Gola-Foya

The Gola-Foya landscape is composed of the Guinean forests shared by Sierra Leone and Liberia, on either side of the Mano River.

This tropical rainforest extends over relatively flat to slightly hilly terrain, with altitudes ranging from 50 to 600 metres. The Greater Gola Landscape is extremely rich in biodiversity and is home to flagship, endemic and globally threatened species, including the African elephant, pygmy hippopotamus, chimpanzee and Jentink’s duiker. The landscape is home to 327 bird species, including Ballmann’s malimbe.

For more information: https://www.papfor.org/-landscape-Gola-Foya-

The Support Programme for the Preservation of Forest Ecosystems in West Africa, PAPFor, started in the Gola-Foya Landscape in January 2020.

It is being implemented across the transboundary landscape to support protected areas and communities to promote better governance and increased participation in forest conservation.

In 2011, the governments of Sierra Leone and Liberia signed a peace park agreement to protect the landscape, leading to cross-border cooperation between the two countries.

Thanks to the support of the PAPFor programme, the Gola cross-border technical sub-committee has met twice during the project: in May 2022 in Marshall (Liberia) and in August 2023 in Freetown (Sierra Leone).

These meetings enabled the two countries to exchange information on activities carried out, and to review and validate action plans for the coming year.

Eleven community forests have been created with the support of the PAPFor programme (seven in Sierra Leone and four in Liberia), covering a total area of 79 285 ha. Five of these have forest management plans specifying conservation, community and commercial use zones; the other 6 retain the full size of the community forest for connectivity and conservation until zones and economic activities to be developed there are identified.

Through the establishment of community co-management committees in communities around the park, 102 communities in the Gola-Foya landscape are working with government partners to sustainably manage natural resources outside protected areas to maintain the connectivity of the forest landscape and wildlife corridors. They are also informed of activities within the park and contribute to decision-making and planning concerning park management.

The establishment of community forests by the PAPFor project has increased the forest cover under management, reinforcing the sustainable management of forest resources.

For more information: https://www.papfor.org/Protecting-the-Kambui-and-Gola-forests-in-Sierra-Leone

The Integrated Management Effectiveness Tool (IMET) is an important tool used by the PAPFor programme and, more generally, for all conservation programmes supporting protected areas. The tool makes it possible to better monitor the management effectiveness of protected areas and to better identify the reinforcements needed for better management of these areas.

In January 2023, the European Union’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), the BIOPAMA program and the PAPFor programme committed to taking up the challenge of adapting the IMET tool for use in other conservation areas called “Other Effective Conservation Measures” (OECMs), with a particular focus on community forests.

In March and April 2023: following the development of the new computer module, two IMET-OECM evaluations were carried out in community forests adjacent to the Gola Rainforest National Park in Sierra Leone, in collaboration with RSPB and the Conservation Society of Sierra Leone.

Based on this field test, the IMET-OECM tool was adjusted and is now available in its final ‘IMET for conserved areas’ version. A first regional training course in using the tool was organised by the PAPFor programme in September 2023, in Monrovia.

For more information: https://www.papfor.org/Successful-test-and-first-training-course-held-for-IMET-tool-adapted-for

https://www.papfor.org/An-ambitious-initiative-to-adapt-the-IMET-tool

On 11 April 2023, Gola PAPFor partners gathered in Monrovia, Liberia, for the final review and validation of the Teachers’ Guide to Nature Clubs in the Gola Landscape of Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The Teachers’ Guide to Nature Clubs, a major component of the School Environmental Education Programme supported by PAPFor, is designed to provide teachers with ideas and activities they can use to design engaging environmental education lessons. It aims to enhance teachers’ knowledge and understanding, and enable them to deal with the various topics appropriately.

For more information: https://www.papfor.org/Pupils-and-teachers-review-and-approve-new-teachers-guide-for-Nature-Clubs-in

Ecotourism offers visitors the chance to discover natural wildlife habitats and the culture and customs of local people. It also contributes to nature conservation and creates livelihoods for communities living at the forest periphery.

Elephant Falls, Liberia:
The Society for the Conservation of Nature in Liberia (SCNL) is dedicated to the protection of wildlife in the Gola Forest. One notable initiative is the ongoing construction of an ecotourism site, ’Elephant Falls’, located in the Upper Sokpo clan, Grand Cape Mount County, Liberia. Elephant Falls is one of the most beautiful ecotourism sites around the Gola Forest National Park (GFNP), with one of the largest waterfalls.

The PAPFor programme supported bio-monitoring activities (territory surveillance and wildlife monitoring) in the protected areas of the Gola-Foya landscape.

Nearly 100 eco-guards were trained in Liberia and Sierra Leone in the application and analysis of SMART Mobile information, and in the use of camera traps for biodiversity monitoring and law enforcement. The SMART tool is now used daily for biomonitoring in protected areas of the landscape, most notably in the Gola Forest National Park and the Gola Rainforest National Park.

Based on the data reported in SMART, the number of patrols organised increased from 88 in 2021 (total of 711 cumulative patrol days and 5 268 km covered) to 121 in 2023 (total of 891 cumulative patrol days and 9 581 km covered).

The PAPFor programme supported government and civil society personnel to obtain a Master’s degree in protected area management, landscape management, conservation law enforcement or related fields.

A total of 10 candidates (6 men and 4 women) from government agencies (FDA) and civil society (CSSL, GRC, SCNL) in Sierra Leone and Liberia have been awarded Gola PAPFor scholarships to pursue postgraduate studies in fields related to sustainable natural resource management. The aim is to help build the sustainable capacity of key national stakeholders to train tomorrow’s decision-makers to contribute to the sustainable management of the Gola-Foya landscape.

Implementation of the Gola PAPFor programme has been overseen by BirdLife International and managed directly by partners including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the Society for the Conservation of Nature in Liberia (SCNL), the Conservation Society of Sierra Leone (CSSL) and the Gola Rainforest Company (GRC). The PAPFor programme in Gola collaborates with other regional programmes, including the Mano River Union (MRU) and the USAID-funded West African Biodiversity and Low Emission Programme.

The Gola-Foya forest landscape will continue to be supported by the European Union as part of its NaturAfrica initiative.