The Laboratory of Applied Ecology (LEA) of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences (FSA) at the University of Abomey-Calavi (UAC) Benin was created in 1994 by Professor Brice Sinsin. LEA is one of the advanced research institutions on the management of natural resources in Benin. The main areas of research that LEA is currently involved in include

(i) land use and degradation, biodiversity and climate change,

(ii) the measurement of carbon stock and the monitoring of carbon sequestration,

(iii) agricultural productivity and capacity building in organic agriculture,

(iv) ethnobotany and new cultures development,

(v) management of agroforestry systems;

(vi) ecological restoration of land,

(vii) conservation and sustainable management of wild palm trees,

(viii) management of non-wood forest products,

(ix) area management (national parks, hunting areas, community conservation areas), (x) Wildlife surveillance,

(xi) red list of endangered plants and wildlife,

(xii) grasslands ecology,

(xiii) Restoring land and watersheds.

Scientific research at LEA has so far produced over 450 scientific publications in journals, books, and international peer-reviewed books and scientific conference proceedings. In addition, LEA has executed and participated in several projects (e.g. DADOBAT-EU; SUN-UE; BIOTAwest; LOEWE; UNDESERT-EU; Edulink-European Syndicate; Global Climate Change Alliance; Global Climate Change Alliance; CORAF/WECARD) on sustainable resource management and/or tree domestication in Africa.