The ecosystem crosses five international borders, touching a diverse mix of cultural traditions, languages and political systems. The overall forest ecosystem is approximately 420,000 square kilometers, but centuries of human activity have resulted in a loss of more than 70 percent of the original forest cover. The remaining forest is highly fragmented, restricting habitats to isolated patches and threatening the ecosystem’s unique species of flora and fauna. As forest size dwindles, so to do the region’s wildlife populations.

The first decade of the twenty-first century could very well determine the future for biodiversity in West Africa. The principal threats to biodiversity and their root causes present a formidable challenge for the region. The underlying causes of biodiversity loss in the Guinean forests include extreme poverty, growing human population densities and weak environmental governance. Three of the most urgent proximate threats to biodiversity in this area include the bushmeat trade (commercial hunting), agricultural expansion and commercial logging. Periodic, but persistent civil unrest has hampered long-term conservation efforts by limiting the development of human capacity and by weakening the enforcement of existing conservation laws. Mass movements of refugees and internally displaced people have intensified pressure on forest resources, particularly in the border areas of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

Threats to conservation in the region are inextricably linked to poverty, which drives urgent short-term needs that eliminate long-term opportunities. Much of the region’s population is closely dependent on, or not far removed from, the natural resource base and the variety of goods and services that healthy, productive ecosystems can provide. In general, low levels of institutional capacity in government agencies, NGOs and communities are combined with a low level of environmental awareness to create a challenging landscape for conservation success.