Territory and Climate<\/b><\/p>\r\n
Benin covers an area of 112,622 km\u00b2, <\/b>washed by the Atlantic Ocean <\/b>to the south and bordered by Togo <\/b>to the west, Burkina Faso <\/b>to the north and Nigeria <\/b>to the east.<\/p>\r\n
It is divided into two main geographical areas. The north has the arid nature typical of the Sahel savannahs<\/b>, characterised by a predominantly shrub-like vegetation, and the south has the tropical nature typical <\/b>of the Atlantic belt, made up of bush and banana forests, palm-fringed beaches, pineapple and cocoa plantations and rice paddies.<\/p>\r\n
In the extreme north-east, Benin is surrounded by the Niger River, <\/b>while the Ou\u00e9m\u00e9 River <\/b>runs through most of its longitude, forming Lake Nokou\u00e9 <\/b>near the coast, which together with Lake Ahem\u00e9, <\/b>formed by the Mono River<\/b>, is the largest<\/strong> lake <\/b>in the country.<\/p>\r\n Morphologically<\/b> it is predominantly flat and lagoon-like in the south<\/b>, dominated in the north-west by the low rocky outlines of the Atakora <\/b>chain and in the middle belt by the so-called ‘<\/span>41 hills’ in the <\/b>vicinity of Dassa and Savalou.<\/p>\r\n There are also two distinct<\/strong> climate zones. The south has a tropical climate, <\/b>humid and hot, with temperatures varying between 22 \u00b0C and 32 \u00b0C <\/b>during the two rainy seasons (one between April and July and the second between September and October) and between 25 \u00b0C and 38 \u00b0C <\/b>during the dry season (the rest of the <\/span>year). The north<\/b>, on the other hand, has a predominantly dry Sahel climate, <\/b>with temperatures varying between 15 \u00b0C and 30 \u00b0C <\/b>during the winter months, between 26 \u00b0C and 42 \u00b0C <\/b>during the spring months and between 22 \u00b0C and 32 \u00b0C <\/b>during the <\/span>single rainy season from May to September.<\/p>\r\n Flora and Fauna<\/b><\/p>\r\n Like the other countries of the Gulf of Guinea, Benin receives abundant rainfall in its coastal zone for much of the year, thus presenting a lush tropical vegetation <\/b>rich in mangroves<\/b>, palms<\/b>, bananas<\/b>, papayas<\/b>, pineapple<\/b>, cocoa <\/b>and coffee <\/b>plantations and green rice fields<\/b>.<\/p>\r\n As you move away from the coast and the lagoon regions in a northerly direction, the landscape dries out and the northern brousse <\/i><\/b>(savannah) begins, where the rice paddies typical of the south are replaced by crops of yams and manioc, sorghum, millet and maize, and the palm trees gradually give way to mangoes<\/b>, sycamores <\/b>and finally to ner\u00e9<\/b>, shea <\/b>and baobab trees<\/b>.<\/p>\r\n The Baobab (adasonia digitata<\/i>) <\/b>is the symbol of Africa.<\/span> This large tree, with its squat trunk and misshapen branches, which some local populations believe to have magical powers due to its resistance to drought and its longevity, is <\/span>certainly the most important tree for local populations, especially in the north. A member of the Bombacaceae family, it is a centuries-old tree that can reach 36 metres in height and 6 metres in diameter, and is practically used in all its parts. The large, fleshy flowers are eaten raw, the leaves, rich in calcium and iron, are eaten as a vegetable or spice. The fruits, large grains of sweet white pulp, enclosed in a hard shell, are rich in vitamin B1 and C and can be sucked dry or pressed to be mixed with <\/span>water and drunk as a refreshing drink. The fruit shells are dried and used as utensils, a red dye is extracted from the roots, and the often hollow trunk can be used as a shelter. The therapeutic properties are manifold. The leaves are used to treat inflammation, asthma, colic, fever, excessive sweating, diarrhoea and urinary infections. The peel is a remedy for rickets and a soothing agent for toothache. The pulp of the fruit is indicated against dysentery, has fortifying and curative properties against malaria. In addition, when it grows old, its trunk tends to become hollow, offering shelter and refuge, or a place of worship for ancestral religions.