A workshop on landscape ecology in support of crop pest management was held from 3 to 6 December 2013, organized by our colleagues on assignment in Benin, Pascal Marnotte, Philippe Menozzi and Joël Huat.

The aim was to raise awareness and train DIVECOSYS researchers in the use of landscape ecology to manage pests and the mobilization of ecological services, such as natural regulation by natural enemies.

The four-day workshop was led by Pascal Clouvel (UR SCA), and Françoise Burel, (CNRS, UMR BioEco) and Jacques Baudry (INRA, Sadapt), both of whom are ecologists. It was attended by some thirty researchers and teaching staff members from Mali, Senegal and Benin.

The first day was held at the Institut Français du Bénin, and was open to NGO representatives, students, and researchers from other organizations. It focused on
the theoretical aspects of landscape ecology, based on examples from Europe, and also from Benin and Senegal.

The second day was held in the field, with two contrasting landscapes:

1. in an urban-periurban zone at Togba (10 km north of Cotonou) and intra-urban in Cotonou (bvd de la Marina),
2. in a rural zone at Zinvié, in a forest landscape with papaya plantations 30 km north of Cotonou.

Based on these visits, a landscape analysis was conducted and an interpretation grid built through interactions between the ecologists and the other researchers in the group. Their discussions were then broadened to cover the activities of the PhD students, who presented their work on fruit flies and regulation by ants to the rest of the group.

These discussions gave rise to a few keywords: remote sensing and GIS tools, detailed knowledge of pests and beneficials, comparative landscape analyses, and temporal observations. This third workshop of DIVECOSYS network researchers supplemented the work done to ensure coherence as regards promotion of results and the use of new scientific tools.

The workshop was preceded by a meeting of the DIVECOSYS Steering Committee on 2 December 2013. The Committee is chaired by Dr David Arodokoun, Director General of the Institut National de la Recherches Agricoles in Benin.