Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity

The island of Annobón is locat- ed about 340 km from the coast and consists of a set of volcanic cones. Its highest elevation is 650m [ ] 99 Success with agricultural land and marine systems programmes Following the loss of micro flora and soil fauna due to aggressive agricul- tural practices, in particular the use of fire to burn forests, an agricultural land programme has been imple- mented in Equatorial Guinea, bring- ing about important changes. Awareness campaigns have been run on the new modalities of agri- cultural plantations, especially those carried out through pilot farms by two organizations: Friends of Nature for the Development of Equatorial Guinea, regarding the cultivation of vegetables in the neighbouring communities of Monte Alén National Park; and the Association for the Sup- port of African Women, regarding model banana plantations in several communities in the Niefang district. The government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has adopted the National Programme for Food Security, which aims to improve the performance of native crops through non-aggressive routine techniques. This would allow the supply of national markets and sig- nificantly increase the income of the peasant population. Through the implementation of the project to strengthen institutional, legal and individual capacities for the sustainable management of soil and forests, the following strategies have been approved: Integrated Financing Strategy for sustainable soil man- agement; Mainstreaming and Legal strategies for the GSS. In addition, a unit for sustainable land management has been established. Independent of the centre of Mala- bo, the School of Agrarian Training in Alep (Bata) has also been estab- lished, with modern equipment and a new curricular approach. Due to insufficient control over the pollution of coastal and ma- rine ecosystems, a marine systems programme has been established to rectify insufficient compliance with fishing regulations on closures. The programme has made sever- al important changes such as close coordination of the activities of the institutions of the artisanal and in- dustrial fishing sector, which encour- ages the development of non-aggres- sive fishing practices. In 2010, the National Plan of Action on the Coastal and Marine Ecosystems of Equatorial Guinea was adopted by the 16 countries of the Atlantic coast of the Gulf of Guinea. Thanks to the support of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the United Nations En- vironment Programme, the New Af- rican Partnership for Development, the Global Environment Facility and others. Trioceros Feae Equatorial Guinea T he Republic of Equatorial Guinea is located in the central-western part of Africa and includes an insular and a continental region. These regions enjoy autonomy for ethnic, historical and economic reasons, covering a total land area of 28,052.46 km²; while, the surface of the continental shelf is 14,710 km 2 . The Exclusive Economic Zone covers some 314,000 km 2 of sea and belongs to the Atlantic-African tropical marine biogeographic region, characterized by warmer waters. On the island of Bioko there are more than 300 species of vertebrate, of which 2 per cent are endemic species and one-third belongs to the endemic subspecies. More than 60 species of terrestrial mammal have been identified, including endemic forms (28 per cent), with primates being especially notable. Nathanael Stanek on flickr