Programme

The wider landscape is one of the few remaining regions in West Africa with an opportunity for large-scale ecosystem conservation – forests, wetlands and wildlife. The Guinea side of the border has enormous value in terms of its extensive wetlands which function as a ‘water tower’ for the Gambie and the Senegal rivers.

In the Niokolo-Koba national park (Senegal) and in the Badiar national park (Guinee) at least 70 species of mammals, 36 reptiles, 20 amphibians and over 1500 plant species have been recorded. In terms of birds, the “Avibase” lists 347 species, including 14 globally threatened such as the White-backed Vulture (Critically Endangered), Bateleur (Endangered), Northern Ground Hornbill (Vulnerable) and European Turtle Dove (Vulnerable). It is also a key region for migratory birds with more than 60 species recorded.

Partly overlapping with the Badiar NP, the Gambie-Koulountou Ramsar Site in Guinea is an extensive floodplain of the Koulountou River, the Gambia River’s main tributary. The biodiversity profile is likely to be similar to Badiar although it has weaker protection and management.

The main threats in this landscape are poaching, fires, overgrazing by livestock and mining. On the Guinean side there is also pressure from hunting for food and commercial purposes. Adding to these threats are tree cutting, unsustainable fishing, palm-tapping and a proposal for the construction of the Sambangalou dam on the Gambia river, at the border between the two countries.

Over 18 months, the programme will support an extensive scoping, monitoring and planning exercise that will lay the foundation for long-term nature conservation in the southeastern Senegal and northern Guinea areas of this wider landscape.