Author(s)

Kossi Senyo Ehlui^1,2, Wouyo Atakpama^3,4, Henrik von Wehrden⁵, Alagie Bah⁶, Edinam Kola⁷, Christian Anthony-Krueger⁸, Hodabalo Egbelou³, Kokouvi Bruno Kokou⁹, Tchaa Boukpessi¹⁰

¹West Africa Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL), University of the Gambia, Banjul, Gambia.
²Laboratoire de Recherche sur la Dynamique des Milieux et des Sociétés, Université de Lomé, Lomé, Togo.
³Laboratoire de Botanique et écologie Végétale, Département Botanique, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Lomé, Lomé, Togo.
⁴West Africa Plant Red List Authority (WAPRLA), IUCN Species Survival Commission, Gland, Switzerland.
⁵Faculty of Sustainability, Center of Methods, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Lüneburg, Germany.
⁶Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya.
⁷Laboratoire de Recherche sur la Dynamique des Milieux et des Sociétés (LARDYMES), Department of Geography, FSHS, University of Lomé, Lome, Togo.
⁸Department of Science Education, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
⁹Institut Togolais de Recherches Agronomiques (ITRA), Lomé, Togo.
¹⁰Laboratoire de Recherches Biogéographiques et d’Etudes Environnementales, Department of Geography, University of Lome, Lome, Togo.

This study focuses on the landscape dynamics of the savannahs’ region in the far north of Togo. Based on a literature review and satellite images analysis using GIS and remote sensing, the study aims to ascertain the effects of anthropogenic threats on the forest coverage of the Savannahs’ Region between 1984 to 2020. The objective is to clarify the dynamics of land use in the region from 1984 to 2000 and from 2000 to 2020. The findings indicate a significant decline in forest coverage within the region from 1984 to 2020, a trend attributed to land use patterns. Dry forests in the Savannah region are largely converted to farmlands, housing, dry savannahs or agroforestry parks, leading to a steady reduction in forest areas.

Forest, Degradation, Land Use, Land Cover, Savannahs Region, Togo

Ehlui, K. S., Atakpama, W., von Wehrden, H., Bah, A., Kola, E., Anthony-Krueger, C., Egbelou, H., Kokou, K. B. and Boukpessi, T. (2024) Anthropogenic Threats to Degraded Forest Land in the Savannahs’ Region of Togo from 1984 to 2020, West Africa. Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 12, 164-179. doi: 10.4236/gep.2024.121011.