From May 26 to June 2, 2024, Mrs. Massandje TOURE-LITSE, ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, along with His Excellency Mr. Louis Blaise AKA-BROU, ECOWAS Resident Representative in Guinea, led a high-level advocacy mission to safeguard the Fouta Djallon Mountains. The delegation included members of the Fouta Djallon Mountains Integrated Management Programme based in Conakry.
The initiative was spearheaded by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in partnership with the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel (UNISS), the World Food Programme (WFP), and ECOWAS. It received a warm welcome from Guinea's highest authorities. The delegation spoke on behalf of the Fouta Djallon Massif through the 'APPEL DE LABE POUR LA SAUVEGARDE DU MASSIF DU FOUTA DJALLON ET LA GRANDE COALITION SUR L’EAU POUR LE SAHEL' (LABE CALL FOR THE SAFEGUARDING OF THE FOUTA DJALLON MOUNTAINS AND THE GREAT WATER COALITION FOR THE SAHEL).
Key figures in this mission included Mr. Abdoulaye Mar DIEYE, Under-Secretary-General and Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for the Sahel; Mr. Robert GUEI, Coordinator of FAO Sub-Regional Office for West Africa; Mr. Ollo SIB, Representative of WFP Regional Office for West Africa; as well as representatives from various Guinean ministries involved in managing the Fouta Djallon Mountains.
The mission comprised meetings with Guinean authorities, field visits, and awareness-raising activities among communities living near the headwaters of these mountains. Local authorities from Labe and Mamou regions welcomed this initiative and highlighted previous actions undertaken by Guinea's government.
The fragility of the Massif is evident due to accelerated degradation of natural resources and precarious conditions faced by local populations. This situation poses significant challenges to maintaining its role as a source for major rivers such as Senegal River, Niger River, and Gambia River.
The advocacy aimed to highlight both advanced degradation levels within Fouta Djallon Mountains and its broader impact on West Africa while stressing urgent measures needed for preservation efforts. According to Mr. Abdoulaye Mar DIEYE: "This natural heritage should be declared a World Heritage Site."
Mrs. Massandje TOURE-LITSE reiterated appreciation from His Excellency Dr Omar Alieu TOURE towards Guinean authorities during their meeting with Prime Minister H.E., Mr Amadou Ouri BAH while reaffirming ECOWAS' commitment since transferring PRAI-MFD from African Union back on October 24th under subsidiarity principles establishing Programme Coordination Unit by ECOWAS.
Fouta Djallon Massif comprises several high basins located centrally within Republic Of Guinea extending into neighboring countries like Guinea-Bissau Mali Senegal Sierra Leone hosting over eight thousand springs irrigating more than sixteen hundred rivers including thirteen cross-border ones serving sources multiple international rivers across West Africa region undergoing rapid resource depletion driven primarily climate change human activities unsustainable farming deforestation reduced vegetation soil erosion bushfires cumulative effects climatic shifts etcetera
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