The Lama classified forest
The Lama classified forest was classified in 1946 after the depression in Kplokedji. It is located in the south of Benin, on the territory of the commune of Toffo in the department of the Atlantic and on that of Zogbodomey, in the department of Zou.
The forest owes its name to the “Lama depression”, a gash in the sedimentary basin of southern Benin, which exposes Eocene marls and clays and in which vertisols develop.
It extends over 16,250 hectares, divided between the departments of the Atlantic (9,750 ha in Toffo) and Zou (6,500 ha in Zogbodomey). Between 1946 and 1986, human activity destroyed a large part of the natural forest by clearing and bush fires, then a management plan made it possible to preserve approximately 4,759 ha which now constitute the "central core" ( CN). Arranged around this nucleus, new plantations must make it possible to protect it, while covering the needs for construction and heating wood2.
The forest is subject to a four-season subequatorial climate, with irregular rainfall (1,100 mm per year on average). Humidity remains very high in the dry season and night mists persist until late in the morning.
The altitude is 60 m on average.
Lama is one of the largest islands of dense moist semi-deciduous forest remaining in the Dahomean Trench.
A visit to this forest will give you fresh air and a new appreciation for the land we live in.