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Status and Trends of Biodiversity

Overview

Home to several types of ecosystems, Guinea’s mountain peaks rise up to 1752m and constitute precious water reservoirs. As a result, the Moyenne Guinée region is considered to be the “water castle” of Western Africa. The country states that the dense humid forests have suffered a dramatic change in recent decades, declining from the original 14 million ha to only 700 000 ha in 1989. The dense humid forests are greatly fragmented because of bush fires, intensive breeding, as well as inappropriate forestry and mining practices. On the other hand, some of Guinea’s forests still constitute amazing sites with respect to biodiversity. The Ziama forest and the Diécké forest constitute two of the 12 major sites for the conservation of biodiversity in West Africa. Overall, 6 926 species have been identified in Guinea, among which are the lion and the bush pig. Wood has a high economic value and is the source, along with charcoal, of 90% of the national energy consumption. More than 1200 plant species are used in traditional medicine for common diseases. The causes of biodiversity loss include: population increase; lack of awareness regarding the negative effects of common practices; lack of appropriate technology; low recognition of the economic value of biodiversity; lack of monitoring in regard to sectoral governmental policies on the overexploitation of biological resources; and lack of political stability and the civil wars in neighboring countries.

Number and Extent of Protected Areas

Guinea’s protected area network is constituted of Ramsar sites, Classified Forests, Biosphere Reserves, Transboundary Protected Areas, Community Conservation Zones and Managed Natural Reserves. Overall, they cover approximately 17% of the national territory

National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan

Major features of National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan

Guinea’s general vision emphasizes the need for public awareness of the value of biodiversity and commitment to its preservation in order to protect the well being of future generations. The strategy concentrates on four principal objectives: (1) the conservation of biodiversity (identification of its components, reduction of the pressures on biodiversity, in-situ and ex-situ conservation, monitoring system); (2) the sustainable use of biodiversity (sustainable sectoral practices, biotechnology and biosafety); (3) the measures for conservation and sustainable use (reinforcement of policies, development of legal instruments, collaboration between stakeholders, motivation system, integration of biodiversity in development planning, research, human and institutional capacity building, education and public awareness, integration of biodiversity concerns into environmental impact assessment, creation of a national coordination mechanism between biodiversity related conventions, financial support mechanism); and (4) international cooperation (reinforcement of sub-regional, regional and international cooperation). The action plan is an ambitious document comprising many well detailed projects in relation to terrestrial ecosystems, inland water ecosystems, marine and coastal ecosystems, promotion of biodiversity (its value), and institutional and legal frameworks.
 

• National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan Part 1 (English)
• National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan Part 1 (English)
• National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan Part 1 (French)
• National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan Part 1 (French)
• National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan Part 2 (French)
• National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan Part 2 (French)

Implementation of the Convention

Measures Taken to Achieve the 2010 Target

Guinea has adopted various policies, strategies, programmes, plans and laws such as: the National Forestry Policy, the Village Communities Support Programme, the Poverty Reduction Strategy, the National Environmental Action Plan, the National Forestry Action Plan, the Mangrove Management Plan, the Pastoral Code and the Forestry Code. All these measures prescribe rules supporting the restoration of ecosystems and threatened species. Practical restoration action are also executed through open-pit mine restoration plans and the annual reforestation campaign for the creation of the Green Belt against desertification in northern Guinea.

Initiatives in Protected Areas

To repopulate protected areas, special reserves and animal sanctuaries have been established in the four natural regions of the country.

Initiatives for Article 8(j)

National capacity-building needs for the identification and valorisation of traditional knowledge, innovation and practices have been identified. In 2005, the government adopted a strategy for local community participation in the collection and dissemination of data concerning biodiversity and an inventory of the traditional ecological knowledge of artesanal fishermen was created. A national policy and a law on traditional medicine were also adopted. Guinea also developed a research programme for the study of traditional knowledge in the adoption, implementation and dissemination of innovations concerning agricultural research.