The present study, commissioned by CENAGREF as part of the CBD Work Programme on Protected Areas (PoWPA), aims to develop a mechanism for the economic evaluation of protected areas in Benin. It is part of the perspective of having elements beyond the sole ecological contribution of these natural ecosystems, in order to persuade decision-makers and donors on the need to invest more in the creation and maintenance of protected areas.

The methodological approach implemented by the consultants generally integrates four main stages, broken down as follows: the methodological framework workshop - the phase of designing the mechanism and associated tools - the testing of the mechanism and tools based on case studies of the Lama classified forest (Zogbodomey) and the Sitatunga reserve (Zinvié) - then the workshop to validate the report and the proposed mechanism.

The economic evaluation mechanism of protected areas, which is the main expected output of the study, is based on a categorization of environmental goods and services into four main groups: direct uses, indirect uses, option values and finally non-use values. In its initial phase, the approach includes a monograph of the protected area that makes it possible to identify all the goods and services associated with it. For each group of goods and services, a particular approach and specific tools are proposed for the determination of their economic values. The process is completed with the determination of the Total Economic Value (TEV) of the protected area, which corresponds to the sum of the values of all the goods and services identified.

• However, the instrument thus designed for the economic valuation of protected areas is not without limitations. As a matter of priority, we can distinguish between:
• The systematic failure to take into account negative or positive externalities linked to the goods and services evaluated;
• The absence of clear and fixed guidelines for the sampling of survey units in order to maintain the flexibility of field work;
• The heterogeneity of the values used in the determination of the VET, due to the abstract nature of the values associated with certain goods and services.

In conclusion, the work carried out in this way is a first qualitative leap in a new dynamic of economic analysis of protected areas. The proposed analysis tool must remain dynamic and evolving in its use.