple linear regression. Perceived sacredness was high overall (mean ± SD = 3.97 ± 1.09) and ritual frequency was 4.18 ± 1.19, whereas compliance with customary rules was comparatively moderate (3.20 ± 0.90). Traditional governance predominated in all three districts, particularly in Glazoue (74.4%) and Savalou (55.8%). Sacredness was strongly associated with the conservation index (Spearman ρ = 0.766), and customary prohibitions were associated with both sacredness (ρ = 0.644) and conservation (ρ = 0.586). The conservation index differed markedly among the five sacredness levels (Kruskal–Wallis H = 438.28, df = 4, p < 2.2 × 10-16). The multivariable model explained 64.2% of the variance in the conservation index (adjusted R² = 0.635), with sacredness (β = 0.530), religious authority (β = 0.591), rule compliance (β = 0.215), community involvement (β = 0.206) and governance quality (β = 0.144) positively associated with conservation, whereas anthropogenic pressure was negatively associated (β = -0.066). These findings indicate that sacredness functions as an important socio-ecological institution through which beliefs, customary norms and community organisation are linked to forest conservation. Nevertheless, the lower level of rule compliance relative to perceived sacredness and ritual activity suggests an emerging gap between symbolic attachment and practical enforcement. Conservation policies should recognise customary institutions while strengthening community-based governance and providing targeted support where traditional regulatory mechanisms are weakening.