GAGNOA, March 10 -- UNDER normal circumstances, balancing and walking on rice bunds are not too difficult even for city dwellers. But, during the rainy season, this requires some acrobatic skills.

This was the experience of a project team that recently toured selected inland valleys (a type of seasonally flooded wetland) in Gagnoa, Côte dIvoire, to interact with farmers and understand their concerns.

The visit underlined the value of maintaining balance in the inland valleys in more ways than one. Inland valleys provide many crucial services to rural communities.

“It is essential to balance various competing uses in these lands, and improve agricultural production while preserving biodiversity and ecosystem services, which a...