Nature in Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau's natural systems include low-lying Atlantic coasts, tidal mudflats, estuaries and the active delta of the Bolama-Bijagós Archipelago. Inland areas contain freshwater lakes and wetlands, gallery forests, dry and semi-humid forests, savannas, palm groves and cashew-based agricultural mosaics. Mangroves, locally called mangais or tarrafes, retain sediment, buffer shorelines and provide nursery areas for fish, crustaceans and molluscs. The Corubal, Geba and Cacheu river systems connect inland water, wetlands and coastal habitats. Forests cover an estimated three quarters of the country's land area, while mangroves cover about 8 percent according to a national biodiversity baseline. The wetland network has been estimated at about 18,000 square kilometres. A 2025 FAO forest assessment identified about 53 percent of forest area primarily under biodiversity-conservation designation. These figures describe different measurement systems and should not be treated as interchangeable land-cover totals. The country has a national protected-area network managed mainly through the Institute for Biodiversity and Protected Areas, known as IBAP. Its areas include the Bolama-Bijagós Biosphere Reserve, Urok Marine Protected Area, Cantanhez National Park, João Vieira and Poilão National Marine Park, Orango National Park, Cufada Lakes Natural Park, Cacheu Mangrove Natural Park and the Dulombi, Boé and Tchetche complex. IBAP reports approximately 470,000 hectares, about 15 percent of national territory, with roughly two thirds marine or estuarine. A process linked to the Dulombi, Boé and Tchetche project has described a possible expansion to 26.3 percent; other published material gives 26 percent, so the current expansion status requires local verification. Guinea-Bissau also has four Ramsar wetland sites covering about 1,189,633 hectares. In 2025, UNESCO inscribed the Coastal and Marine Ecosystems of the Bijagós Archipelago, including João Vieira and Poilão, Orango and Urok, within a property connected by ecological corridors. MABAC leads national policy on the environment, biodiversity and climate. The National Institute for Environment, known as INA, deals with environmental quality, impact assessment and monitoring. Fisheries authorities regulate fishing and resource control. Local administrations, resident committees and Bijagó customary institutions also shape access, especially in the islands. In Urok, the Assembleia Geral Urok is the highest co-management body. Twenty-eight tabanca committees, meaning village or community committees, work with local authorities, IBAP, fisheries bodies and civil-society organisations. Management decisions can combine statutory protected-area zones with customary rules and local ecological knowledge. Nature-based livelihoods include artisanal fishing, regulated fishing zones, oyster and other mollusc collection, mangrove rice cultivation, palm-oil and cashew production, grazing and the collection of forest products. The protected-area, fisheries, forest and wildlife frameworks do not create a blanket right to extract resources. Access can depend on the management plan, zone, season, permit, closure, customary rule and conservation status of the species. The protected-area framework requires participatory management, and management committees are designed to include 50 percent resident-community representatives. Sacred forests and religious sites can receive recognition in management plans. Priority species include four of the seven surviving sea-turtle species that nest in the country: green, olive ridley, leatherback and hawksbill turtles. Poilão is a major green-turtle nesting site. Other conservation priorities include the western chimpanzee, African manatee, hippopotamus, West African or Atlantic humpback dolphin, other dolphins, sharks, rays and migratory shorebirds. The Bijagós Archipelago lies on the East Atlantic Flyway; more than 870,000 shorebirds were recorded there in 2001. Cufada has been associated with about 337 bird species and Cacheu with about 248. IBAP supports birdwatching, turtle and hippopotamus observation, canoe and boat trips, mangrove and forest trails, research and environmental education. Access normally involves an IBAP office or park office, a local guide or a community committee. Entry is not automatically unrestricted, and sacred islands or restricted zones may be closed. An IBAP tariff sheet lists national entry at 2,000 FCFA per person per day and foreign entry at 5,000 FCFA, with separate charges for guides, wildlife observation and sport fishing. Transport, tides, season, closures and guide availability affect the practical cost and timing, so fees and access should be confirmed locally. Environmental education uses park interpretation, local guides, turtle outreach, community radio, project training and participatory biodiversity monitoring. No nationwide formal qualification pathway for nature work has been evidenced; practical access is mainly through IBAP, park offices, community structures, NGOs and conservation projects. Nature in Guinea-Bissau faces pressure from shifting cultivation and burning, logging, charcoal production, forest fragmentation, cashew monoculture, mangrove cutting, overfishing, illegal fishing, bycatch, hunting, sand extraction, settlement and agricultural expansion, waste, pollution, invasive species and tourism pressure on sacred places. Coastal erosion, tidal and extreme-event flooding, sea-level rise, saltwater intrusion, changing rainfall and heat affect low-lying coasts and islands as well as communities dependent on farming and fishing. Conflicts can concern protected-zone compliance, access to fisheries, forest use, wildlife hunting, land sales, tourism, shipping, offshore petroleum and climate adaptation. Management plans, protected-area committees, the Urok assembly, local administrations, IBAP and fisheries surveillance provide the main documented channels for handling these issues.