River and lagoon mobility is one of the modes of contact with the outside for the people living in the lower valley of Ouémé and its floodplains. It is a network composed of a stream, river, lake and a lagoon connected to each other by channels and which communicate with the Atlantic Ocean. This network spreads in a very loose sedimentary bedrock. Given the socio-economic vulnerability, with the decline of primary activities, and with climate episodic changes: late rains, excessive heat, extreme flooding, the secondary activities have gradually taken precedence over the main ones that are: season farming for the ouémènu tribes and fishing for the tofinnu tribes. Thus, the availability of water resources meets the expectations of ownership of the people. The river basin has come to mean a highway of communication. The transportation of goods and people now meets the economic needs of households under the influence of goods for the basic needs. Three main gates of entry and exit respond to daily expectations of men and women. The Dantokpa's wharf; at the heart of the city of Cotonou nerve center of the country; Djassintokpa's wharf, near the town of Porto-Novo, Benin's political capital. And the wharf of Abomey, a suburban city, tourism meeting point. But, in addition to these various doors and exits, you also have the doors of each village or city neighborhood. During this research, we identified three transportation corridors: the short distance crossings, the medium-and the long-haul routes. The crossings take place between the villages and the neighborhoods scattered around the water networks. They are of very short duration, low cost, allowing each individual to communicate with their environment and increasing trade. While the medium-haul last on average one hour and allow to link city markets (Dantokpa in Cotonou, Porto-Novo Wando and Calavi). The axes of long duration concern goods transportation from the most remote communes (Dangbo and Adjohoun) and cross-border trade with markets in Lagos and Badagry in Nigeria. These are transportation requiring high-capacity of manpower and could last between 5 and 8 hours. River transportation has long been used as a route into the territories; it now deserves attention today as the future path of development for the communes and way forward in the transport of goods and people.
