Chimpanzee research helps secure international recognition for the Boé

Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) are sites identified as important for biodiversity conservation according to internationally agreed criteria. The new KBA covers approximately 2,460 km² of the Boé, a remote region in south-eastern Guinea-Bissau. Its recognition is based on the large chimpanzee population living there. These belong to the critically endangered western subspecies (Pan troglodytes verus). More than five per cent of the global population of this subspecies lives in the Boé.

The KBA recognition builds on nearly 20 years of field research conducted by Chimbo Foundation in collaboration with local village communities, as well as researchers and students from Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and other institutions. This work has generated valuable knowledge about chimpanzee numbers, their distribution and their habitats in the Boé. ‘It was thanks to all those years of research that we were able to show that the Boé meets the criteria for a Key Biodiversity Area,’ explains René Henkens, researcher at WUR.

Around 30 WUR students have contributed to the research over the years. ‘Their work has ranged from individual field studies, such as monitoring wildlife using camera traps or studying how trees and forests are used, to Academic Consultancy Training projects,’ says Henkens. ‘ACT students have explored carbon and biodiversity credits and, over the past year, sustainable bauxite mining.’

Students have also analysed data collected by local patrol teams. These teams consist of villagers who regularly survey the areas around their villages, recording chimpanzee numbers, sleeping nests and potential threats. This is a form of citizen science that combines local knowledge and monitoring with scientific analysis.

This part of the Boé is a vast, largely undisturbed landscape of savannahs, forests, small agricultural plots, wetlands and rivers. It is sparsely populated, with around 60 villages. The area can only be reached by car via a small ferry, parts become inaccessible during the rainy season, and many of its tracks can barely be called roads.

The KBA recognition comes at an important time for the region. ‘Bauxite deposits in the area have been known about for many years,’ says Henkens. ‘Preparations by mining companies are now becoming increasingly visible, and exploratory drilling is already taking place. This could be the start of large-scale open-pit mining, potentially affecting thousands of hectares of nature.’

This is where the KBA status could make a difference. The recognition highlights internationally that the Boé is not simply a remote area with bauxite deposits, but a landscape whose biodiversity is demonstrably of global importance. It gives the Boé greater international standing, which could help strengthen the protection of nature and village communities when decisions are made about the region's future.

Protecting the Boé is not just about chimpanzees. It also means investing in local communities. For conservation to succeed in the long term, local people need to play an active role in protecting nature and benefit from these efforts. Nearly 20 years of collaboration have helped establish a range of local initiatives, from village patrols and community firefighting teams to a local management organisation and scholarships for teenage girls.

This approach shows how nature conservation and local development can reinforce each other by giving local communities a central role in protecting their own environment. In doing so, the project reflects the principle of transformative change: not only protecting nature, but also developing new ways of working together and organising conservation efforts that make long-term protection possible.