The Wologizi-Wonegizi-Ziama (WWZ) forest landscape, which covers more than 250 00 hectares in Liberia and Guinea, connects a set of forest ecosystems around several massifs including the Ziama, Wologizi and Wonegizi Massifs. The vast landscape houses some of the largest remaining forests in Upper Guinea. This world biodiversity reserve has a wide variety of fauna and flora. More than 25% of African wild mammals live here. It is home to several important endangered species, including the West African chimpanzee, pygmy hippopotamus, pangolin and African elephant… However, these forests have lost a large section of their plant cover due to non-sustainable activities and their diversity is under threat. The objective of the “One Landscape One Vision” project is to ensure sustainable management of the protected areas concerned and neighbouring forests, using approaches that are harmonised between the two countries.
Loss of habitats, land degradation, hunting and illegal trade of wild species have been identified not just as causes of biodiversity loss in these ecosystems but also, combined with climate change, as having a negative impact on the food security and livelihoods of populations living in the area. The “One Landscape One Vision” project intends to enable local communities to develop sustainable means of livelihood that are compatible with maintaining forest cover.
The overall objective of the project is to foster sustainable, inclusive, endogenous economic development of the WWZ forest ecosystems, which can respond to the challenges of climate change and biodiversity conservation. The project will contribute to 4 results:
The project is being implemented by Fauna & Flora International (FFI), in partnership with GRET and several Liberian and Guinean partners. It is part of the European Union’s Support programme for the preservation of forest ecosystems in West Africa (Papfor).
FFI is working in Liberia and Guinea to achieve the 4 expected results. GRET is working in Ziama in Guinea, supporting community organisations in 12 villages on land-use planning, collaborative governance of the protected area, agro-forestry and sustainable value chains, access to funding, nutrition-sensitive agricultural advice…
