Du 9 au 11 juillet 2025, la coalition des partenaires du projet CEBio-Eco/AO se retrouve à Accra (Ghana) pour un atelier sous-régional d’une importance capitale et stratégique dont l’objectif est de faire le point sur la première année année de mise en œuvre et aussi définir la feuille de route pour la période juillet 2025 – juin 2026.          
           
Porté par un consortium régional (CSE, RAMPAO, Centre Régional AGRHYMET, University of Ghana), sous la coordination du CIFOR-ICRAF, ce projet s’inscrit dans le cadre du Green Deal européen pour accompagner la transition verte et bleue en Afrique.          

Durant ces trois jours les parties prenantes présentes vont dérouler les activités suivantes:          
- Validation des livrables du 2e semestre;          
- Planification stratégique pour la 2e année;          
- Partage des résultats du projet OBAPAO (BIOPAMA);          
- Discussions sur l’institutionnalisation de l’Observatoire;          
- Échanges sur la gouvernance du Centre Scientifique Régional (CDB).          
           
En outre, l’atelier mettra en lumière les outils phares de l’Observatoire comme l’EDAMP, les notes politiques, la plateforme RRIS, etc.          
           
 

Parce qu’une biodiversité préservée, ce sont des écosystèmes résilients et des sociétés plus fortes, restons mobilisés pour une prise de décision fondée sur la science et les savoirs partagés

Launched in November 2019, the West African Observatory for Biodiversity and Protected Areas (OBAPAO) was initiated as part of the BIOPAMA II program, funded by the European Union. This initiative is one of the flagship actions of BIOPAMA II in West Africa. It aims to strengthen the sustainable management of biodiversity and protected areas by providing data- and information-based tools and services, improving knowledge, and enhancing capacities for better planning and decision-making. Funded by the European Union, BIOPAMA II is implemented globally by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with technical support from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) and UNEP-WCMC.

OBAPAO is implemented by a consortium composed of the Centre de Suivi Écologique (CSE), the West African Marine Protected Areas Network (RAMPAO), the Regional Marine Centre (RMC) of the University of Ghana, and the Agrhymet Regional Center. Several results have been achieved, notably the establishment of the Regional Reference Information System (RRIS), which enables better data and information management to improve decision-making processes for the sustainable management of biodiversity, especially at high-potential conservation sites in the subregion.

After five (5) years of implementation, a sub-regional workshop to officially close the first phase of OBAPAO was held from June 25 to 27, 2025, in Dakar.

The objective of the workshop was to share and validate the results of OBAPAO (2020–2025) achieved within the framework of BIOPAMA, and to officially mark the closure of the funding.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is organizing from September 3 to 11, 2021, in Marseille, the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2020. Held every four years, the IUCN World Conservation Congress He IUCN brings together thousands of leaders and decision-makers with the aim of preserving the environment and using the solutions that nature provides to meet the current challenges of our planet.

In line with its objectives of contributing to the sustainable management of biodiversity and protected areas, this event constitutes an opportunity for OBAPAO to promote and promote its actions at the international level. The results and challenges of OBAPAO will be highlighted at the level of the "Protected Planet" Pavilion, in particular on September 04 and 06 during scientific activities through presentations and discussions on its activities and services. It will also be a question of participating in many side events in order to exchange on practices and actions carried out by other actors in order to capitalize on innovative processes but also to establish synergies with other institutions, projects or programs. .

Confirmed dates for OBAPAO: Vital Sites - the Protected Planet Pavilion

• 04 Sept _ 14: 00-15: 00: Session on the BIOPAMA program in West Africa with a presentation of OBAPAO followed by discussions
• 06 Sept _ 14: 00-15: 00: 30 min session dedicated to the presentation on the regional reference information system (RRIS).
• 06 Sep _ 19: 00-21: 45: High level session.

May 24-28, 2021, Accra, Ghana

IUCN in collaboration with OBAPAO organized from May 24 to 28, 2021, in Accra, Ghana, a workshop whose objective was to improve the knowledge of the focal points of the 16 Member States on the Observatory, the RRIS as well as than the different tools available (WDPA, WD-OECM, IMET, etc.). It was also a question of:

build the capacity of the consortium and all stakeholders on the principles, procedures, techniques and standards for updating data at the WDPA level;
highlight the Regional Reference Information System (RRIS) developed by OBAPAO while introducing useful tools such as IMET (Integrated Management Efficiency Tool).
The workshop made it possible to highlight the progress made by OBAPAO in accordance with the objectives set, strengthen the links between the different stakeholders of the observatory and the sharing of knowledge.

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 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.

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.