This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: A few years ago, I drove with an old friend from Togo, West Africa, towards the country's last remaining large protected area, Fazao-Malfakassa National Park. Our destination was the Hotel Fazao, where his uncle had once worked as a professional chef after its opening in 1980.
For decades, while the park was managed by the Swiss Franz Weber Foundation (FWF), the hotel had hosted tourists from around the world who came to see elephants, monkeys, and other wildlife for which Africa is famous. Everything changed, however, in 2015, with the departure of the foundation after Togo's government decided to resume control of the park's management, and we weren't sure if the hotel was still operating. When we arrived, we were shocked to find the hotel a ruin, its rooms broken into and looted, the swimming pool now used to wash motorcycles while herds of goats lounged on the patio.
How do the park's rangers and residents feel about the park's dramatic shift from private to state management? Together with Togolese and American colleagues, we conducted interviews with 42 park rangers and 400 residents in and around Fazao-Malfakassa National Park, and published the results in the journal Wild. Park rangers ranged from 25 to 55 years old, with park-associated histories ranging from 2 to 25 years; 40% of them had experience with both private and state management.
All rangers with experience of private management viewed it as "good" or "very good," whereas most rangers (83%) rated the state's management as "bad" or "very bad." Following the shift from private to state management, rangers reported increased poaching and other illegal activities. According to rangers, wildlife and honey poaching, illegal burning, and cattle grazing were the illegal activities they encountered most frequently in the park's interior. Nearly a third (31%) of rangers reported fearing retaliation from those whom they arrested, who were often quickly released.
Most rangers (88%) reported that greater respect existed for FWF rangers compared to rangers employed by the state. Since the departure of FWF, all rangers have reported receiving their monthly pay irregularly, having to use their personal vehicles for surveillance, and having to cover the costs of fuel and repairs themselves. West Africa hosts exceptionally high linguistic diversity, and residents in and around the park speak 22 different languages, representing over half of Togo's approximately 40 ethnic groups.
At the time of our research, ~58,000 people were living in 59 villages in and around the park. We interviewed 400 residents from 16 villages in and around the park, ranging from 18 to 101 years old. Most residents interviewed (79%) were farmers or caregivers.
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