In 2019, when the second phase of the BIOPAMA program was launched, strategic actions were identified to promote more efficient and sustainable management of protected areas in the West African sub-region. One of them was to develop a report on the State of West African Marine Protected Areas (EdAMP) 2021 which should be:

• a reference publication presenting the state of marine protected areas for West Africa;
• a useful and operational decision support tool;
• the result of a participatory and inclusive process that benefits upstream from the contribution of practitioners who are actors in the effective and efficient management of protected areas in the countries concerned in West Africa.

The BIOPAMA program in collaboration with OBAPAO leads the process of the development of the EdAMP started in August and whose finalization is scheduled in December 2021 with a view to its presentation at the “African Protected Areas Congress” (APAC), scheduled for March 2022 in Kigali.

From February 16 to 19, 2021, Dakar, Senegal

Following the launch workshop held in November 2019 and the finalization of all institutional arrangements, the four (04) members of the consortium responsible for implementing the action, met during a workshop exchange and planning technique. The objective of this meeting was to discuss the practical methods of implementing OBAPAO with a view to establishing the operational strategy, taking into account the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder.

This workshop was an opportunity for the members of the OBAPAO consortium to discuss, on the one hand, the components of the project as well as the methodological approaches to be put in place, and on the other hand, on the synergies to be developed during of the implementation of the action. In addition to the governance of the project, the partners exchanged among other things on the work plan for the next eighteen (18) months at both country and regional levels.

From 25 to 27 November 2019, Dakar, Senegal

More than 70 participants attended the official launch workshop of the Observatory for Biodiversity and Protected Areas in West Africa (OBAPAO). This meeting was marked by discussions with conservation stakeholders on existing structures in the region to enhance data and information concerning protected areas and biodiversity with the aim of improving regional policies and strategies concerning the environment. and conservation.

The launch workshop aimed to inform and involve conservation stakeholders in the implementation of the observatory. It enabled actors to participate in the formulation of the strategic orientations of OBAPAO. Also, its effective launch by the authorities of the sub-region strengthens the official endorsement of the initiative.