Deforestation, Health, and Medicinal Plant Access in Eastern Togo

Led by Dr. Buchbinder, this multidisciplinary team of ecologists, anthropologists, data scientists, and conservation specialists from Togo, Germany, and the United States has spearheaded a mixed-methods study in eastern Togo to address the extent of deforestation and its impact on human health and culture. Togo is central to the Dahomey Gap, a savanna corridor that separates the major rainforests of West and Central Africa. This gap serves as an ecological bridge that sustains genetic exchange and species continuity across biodiversity hotspots, while also contributing critical rainfall for agriculture and potable drinking water.

Since July 2024, our team has investigated the ecological fitness of a portion of the Dahomey Gap in eastern Togo, examining deforestation’s impact on the availability of medicinal plants for communities living adjacent to these woody savannahs and dense forests. To date, we have conducted species inventories, household surveys, ethnography, GPS mapping, and semi-structured interviews. Data collection concludes in February 2026. We aim to use these results to expand our investigation using aerial radar detection (LIDAR) to quantify forest biomass and to evaluate whether increasing medicinal plant scarcity may drive indigenous healers to cultivate these plants as crops. Finally, we examine whether the declining availability of forest products is contributing to increased reliance on state-sponsored allopathic health clinics over traditional healers due to rising costs.