18 mars 2026
As part of the NaturaGuinée project, funded by the European Union and implemented by the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation in collaboration with the Guinean Office of National Parks and Wildlife Reserves (OGPNRF), a training and validation workshop on the complaints and grievances management mechanism was organised in the Badiar Biosphere Reserve.
The workshop brought together 546 participants, including 154 women, from the 10 municipalities of the Koundara and Gaoual prefectures, as well as the 20 districts and 36 sectors bordering the reserve. Participants included local elected representatives, technical staff, district presidents, sector heads, and representatives of women and young people.
A wide range of local stakeholders were mobilised for this workshop: elected representatives, technical staff, district presidents, sector heads, as well as representatives of women and young people. The main objective was to build the capacity of stakeholders regarding the functioning of the complaints and grievances management mechanism and to validate, in a participatory manner, the arrangements necessary for its implementation. At the conclusion of the proceedings, the operational structures of the mechanism, notably the district councils, were endorsed by all participants. This endorsement was formalised through minutes signed by all participants, thereby marking their collective commitment to the scheme.
The next step will be to establish the district councils, build their capacity through specific training, and install suggestion boxes in the relevant localities to facilitate the expression and management of concerns raised by local communities.
This initiative represents a significant step towards participatory, transparent and inclusive management of the Badiar Biosphere Reserve, by strengthening dialogue between communities and the protected area’s management bodies.
Our thanks go to the European Union, the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development (MEDD), the Guinean Office of National Parks and Wildlife Reserves (OGPNRF) and the local communities within the reserve.