10/02/2005 – WWF, in
partnership with several West African regional
environmental organizations, has donated
two patrol boats to protect marine parks
in Guinea Bissau.
The two boats, built in neighbouring Senegal
as part of a West African coastal zone and
marine regional conservation programme,
are to be used in the João Vieira-Poilão
and Orango National Parks, both located
in Guinea Bissau’s Bijagos Biosphere Reserve.
Along with the three patrol boats provided
by WWF’s Western African Marine Ecoregion
to the Banc d’Arguin National Park in Maurtania
in 1999, the two national parks in Guinea
Bissau are the first marine protected areas
(MPA) in West Africa to have access to such
state-of-the-art boats.
“This boat is a precious asset for the
park,” said Augusto da Silva, sailor and
warden of the Orango National Park.
“Through regular patrols we will be able
to strengthen our efforts to regulate fishing
access to the park’s valuable marine resources.”
The Orango National Park represents one
of the most intact mangrove forests in the
region, providing a vital nursery and development
habitats for important species of fish,
crustaceans, and shellfish. However, overfishing
has threatened the ecosystem's viability
in recent years.
“Simply patrolling with an official boat
will be a strong deterrent for fishermen
who would otherwise try to use especially
sensitive areas which have been put off
limits for fishing,” added João Perreira,
a sailor and warden at the João Vieira-Poilão
National Park.
“It will also be an important tool to allow
our conservation officers to improve public
awareness and surveillance programmes.”
The boat for the João Vieira-Poilão
National Park will make weekly patrols in
the park’s no-fishing zones. Multi-day patrols
are essential for covering the 60km2 of
the park, including Poilão Island
— the most important nesting site for green
turtles in the eastern Atlantic. Over 7,000
females nest and lay there eggs on the island
each year.
NOTES:
Programme Régional de Conservation
de la Zone Côtière et Marine
en Afrique de l’Ouest (PRCM)
The West African Coastal Zone and Marine
Regional Conservation Programme (PRMC) was
established in 2004 by WWF, IUCN-The World
Conservation Union, Wetlands International
and the Banc d’Arguin International Foundation
(FIBA), and supported by the Swiss Foundation,
MAVA.
The Western African Marine Ecoregion (WAMER)
The Western African Marine Ecoregion (WAMER)
covers Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau,
Mauritania, and Senegal, and is one of WWF's
Global 200 ecoregions — a science-based
global ranking of the world's most biologically
outstanding habitats and the regions on
which WWF concentrates its efforts.
WWF's work in the Western African Marine
Ecoregion
WWF's WAMER project addresses critical biodiversity
and fisheries issues in the ecoregion. The
programme aims to strengthen the budding
regional network of marine protected areas,
reinforce the sustainability of artisanal
fisheries, improve the transparency and
equity of international fisheries agreements,
and stabilize and protect populations of
endangered marine turtles.
