20 May 2025
On 20 May 2025, two strategic meetings were held in Mamou and Koundara as part of the NaturaGuinée project, funded by the European Union and implemented by the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation (WCF). The aim is to strengthen local governance of protected areas in the landscapes of the future Pinselli-Soyah-Sabouyah National Park (PSS NP) and the Badiar Biosphere Reserve.
In Mamou, the 3rd meeting of the steering committee of PSS NP, which includes the project to set up a multi-species sanctuary, was attended by 15 members, including representatives of the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development (MEDD), the Guinean Office of National Parks and Wildlife Reserves (OGPNRF), local communities and the WCF. Discussions focused on presenting the results of the PSS NP for 2024, assessing management effectiveness using the Integrated Management Effectiveness Tool, and planning activities for the second half of 2025. The meeting also provided an opportunity to elect a new bureau for the PSS NP steering committee, and to merge the momentum generated by the OKKPS project, which ended in October 2024, with that of the EU NaturaGuinée 2024-2027 project.
The 1st meeting of the Badiar component steering committee was held in Koundara, with 21 participants from the prefectural authorities, MEDD, OGPNRF, Direction Nationale des Forêts et de la Faune (DNFF), Agence Guinéenne d'Évaluations Environnementales (AGEE), local communities and the WCF. The meeting involved setting up the steering committee's bureau and explaining the roles and responsibilities of each member. It also included a progress report on the first year of implementation of the Badiar component. These two committees will play an essential role in the co-construction of inclusive governance of natural resources. The results of the first year of the project were deemed satisfactory by all participants.
The WCF would like to thank the European Union NaturaGuinea, MEDD, OGPNRF, AGEE, DNFF and the local communities for their support for the sustainable conservation of natural resources in Guinea.