Wildlife corridors through oil palm plantations. Local communities saving the world’s rarest crocodile from extinction. Sweeping new protections for EU seabed. A ground-breaking coalition for amphibian conservation. When conservation organisations have access to flexible, reliable funding, their impact can be revolutionary.
In this series, we look back at major conservation victories facilitated by our long-term, trust-based funding strategy. Long-term support goes far beyond funding. Building strong relationships with multiple organisations allows Synchronicity Earth to aid capacity building, facilitate collaboration, and strengthen connections. Sometimes, those networks can save a forest.
Coming together to protect one of West Africa’s last amphibian havens
The Guinean Forest extends along the coast of West Africa, from Guinea and Sierra Leone, through Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria, to Cameroon’s Sanaga River. One of the most degraded tropical rainforests in the world, today less than 30% of the Upper Guinean Forest survives. Yet it remains one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth.
The Guinean Forest is well known as a mammal hotspot, and for good reason—more than one-quarter of Africa’s 1,100 mammal species are found here, including 30 species of primates. But the amphibians, although less well documented, are no less important for global conservation. Of the 269 amphibian species recorded in the region, over 80 are endemic, and around 30% are threatened with extinction.