Construction of a marsh park in Fifafji : A drama is brewing

In a previous article, certain initiatives for the construction of water parks and artificial lakes in Cotonou, have been analyzed by Alfred Houngnon. The specialist in Valorization of Heritage Biodiversity and Citizen Mobilization returns to the charge to denounce the ransacking of the Fifadji marsh. A marsh at the heart of ambiguous projects according to his observations.

True to his logic, Alfred Houngnon did not go with the back of the spoon to spit out his truth. “Underdevelopment is organized even by academics” denounces the specialist in Valorization of Heritage Biodiversity and Citizen Mobilization. Their attitude towards students to whom they do not give any employability opportunity by initiating development dynamics to create jobs is pointed out. For him, the role of academics is “to help the state unlock the employability potential”. According to him, the feasibility studies carried out in the meantime envisaged 20 at 25 jobs per hectare of developed swamps in Fifadji. To hear today that some have come up with projects to build marsh parks in order to circumvent the initial idea is incongruous. “Can you build a park on a river in a flood-prone city? ? he wonders. The best formula is to "restore biodiversity with the reintegration of plants that have disappeared in an alignment that responds to the embellishment of the human landscape and to introduce other aspects that make it possible to give employment to young people" proposes Alfred Houngnon. Any contrary initiative would be detrimental to the environment., hammers the specialist in Valorization of Heritage Biodiversity and Citizen Mobilization.

The cry of the heart

According to him, some cases of wild flooding that are observed today in Cotonou are due to bad choices made in the past. The partitioning of the Fifadji swamp is clear proof of this.. "How is it that a stream that leaves Togbin to pour its waters to Lake Nokoué, we come to deposit a weir just at the estuary of Vossa where the stream is supposed to flow into Lake Nokoué to continue its path ? he wonders. By creating in 1885 Lake Nokoue, he will say "the intention of the settler was to open the continental waterways on the Atlantic Ocean in order to avoid floods". He insists on not understanding the logic of the development programs with the creation of water parks and artificial lakes at vau-l'eau in Cotonou. “They are restricting waterways by creating lakes, plots on watercourses which, on the contrary, need to drain water along a clear azimuth" he is offended before adding "I do not understand that studies mention everything that should be done but that programs are still coming to do the opposite and create segregation at the level of the natural water regime” protests the analyst. For him, the executives did not understand the vision of the Head of State when he speaks of Grand Nokoué. Nothing should force project designers to ignore technical standards and create things against nature "We cannot be in a vision of Grand Nokoué and say that we want to build a park or a pond on the water. It is because the Head of State is not yet aware of the drama that is brewing that people are creating disorder around his vision” laments Alfred Houngnon. The example is right next to us he underlines "Beyond the magnificent panoramic view offered by the Togolese coast, there is a drama that plays out in silence and does not arouse suspicion. An ecological disaster that no one talks about. In recent years, it is given to note on the Togolese coast, a gradual change in the color of the ocean”. "Let's take care. Because unfortunately the development model that ruined Togo is the photocopy that the same companies are reproducing in Cotonou. All the rivers have been partitioned from Adidogome to Tokoin to become closed lakes stinking with breeding sites and inaccessible to the average citizen. This is what is currently being produced in Cotonou”, concludes the specialist in Valorization of Heritage Biodiversity and Citizen Mobilization.

Trained at the University of Montpellier, Alfred Houngnon was an activist at the Association for Integrated Resource Management (TO ACT) and Research Assistant (CNRS) of 2011 at 2013. Between 2009 and 2010, he was in charge of large-scale plant production at the Songhaï Benin Cooperative Center.

Arnaud ACAKPO (Coll)