Guinea-Bissau: The Bijagos Archipelago becomes a World Heritage Site

The Bijagos Archipelago, off the coast of Guinea-Bissau, was declared a World Heritage Site on Sunday, July 13, following a vote at the ^47th session of the World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It was recognized for its exceptional biodiversity and rich local traditions.

"The site is home to a rich biodiversity, including the endangered green and leatherback turtles, manatees, dolphins, and more than 870,000 migratory coastal birds," a UNESCO spokesperson told Agence France-Presse (AFP), whose World Heritage Committee has been meeting for several days in Paris. In this turquoise-watered archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, the islet of Poilao is one of the main nesting sites for sea turtles worldwide, the spokesperson said.

This continuous network of coastal and marine ecosystems, which also includes mangroves, mudflats, and intertidal zones "fundamental to marine life," is home to rare plant species and bird populations. Its islands also contain sacred sites and artisanal fisheries essential to their inhabitants.

Audrey Azoulay, Director General of UNESCO, said she was "very happy" with the inscription of the "coastal and marine ecosystems of the Bijagos archipelago (...) two years after an unforgettable visit" to this site, "where local communities keep traditions alive." "I congratulate President Embalo, his government and the local communities who mobilized with the support of UNESCO for this first inscription (...) on the World Heritage list," she told the press in Paris after the vote.

Already designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1996, the Bijagós archipelago has been waiting for this inscription for a long time, after a first failed application in 2012. It took extensive scientific research and consideration of local populations to resubmit its ecosystems to UNESCO. "This inscription strengthens its protection and its inclusion in an even larger global network of sites protected by UNESCO," added the spokesperson.

The archipelago covers a total area of more than 10,000 ^km2 , including 1,600 ^km2 of intertidal zones (sandbanks and mudflats). It is made up of 88 islands and islets, of which only about twenty are permanently inhabited. "It is the only, and one of the few in the world, active deltaic archipelago on the African Atlantic coast," the UNESCO spokesperson stressed.

Present at the vote in Paris, Viriato Luís Soares Cassama, the Guinea-Bissau Minister of Environment, Biodiversity and Climate Action, expressed the deep emotion felt by his country after this World Heritage inscription. "This moment marks the culmination of more than ten years of collective effort, dialogue and shared conviction that this extraordinary and unique site deserves to be recognized, protected and celebrated by all humanity," he said.