Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity

Guinea’s territory includes 186 community forests and 53 protected areas [ ] 116 Strengthening the network of protected areas In execution of the 2011–2020 man- agement plan, Guinea’s network of protected areas increased from 8 per cent in 2009 to 15 per cent in 2014. This represents an increase of 7 per cent, bringing protected areas to 36,879 km² in the country. This has been the result of the creation of new protected areas. In order to respect its political en- gagements to manage the territory’s biodiversity sustainably and become more involved in the process of man- aging national and regional protected areas, Guinea has also drawn up management plans for the Wildlife Sanctuary of the Loos Islands and the Natural Reserve of the Alcatraz Islands. The management plans for Kapatchez and the Mélakoré estuary are also being developed. Additionally, as part of strengthen- ing the management effectiveness of protected areas, the government has created a body of protectors of nature with special paramilitary status. For the operationalization of this body, a staff of 2,000 agents was recruited and trained. Among these, about 500 are deployed for the surveillance of the protected areas network. In addition, 48 training officers made available by the Ministry of the Environment, Water and Forests received leadership training. To complete this training, a technical training program is planned at the level of the Ministry. The Guinean network of protect- ed areas has also benefited from the training support, technical equipment (GPS), patrol boats, binoculars, mo- torcycles, solar kits, computer equip- ment, and vehicles fromWWF, the European Union, Wetland Interna- tional, IUCN and GE, among others. In addition to these advances, the government organized a stakeholder roundtable of financial, technical and scientific partners in Dakar in November 2013 to mobilize funds for the sustainable management of the national network of protected areas. Fifty-three partners took part and expressed their interest in supporting Guinea’s effort. At the regional level, Guinea currently chairs the regional net- work of marine protected areas of West Africa and is a member of the Regional Partnership for Coastal and Marine Conservation in West Africa (PRCM). T he Republic of Guinea is a coastal country located in West Africa. It covers an area of 245,857 km², and has a 300 km-long coastline on the Atlantic Ocean. In terms of vegetation, the country has six major geographical areas for land-based ecosystems: mangrove, dry forest, savannah, dense humid forest, mountain, and the agriculture area. Guinea possesses a dense hydrographic network, notably as the Niger, the Senegal and the Gambia rivers all originate in the Guinea highlands, making the country the water tower of the sub-region. It is also one of the 34 global biodiversity hotspots recognized by WWF and the IUCN. Guinea JB Dodane on flickr Guinea