The Protection of Marine Biodiversity in Guinea - Bissau: Current State and Future Prospects
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47616/jamrsss.v7i1.700Keywords:
Climate change is also a significant threat to marine biodiversity in Guinea-Bissau, Overview of Marine Biodiversity in Guinea-Bissau, Current State of Marine Biodiversity Protection in Guinea-Bissau, Case Studies of Successful Conservation Initiatives in Guinea-Bissau, Future Prospects and Recommendations in Guinea-Bissau (A-D), Tendance actuelle (A-C)Abstract
Guinea-Bissau, a West African country with a significant coastline on the Atlantic Ocean, is home to a diverse range of marine ecosystems, including mangroves, seagrass beds, and coral reefs. These ecosystems support a wide variety of marine species, many of which are of commercial importance for fishing. However, marine biodiversity in Guinea-Bissau is currently facing numerous threats, including overfishing, habitat destruction, pollution, and climate change. The current state of marine biodiversity protection in Guinea-Bissau is relatively limited. While the country has established several marine protected areas, including the João Vieira-Poilão Marine National Park and the Orango Islands National Park, these areas are not effectively managed and enforced. Additionally, there is a lack of awareness and education about the importance of marine biodiversity conservation among local communities and stakeholders. To address these challenges, several future prospects have been identified. These include strengthening the capacity of marine protected areas through better management and enforcement, promoting sustainable fishing practices, increasing public awareness and education about marine biodiversity conservation, and conducting further research to better understand the impacts of various threats on marine ecosystems. Collaboration and partnerships with local communities, non-governmental organizations, and international donors will also be crucial in protecting marine biodiversity in Guinea-Bissau. By working together, stakeholders can help ensure the long-term sustainability of marine ecosystems and the benefits they provide to both the environment and local communities.
Downloads
References
Akram, H., Hussain, S., Mazumdar, P., Chua, K. O., Butt, T. E., & Harikrishna, J. A. (2023). Mangrove health: A review of functions, threats, and challenges associated with mangrove management practices. Forests, 14(9), 1698. https://doi.org/10.3390/f14091698
Ansari, Z. A., & Matondkar, S. P. (2014). Anthropogenic activities including pollution and contamination of coastal marine environment. Journal of Ecophysiology and Occupational Health, 14(1/2), 71.
Boudreau, S. A., & Worm, B. (2012). Ecological role of large benthic decapods in marine ecosystems: a review. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 469, 195-213. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps
Cavanagh, R. D., Broszeit, S., Pilling, G. M., Grant, S. M., Murphy, E. J., & Austen, M. C. (2016). Valuing biodiversity and ecosystem services: a useful way to manage and conserve marine resources?. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 283(1844). https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.1635
Constable, A. J., Melbourne‐Thomas, J., Corney, S. P., Arrigo, K. R., Barbraud, C., Barnes, D. K., ... & Ziegler, P. (2014). Climate change and Southern Ocean ecosystems I: how changes in physical habitats directly affect marine biota. Global change biology, 20(10), 3004-3025. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12623
Danquah, J. A., Roberts, C. O., & Appiah, M. (2021). Effects of decline in fish landings on the livelihoods of coastal communities in Central Region of Ghana. Coastal Management, 49(6), 617-635. https://doi.org/10.1080/08920753.2021.1967562
Gunasekara, M. I., Mahawaththa, I., Madhubhashini, D., & Amarasena, K. (2025). Pollution from land‐based sources: industrial and urban runoff. Coastal and marine pollution: source to sink, mitigation and management, 27-44.
Hossain, M. M. (2019). Future importance of healthy oceans: Ecosystem functions and biodiversity, marine pollution, carbon sequestration, ecosystem goods and services. Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics, 6(2), 4. https://doi.org/10.15351/2373-8456.1103
Marcos, C., Diaz, D., Fietz, K., Forcada, A., Ford, A., García-Charton, J. A., ... & Pérez-Ruzafa, A. (2021). Reviewing the ecosystem services, societal goods, and benefits of marine protected areas. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, 613819. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.613819
Mihai, F. C., Gündoğdu, S., Markley, L. A., Olivelli, A., Khan, F. R., Gwinnett, C., ... & Molinos-Senante, M. (2021). Plastic pollution, waste management issues, and circular economy opportunities in rural communities. Sustainability, 14(1), 20.
Murugan, S., & Anandhi, D. U. (2016). An overview of crustacean diversity in mangrove ecosystem. Arthropod Diversity and Conservation in the Tropics and Sub-tropics, 81-99. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1518-2_5
Nagelkerken, I., & Munday, P. L. (2016). Animal behaviour shapes the ecological effects of ocean acidification and warming: moving from individual to community‐level responses. Global Change Biology, 22(3), 974-989. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13167
Ojea, E., Lester, S. E., & Salgueiro-Otero, D. (2020). Adaptation of fishing communities to climate-driven shifts in target species. One Earth, 2(6), 544-556.
Rahman, M. A., & Rahman, S. (2015). Natural and traditional defense mechanisms to reduce climate risks in coastal zones of Bangladesh. Weather and Climate Extremes, 7, 84-95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wace.2014.12.004
Saraswathi, M., Bhandari, S., Madakka, M., Prakasam, R. S., & Misra, S. (2023). Marine and coastal ecosystem services for sustainable development. In Coasts, Estuaries and Lakes: Implications for Sustainable Development (pp. 405-424). Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21644-2_25
Stephenson, R. L., Paul, S., Wiber, M., Angel, E., Benson, A. J., Charles, A., ... & Sumaila, U. R. (2018). Evaluating and implementing social–ecological systems: a comprehensive approach to sustainable fisheries. Fish and Fisheries, 19(5), 853-873. https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12296
Ukwe, C. N., Ibe, C. A., Nwilo, P. C., & Huidobro, P. A. (2006). Contributing to the WSSD targets on oceans and coasts in west and central Africa: The Guinea current large marine ecosystem project. International journal of oceans and Oceanography, 1(1), 21-44.
Uzomah, A., Lundebye, A. K., Kjellevold, M., Chuku, F. A., & Stephen, O. A. (2021). A review of chemical contaminants in marine and fresh water fish in Nigeria. Foods, 10(9), 2013. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10092013
Vasconcelos, M. J., Cabral, A. I., Melo, J. B., Pearson, T. R., Pereira, H. D. A., Cassamá, V., & Yudelman, T. (2015). Can blue carbon contribute to clean development in West-Africa? The case of Guinea-Bissau. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 20(8), 1361-1383. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-014-9551-x
Ward, D., Melbourne-Thomas, J., Pecl, G. T., Evans, K., Green, M., McCormack, P. C., ... & Layton, C. (2022). Safeguarding marine life: conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems. Reviews in fish biology and fisheries, 32(1), 65-100. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11160-022-09700-3
Wernberg, T., Russell, B. D., Moore, P. J., Ling, S. D., Smale, D. A., Campbell, A., ... & Connell, S. D. (2011). Impacts of climate change in a global hotspot for temperate
marine biodiversity and ocean warming. Journal of experimental marine biology and ecology, 400(1-2), 7-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2011.02.021
Wu, X., & Khaskheli, M. B. (2024). Systems thinking of marine policies in promoting environmental law, sustainability, and digital technologies: social challenges in belt and road initiative countries. Systems, 12(10), 400. https://doi.org/10.3390/systems12100400
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Journal of Asian Multicultural Research for Social Sciences Study

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

























