Planificaçao costeira Guiné-Bissau : documento divulgativo

Inland waters – such as rivers, lakes and other wetlands – are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet. They are also the most threatened; almost one in three species is at risk of extinction and monitored populations of freshwater species have declined by 85% since 1970. The loss of these ecosystems has cascading effects on human livelihoods, cultures and our overall well-being. While protected and conserved areas can play an important role in bending the curve of inland water biodiversity and ecosystem loss, they have rarely been designed, designated, and managed for that purpose. Motivated by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework’s inclusion of inland waters in the target to conserve 30% of the planet by 2030, this report provides guidance in employing protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures to benefit these ecosystems and the biodiversity they support. Through a series of case studies and synthesized research, it highlights how integrating the unique needs of inland waters into area-based strategies can improve conservation effectiveness across all realms, build climate resilience and sustain critical ecosystem services.

The coastal zone of West Africa extends approx. 6,000 km, from Mauritania in the north, passing through the deeply indented coasts of the islands and estuaries, then the lagoon coasts and the coastal strips of the Gulf of Guinea, up to Nigeria. The small island state of the Cabo Verde Islands, volcanic and mountainous, completes this geography. These coastal areas are characterized by globally significant biodiversity. But the marine ecosystem and coastal communities face many challenges, namely illegal, unreported and/or unregulated fishing, pollution, uncontrolled coastal development, etc., which harm habitats and species. This report takes stock of the situation, while offering in-depth analyses as well as recommendations on the opportunities and challenges in terms of marine protected areas in the region.

O desastre de Fundão em 2015 foi um dos maiores desastres ambientais da história do Brasil. O rompimento da barragem próxima à cidade de Mariana liberou cerca de 39 milhões de m3 de rejeitos, que percorreram 670 km até chegar ao Oceano Atlântico. Nesse trajeto, os rejeitos resultaram em 19 óbitos, devastaram ecossistemas e interromperam modos de vida e meios de subsistência de milhares de pessoas. Em apoio às atividades de restauração, a UICN instituiu o Painel do Rio Doce, um Painel Independente de Assessoria Técnica e Científica (Independent Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel, ISTAP) com a missão de prestar  assessoramento especializado em diversas áreas. Composto por cientistas nacionais e internacionais de renome, o Painel atuou de 2017 a 2022. Este relatório descreve o trabalho do Painel e suas influências e impactos de longo prazo.

Encompassing an area of 1067 km2 in southwestern Guinea-Bissau, the Cantanhez National Park, situated in the peninsula of Cubucaré, incorporates mangroves, forests, and savannahs, but also cultivated land. People with different cultural and religious backgrounds and ethnicity live in the national park. The national park also contains small-scale farming areas interspersed with forested areas in a dynamic landscape. Groups of chimpanzees Pan troglodytes verus inhabit various patches of forests within the park. Their presence means they often lived in close proximity to the inhabitants of Cantanhez. As a result, the chimpanzees sometimes foraged on the inhabitants’ crops. Although direct interactions between chimpanzees and the inhabitants were rare, when they did occur, they could result in physical injury and death to either the inhabitants or the apes.

In 2009, a PhD student conducted research in Cantanhez National Park to explore the human-wildlife interface and the people-park interface from the perspective of the park’s inhabitants. This case study focuses on how these investigations revealed that encounters between chimpanzees and people, as described by the park’s inhabitants, generated two parallel narratives. Two narratives coexist—one attributing the actions of a chimpanzee to a person who supposedly shape-shifted into a chimpanzee, while the other attributes the chimpanzee’s actions as a response attributable to the conservationists.