Atlas · Benin / Intelligence Centre
INTELLIGENCE CENTRE · BENIN

Nature and climate intelligence, from the data to the decision

71,153 mapped features and 37,971 observations from 23 datasets, harmonised to one set of units, with every number traceable to its source.

Explore Atlas by theme

Mangroves are where Atlas starts. The same platform holds the pressures, places and projects around them for Benin.

All themes
Mapped mangrove
2,198 ha
1,115 polygons · 2020
Change since 1996
−271 ha
−12.1% net, 1996–2025
Datasets
23
71,153 features
Data quality score
97 / 100
55,235 geometries repaired
Provenance coverage
71,153
Records traceable to source

The seascape at a glance

Live from Atlas’ own database

Mangrove formations map

Pan and zoom; click a polygon for its area and source

Area by formation

Share of mapped hectares

Mangrove · 100.0%

Landscape science

Computed, reproducible measures (see Methodologies)

Fragmentation

How broken up is the canopy?

Patches
1,115
Median / mean patch
0.178 / 1.97 ha
Effective mesh size
319.3 ha
Largest patch index
36.8% of area
Patch-size exponent α
1.80
Species & formations

Spatial clustering

Moran’s I and Getis-Ord Gi* on a 5 km grid

Moran’s I
0.379
z-score
3.2

Mangrove area is significantly clustered. 4 hot-spot and 6 cold-spot cells.

Spatial analysis

Mangrove area by year

Global Mangrove Watch, hectares

Themes

Where Atlas has data, and where it is still empty

What the analysis says

Top recommendations from the intelligence engine
HighData_gap
13 of 9 themes have no data yet
Atlas holds no records for: Seagrass, Salt Marsh, Coastal Forests, Blue Carbon, Restoration Sites, Protected Areas & Landscapes, Land Use & Land Cover, People & Settlemen...
HighGovernance
Licence terms to be confirmed for 9 datasets
Licence terms are being confirmed with the publisher. Atlas holds the data for scientific and internal use and shows the original attribution, but cannot grant bulk redis...
HighChange
Net loss of mangrove since 1996
Global Mangrove Watch maps 2,231 ha of mangrove in Benin in 1996 and 1,960 ha in 2025: a net loss of 271 ha (-12.1%), about 9 ha per year. This is the net balance of tota...
MediumFragmentation
Most polygons are very small, but most area sits in large stands
40.7% of the 1,115 mapped polygons are under 0.1 ha, yet patches of 10 ha or more hold 68.8% of all mangrove area. Management and monitoring effort should focus on the la...
All recommendations

Ask the analyst

Plain-English questions, answered with real calculations

See how it works
Latest brief: 4 computed insights: 3 need attention, 1 are worth acting on. Read “Benin mangrove intelligence brief — 14 October 2026”

Datasets in Atlas

23 datasets from 5 sources — grouped by where they come from

Global Mangrove Watch v3.0

Global Mangrove Watch (Aberystwyth University, soloEO, Wetlands International, UNEP-WCMC, JAXA) · 5 datasets · 11,619 features

Global Mangrove Watch v4.1

Global Mangrove Watch (Aberystwyth University, soloEO, Wetlands International, UNEP-WCMC, JAXA) · 7 datasets · 7,556 features

WWF Kenya Sources: GIS Centre of Excellence

WWF Kenya · 9 datasets · 51,952 features

Fibre Cable Landing Stations
Roads, Rail & Infrastructure · v1
126
features
Rivers
Water & Catchments · v1
228
features
Power Plants (Power output MW)
Roads, Rail & Infrastructure · v1
642
features
Small airport
Roads, Rail & Infrastructure · v1
1,979
features
Dams
Roads, Rail & Infrastructure · v1
2,586
features
Districts
Boundaries & Reference · v1
6,099
features
World Database on Protected Areas
Biodiversity · v1
7,438
features
Electricity Transmission Network
Roads, Rail & Infrastructure · v1
9,759
features

Berkeley Voluntary Registry Offsets Database (v2026-08)

Berkeley Carbon Trading Project, University of California, Berkeley · 1 datasets · 6 features

Carbon projects: Benin
Carbon Projects · v1
6
features

UNDP project data (IATI Registry)

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) · 1 datasets · 20 features

Community and nature projects (UNDP): Benin
Community Projects · v1
20
features

Data health

The ten lowest-scoring datasets and the local archive

Quality scorecard

Geometry, provenance, flags, duplicates, verification and licence

Carbon projects: Benin
90
Community and nature projects (UNDP): Benin
90
Fibre Cable Landing Stations
95
Rivers
95
Power Plants (Power output MW)
95
Small airport
95
Dams
95
Districts
95
World Database on Protected Areas
95
Electricity Transmission Network
95

Local archive

Atlas runs from its own copy

Last import
14 Oct 2026, 15:38
Snapshots kept
1
Units
ha · m · % · UTC · WGS 84
Sources online?
Not needed. Atlas serves everything from its own database.
Full data-quality report
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