Here resides Zangbeto, invisible guardian of the night, divinity of the forest. In the heart of the Togbin mangrove, he watches over the mangrove trees with their aerial stilt-roots, bristling and tangled like a giant mikado. Although Cotonou, Benin's economic capital with a population of 2.4 million, is only a few kilometers away and the huge construction site of the coastal Fishing Road brings the rainforest to a screeching halt, Zangbeto embodies the sacred spirit of the place, imbued with mystery, and makes it untouchable. No talisman hanging in the trees warns of his presence. It's not necessary: Everyone knows that fishing, hunting, chopping wood or even entering the forest is forbidden, on pain of incurring the supernatural wrath.

"That's how we started in 2011: First we sacralized a somewhat remote portion of the forest and, after that, we received help from NGOs for restoration around it," said Gérard Djikpesse, a guide for tourists, among other hats. "It had shrunk to just 94 hectares at the time. Now it covers 407 hectares, including 207 hectares of mangrove."

He cut his boat's engine so as not to disturb the geckos and other reptiles – puff adders, forest cobras, pythons – amphibians, red-bellied monkeys, crabs; and the dozens of bird species that live here: egrets, ibises, herons, woodcock, marsh harriers, wood sandpipers. As well as fathead mullets, sardinella, catfish and the many fish that come to spawn in these brackish, calm waters before returning to the ocean. Crocodiles are said to be making a comeback in Togbin's waters.

Then the boat entered a small channel that runs beneath the dense canopy – without going all the way into the sanctuary territory, of course. It was time to look down. The red mangroves, Rhizophora, and the white ones, Avicennia, let their branches hang and their propagules fall, ready to plant themselves in turn to colonize the mud. These two species are the most common on the shores of the lakes, rivers and lagoons that make up almost all of Benin's 125-kilometer coastline, just beyond an immense beach of golden sand facing the Atlantic. From the Nigerian border to that of Togo, these wetland landscapes form two major sites of international importance listed under the Ramsar Convention.

'Sacralization method'

The mangroves of West Africa don't boast more than 50 different tree species, as in Southeast Asia, or trees that reach 40 meters in height in no time, as in French Guiana. But those of Benin are protected by an entire pantheon – deities of earth, fire and air – taken seriously in the ancient kingdom of Abomey, where the voodoo cult historically took off – the term "voodoo" has become established here.

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