In Sierra Leone and Liberia, a new forest conservation initiative is being implemented through a collaborative approach, to save one of West Africa’s few remaining tropical forests.
Covering more than 350,000 hectares, straddling the Liberia and Sierra Leone borders, Gola Forest is the largest remaining block of Upper Guinean Forest. An important biodiversity hotspot, the forest is home to 49 mammal species, 327 bird species and 43 amphibian species, in addition to more than 200 species of tree. More than 60 globally threatened species including the Western Red Colobus monkey Piliocolobus badius (Endangered), Zebra Duiker Cephalophus zebra and Rufous Fishing-owl Scotopella ussheri (both Vulnerable) are found in Gola Forest. Furthermore, the forest is home to the world’s second largest population of the Western chimpanzees, as well as acting as an overall carbon sink and helping to reduce the impacts of climate change.
Years of deforestation and degradation, driven by logging, agriculture, armed conflict and mining, have led to the loss of globally important biodiversity and decreased resilience to climate change. This has significantly impacted local communities, who depend on the forest for their livelihoods. In 2011, the governments of Liberia and Sierra Leone signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the management, research, protection and conservation of the Gola Forest. In February 2020, an amended MoU was signed by both countries, reaffirming commitment to jointly manage the forest and protect its biodiversity.
Saving the Gola Forest: reimagining forest conservation in West Africa
Covering more than 350,000 hectares, straddling the Liberia and Sierra Leone borders, Gola Forest is the largest remaining block of Upper Guinean Forest. An important biodiversity hotspot, the forest is home to 49 mammal species, 327 bird species and 43 amphibian species, in addition to more than 200 species of tree. More than 60 globally threatened species including the Western Red Colobus monkey Piliocolobus badius (Endangered), Zebra Duiker Cephalophus zebra and Rufous Fishing-owl Scotopella ussheri (both Vulnerable) are found in Gola Forest. Furthermore, the forest is home to the world’s second largest population of the Western chimpanzees, as well as acting as an overall carbon sink and helping to reduce the impacts of climate change.
Years of deforestation and degradation, driven by logging, agriculture, armed conflict and mining, have led to the loss of globally important biodiversity and decreased resilience to climate change. This has significantly impacted local communities, who depend on the forest for their livelihoods. In 2011, the governments of Liberia and Sierra Leone signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the management, research, protection and conservation of the Gola Forest. In February 2020, an amended MoU was signed by both countries, reaffirming commitment to jointly manage the forest and protect its biodiversity.
Saving the Gola Forest: reimagining forest conservation in West Africa