<\/p>\r\n Aquatic fauna <\/b>is concentrated in the coastal and lake areas of the south. In the region around the Mono River and Lakes Ahem\u00e9 and Nokou\u00e9, the Atlantic microclimate and lagoon morphology, rich in mangroves and brackish water, is favourable to hosting numerous fish and bird species<\/b>. In recent years, the manatees that swim <\/b>up the Mono River and the sea turtles <\/b>that arrive on the coast near Grand Popo to lay their eggs have aroused particular interest, partly due to their increasing rarity, to the extent that some local and international NGOs are becoming increasingly concerned about their protection.<\/p>\r\n In the <\/span>past, the two main lakes were home to some colonies of hippos<\/b>, of which unfortunately the last specimen at Lake Ahem\u00e9 died in 2019 from old age.<\/p>\r\n T<\/span>he centre of the country in the middle hills, has an ideal microclimate to host numerous species of butterflies and insects<\/b>, while the two national parks <\/b>(part of one huge cross-border protected region) in the north are home to some wildlife species that are now virtually extinct in the rest of West Africa.<\/span><\/p>\r\n National Parks and Protection<\/b><\/p>\r\n “You don<\/em>‘<\/span>t leave anything behind, apart from the prints of your shoes, you don’t take anything away<\/i>“.<\/p>\r\n W Regional Park <\/b><\/p>\r\n It stretches partly in Benin and partly in Burkina Faso, but most of its 10,000 km\u00b2 area is in Niger and owes its name to the shape that the course of the river of the same name (the Niger) draws as it flows through the area. <\/span>Leopards<\/b>, elephants<\/b>, cheetahs<\/b>, lions<\/b>, baboons<\/b>, crocodiles <\/b>and hyenas <\/b>can be spotted here, as well as numerous bird species and over 500 plant species. Declared a park in 1954, it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996 <\/b>and in 2017 was incorporated, along with Arly Park in Burkina Faso and Pendjari in Benin, into the vast W-Arly-Pendjari transboundary complex<\/b>.<\/p>\r\n Pendjari National Park <\/b><\/p>\r\n Located in the north-west of the country, near the Atakora Mountains, it is perhaps the best organised park in <\/span>West Africa and is inhabited by elephants<\/b>, baboons<\/b>, gazelles<\/b>, hippodragons<\/b>, rare cheetahs<\/b>, buffalo<\/b>, hippos<\/b>, crocodiles <\/b>and lions<\/b>. It is home to two hotels offering food and drink and pleasant bungalows for overnight stays. Since 2017 it has been part of the vast W-Arly-Pendjari Complex<\/b>.<\/p>\r\n Some of the main threats to the environment in West Africa are deforestation<\/span>, erosion, pollution and hunting.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Although Benin is relatively clean compared to other neighbouring countries, showing greater attention and civic sense in the collection and disposal of waste, it is not exempt from the problems of deforestation, erosion and hunting. So much so that many organisations have been working in recent years to combat these dangers and raise awareness among the local population.<\/p>\r\n In the north, a campaign has been underway for some time to disseminate energy-saving wood-burning <\/b>ovens to the population, and to promote eco-sustainable <\/b>and solidarity-based tourism, <\/b>with the involvement of the population, to raise awareness of environmental protection. In the south, the problem of <\/span>erosion, which has caused the level of the lakes to drop considerably, has triggered a huge community campaign to reforest the mangroves, <\/b>which slow down<\/span> the advance of the sand and are a favourite breeding ground for fish.<\/p>\r\n A non-governmental organisation has been fighting for years to protect sea turtles and manatees <\/b>by monitoring their reproduction and migration.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Kanaga Africa Tours will provide advice and a kind of vademecum <\/i>for respecting the areas visited.<\/b><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":14554,"menu_order":0,"template":"","da_non_perdere":[],"la_terra_e_gli_uomini":[60],"buono_a_sapersi":[],"prima_di_partire":[],"class_list":["post-15766","info_viaggi","type-info_viaggi","status-publish","hentry","la_terra_e_gli_uomini-benin","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n