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Understanding Coastal Residents’ Perception on Urban Green Spaces in Benin, West Africa

Received: 7 January 2023    Accepted: 30 January 2023    Published: 14 February 2023
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Abstract

Urban green spaces have several benefits for humans and environment as ecosystem services that are neglected and underestimated in developing countries. This study was undertaken to assess the importance of UGS to citizens’ communities, evaluate threats to their viability, and identify participatory strategies locally applicable for urban green space viability in three cities (Ouidah, Cotonou and Porto-Novo) of Benin. Surveys were conducted with a questionnaire and 360 respondents were selected from three cities. Data were analyzed belonging to socioeconomic variables such as age, gender, and educational levels. Chi-square test, correlations through corrplot packages, and Principal Component Analysis were also performed under R software. Results reveal six services: shading, air pollutants absorption, aesthetics, recreation, medicinal uses, and economic benefit. However, communities also consider urban green spaces as dumping waste, mosquito lodges, and threats to roads and buildings cracking with roots. These benefits and disturbances differed significantly between the three cities (χ2 = 110.65; p < 0.001) and three categories of interviewees (χ2 = 25.32; p = 0.004). Urban green spaces are also illegally cut, debarked, pruned, topped, and rooted. Otherwise, communities' willingness to participate in urban green management varies belonging to gender. Therefore, urban green spaces play an important socioeconomic role for surrounding communities and it’s urgent to ensure the viability of these ecosystems.

Published in Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Volume 12, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.aff.20231201.12
Page(s) 8-17
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Conservation, Citizens’ Perception, Participatory Planning, Socioeconomic Effect, Urban Green Space, Urban Management Policy

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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Djikpo Vignon Adelphe Rosos, Teka Oscar, Djossa Bruno, Oumorou Madjidou, Sinsin Brice. (2023). Understanding Coastal Residents’ Perception on Urban Green Spaces in Benin, West Africa. Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 12(1), 8-17. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20231201.12

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    ACS Style

    Djikpo Vignon Adelphe Rosos; Teka Oscar; Djossa Bruno; Oumorou Madjidou; Sinsin Brice. Understanding Coastal Residents’ Perception on Urban Green Spaces in Benin, West Africa. Agric. For. Fish. 2023, 12(1), 8-17. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.20231201.12

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    AMA Style

    Djikpo Vignon Adelphe Rosos, Teka Oscar, Djossa Bruno, Oumorou Madjidou, Sinsin Brice. Understanding Coastal Residents’ Perception on Urban Green Spaces in Benin, West Africa. Agric For Fish. 2023;12(1):8-17. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.20231201.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.aff.20231201.12,
      author = {Djikpo Vignon Adelphe Rosos and Teka Oscar and Djossa Bruno and Oumorou Madjidou and Sinsin Brice},
      title = {Understanding Coastal Residents’ Perception on Urban Green Spaces in Benin, West Africa},
      journal = {Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries},
      volume = {12},
      number = {1},
      pages = {8-17},
      doi = {10.11648/j.aff.20231201.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20231201.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.aff.20231201.12},
      abstract = {Urban green spaces have several benefits for humans and environment as ecosystem services that are neglected and underestimated in developing countries. This study was undertaken to assess the importance of UGS to citizens’ communities, evaluate threats to their viability, and identify participatory strategies locally applicable for urban green space viability in three cities (Ouidah, Cotonou and Porto-Novo) of Benin. Surveys were conducted with a questionnaire and 360 respondents were selected from three cities. Data were analyzed belonging to socioeconomic variables such as age, gender, and educational levels. Chi-square test, correlations through corrplot packages, and Principal Component Analysis were also performed under R software. Results reveal six services: shading, air pollutants absorption, aesthetics, recreation, medicinal uses, and economic benefit. However, communities also consider urban green spaces as dumping waste, mosquito lodges, and threats to roads and buildings cracking with roots. These benefits and disturbances differed significantly between the three cities (χ2 = 110.65; p 2 = 25.32; p = 0.004). Urban green spaces are also illegally cut, debarked, pruned, topped, and rooted. Otherwise, communities' willingness to participate in urban green management varies belonging to gender. Therefore, urban green spaces play an important socioeconomic role for surrounding communities and it’s urgent to ensure the viability of these ecosystems.},
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Understanding Coastal Residents’ Perception on Urban Green Spaces in Benin, West Africa
    AU  - Djikpo Vignon Adelphe Rosos
    AU  - Teka Oscar
    AU  - Djossa Bruno
    AU  - Oumorou Madjidou
    AU  - Sinsin Brice
    Y1  - 2023/02/14
    PY  - 2023
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20231201.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.aff.20231201.12
    T2  - Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
    JF  - Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
    JO  - Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
    SP  - 8
    EP  - 17
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-5648
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20231201.12
    AB  - Urban green spaces have several benefits for humans and environment as ecosystem services that are neglected and underestimated in developing countries. This study was undertaken to assess the importance of UGS to citizens’ communities, evaluate threats to their viability, and identify participatory strategies locally applicable for urban green space viability in three cities (Ouidah, Cotonou and Porto-Novo) of Benin. Surveys were conducted with a questionnaire and 360 respondents were selected from three cities. Data were analyzed belonging to socioeconomic variables such as age, gender, and educational levels. Chi-square test, correlations through corrplot packages, and Principal Component Analysis were also performed under R software. Results reveal six services: shading, air pollutants absorption, aesthetics, recreation, medicinal uses, and economic benefit. However, communities also consider urban green spaces as dumping waste, mosquito lodges, and threats to roads and buildings cracking with roots. These benefits and disturbances differed significantly between the three cities (χ2 = 110.65; p 2 = 25.32; p = 0.004). Urban green spaces are also illegally cut, debarked, pruned, topped, and rooted. Otherwise, communities' willingness to participate in urban green management varies belonging to gender. Therefore, urban green spaces play an important socioeconomic role for surrounding communities and it’s urgent to ensure the viability of these ecosystems.
    VL  - 12
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Laboratory of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou, Bénin

  • Laboratory of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou, Bénin

  • Laboratory of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou, Bénin

  • Laboratory of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou, Bénin

  • Laboratory of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou, Bénin

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