The legal status of the Pendjari and W parks

The Pendjari (known as Arly in Burkina Faso) and W wildlife parks are located in West Africa to the north of Benin and partially occupy the southern parts of Burkina Faso and Niger. They are the only protected areas in West Africa where herds of elephants can still be found despite harmful human activities and their management is still under the jurisdiction of three (03) sovereign states namely Benin Burkina Faso and Niger. The direct consequence of this situation is the existence of several national legal systems for the management and protection of elephants. This is hardly conducive to the effective implementation of public policies particularly the criminal law approach to wildlife and forestry offences. At the same time the risk of the Sahel desert advancing and global warming is looming. The main objective of this study is to seek solutions for the uniform management of this vital area based on the criminal law texts with a view to protecting this biodiversity.