Guardians of the forest

Last updated: 29 January 2026

A new type of partnership is working to protect Pic de Fon Classified Forest’s biodiversity while supporting Guinea’s growth through the Simandou iron ore mines.

Beneath the soil of the Simandou mountain range in Guinea, West Africa, lies one of the world’s largest iron ore deposits, now unlocking progress and opportunity for the country after years of challenges. Surrounding it, an important forest sustains life for communities and shelters endangered species.

The Pic de Fon Classified Forest is one of West Africa’s most important biodiversity areas. Spanning 25,204 hectares, it’s home to critically endangered species like the western chimpanzee along with thousands of unique plants and animals. It also provides vital ecosystem services – clean water, carbon storage, flood control, and soil stability – for more than 100,000 people.

In 1953, after identifying its importance both for ecological protection and resources development, the Pic de Fon was established as a Classified Forest. Subsequent management plans were designed to assist in its long-term conservation and to manage its resources.

Through our joint venture SimFer, we hold rights to blocks 3 and 4 of the Simandou iron ore development – currently the largest mining and infrastructure project in Africa, with enormous economic potential for Guinea. The Pic de Fon Classified Forest overlaps much of our mining concession, which is zoned to support sustainable development, community use and biodiversity conservation.

Operating responsibly means protecting the Pic de Fon while supporting Guinea’s economic growth.

But balancing the scale of the project with the Pic de Fon’s delicate biodiversity, unique ecology and importance for local communities is a challenge – and we can’t do it alone.

In January 2025, we formalised a new partnership with local communities, BirdLife International, Guinée Ecologie, and Guinea’s Centre Forestier de N’Zérékoré (CFZ) under the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MEDD).

The Pic de Fon partnership aims to conserve and protect the forest through inclusive governance and innovative conservation models.

Designing a shared commitment

From the beginning, the partnership placed co-design at its core.

18 communities contributed to shaping the Pic de Fon Management Plan through awareness sessions, consultations and workshops that brought together over 150 participants – including government officials, NGO representatives and local leaders.

This inclusive process was designed purposely to strengthen the community’s involvement in forest governance. Local representatives are instrumental in decision-making, share responsibility for managing the forest, and have a stake in sustainable practices.

“Communities are the primary guardians of the forest,” Captain Jacob Tanou Beavogui, CFZ’s Director General, said.

“They live around or sometimes within the forest, use it daily and know it best. Their traditional knowledge of plants, ecological cycles and sensitive areas greatly improves the quality of management decisions.

“Inclusive participation is crucial because it ensures the legitimacy of the plan, increases its effectiveness, reduces conflicts, supports livelihoods, and guarantees the sustainability of conservation actions.

“Without communities, the plan remains theoretical. With them, it becomes a living reality.”

Balancing mining and conservation

Under the co-management model, communities – through forest management committees, natural resource management committees and the hunters’ brotherhood association – work alongside us, the government, BirdLife International and Guinée Ecologie to protect and manage the Pic de Fon Forest.

Community groups are active custodians, helping to monitor the forest, manage renewable resources like trees and water, and define how the forest is used. In return, they gain stronger legal rights and regulated access to forest resources, helping to stabilise their livelihoods now and for the future.

CFZ complements this effort by coordinating patrols to combat illegal poaching and logging, bushfire prevention, and SMART monitoring systems – tools that use standardised data collection and analysis (via a Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool) and, in some cases, advanced technologies like artificial intelligence – to enable data-driven conservation and adaptive management. This ensures that the co-management model is backed by strong enforcement and ecological expertise.

BirdLife and Guinée Ecologie also work on community-driven Natural Resource Management Plans, helping farmers transition from forest-based activities to sustainable livelihoods in their villages, in turn reducing pressure on fragile ecosystems.

“Investing in biodiversity partnerships is essential for achieving sustainable development and driving conservation outcomes,” George Ilebo, BirdLife International’s Africa Forests Program Lead, said.

“Biodiversity partnerships empower local communities to participate in conservation efforts and finance alternative livelihoods.

“Over the long term they may prevent biodiversity loss and drive the adoption of sustainable practices, leading to improved environmental outcomes and more responsible supply chains.”