The 66-year-old and the conservation group he founded are the reason Tiwai, which was nearly destroyed during Sierra Leone's 1991-2002 civil war, still exists.
"I feel very happy, relieved, hopeful," the environmentalist told AFP from the verdant island, ahead of the announcement.
The Gola-Tiwai complex, which also includes the nearby Gola Rainforest National Park, will be Sierra Leone's first UNESCO site.
UNESCO director general Audrey Azoulay called Gola-Tiwai "a jewel of biodiversity, a sanctuary for rare species and a model of community management."
The wildlife and fauna in the two areas have been imperilled for years by threats such as deforestation.
Tiwai island, located in the Moa river, measures just 12 square kilometres (4.5 square miles) and has 11 species of primates -- including the endangered western chimpanzee, the king colobus monkey and the Diana monkey.
In 1992, Garnett, who has dedicated his life to environmental projects in west Africa, created the Environmental Foundation for Africa (EFA).
In the early 2000s, he started working to save Tiwai. Today, the wildlife sanctuary is a gleaming success story for Sierra Leone.
Even as the country descended into civil war or was ravaged by Ebola in 2014, Garnett was able to stave off deforestation, poaching and other threats.
- Raising the alarm -
As well its primates, Tiwai has animals such as the pygmy hippopotamus and the critically endangered African forest elephant.
While Gola is the largest expanse of tropical rainforest in Sierra Leone, Tiwai, located to the south, serves as a centre for biodiversity research and a destination for ecotourism.
In order to achieve this for Tiwai, EFA had to convince local communities to abandon certain activities to protect the forest.
The tourism revenue in turn helps provide jobs, training and technical agricultural assistance.
During the civil war, the island's wildlife was almost decimated, but Garnett, his NGO and donors brought it back from the brink.
The centre's structures had become dilapidated, the ground covered in empty rifle cartridges and people began logging trees, Garnett said.
"We raised the alarm that this place was going," he said.
The environmentalist quickly found funding for reconstruction and raising awareness among local communities.
- 'Country is grateful' -
Since then, Garnett and his group have safeguarded the haven despite an onslaught of Ebola, Covid-19 and disastrous weather.
"Our lives and livelihoods and cultures and traditions are so inextricably linked to the forest that if the forest dies, a big part of us dies with it," he said.
An avid cyclist and yoga enthusiast, Garnett's warm, welcoming approach has easily won him allies.
"One of my first experiences in life was having a forest as backyard and recognizing the richness of it," he said.
Garnett was born in 1959 in the rural district of Kono in the country's east, and lived there until age 18.
After studying agriculture and development economics abroad, he returned home in the 1990s to reconnect with his family and help Sierra Leone during the war.
He began working in environmental protection after witnessing the conflict's destruction and its reliance on mineral resources and mining, particularly diamonds.
For 30 years, he and foundation colleagues have travelled the country confronting traffickers and conducting community meetings.
Over the past 20 years, EFA has planted more than two million trees in deforested areas across Sierra Leone, Garnett said, including 500,000 between 2020 and 2023.
The country's environment minister, Jiwoh Abdulai, told AFP he was "really excited and thrilled" about UNESCO's decision, adding that Garnett gave him a lot of "hope and optimism".
His contributions preserving nature are something "that the entire country is grateful for", he said.
G.Bissau's Bijagos archipelago added to UNESCO World Heritage list
Bissau (AFP) July 13, 2025 -
The Bijagos Archipelago off the coast of west Africa was declared a World Heritage site by the UN's cultural agency on Sunday, in recognition of its exceptional biodiversity and rich local traditions.
The string of islands in Guinea-Bissau and surrounding turquoise waters are home to endangered green and leatherback sea turtles, manatees, dolphins and more than 870,000 migratory birds, a UNESCO spokesperson told AFP.
The archipelago's small island of Poilao is an extensive nesting ground for green sea turtles.
The continuous network of coastal and marine ecosystems in the west African archipelago includes mangroves, mudflats and intertidal zones which are fundamental to aquatic life.
"This moment marks the culmination of more than 10 years of collective effort, commitment, dialogue and a shared conviction that this extraordinary and unique place deserves to be recognised, protected and celebrated by all of humanity," environment minister Viriato Luis Cassama said after the announcement.
UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay hailed the region as a "rare coastal and marine ecosystem, where local communities have kept their traditions alive" as she congratulated the country on its first World Heritage site.
Rare plant species and diverse fish and bird populations also call the islands home.
The archipelago is additionally home to several sacred sites as well as artisanal fisheries.
After failing to make the World Heritage list on its first attempt in 2012, an application was resubmitted following extensive scientific research and the involvement of local populations.
The Bijagos Archipelago was already designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1996.
The archipelago's placement on the World Heritage list "strengthens its protection and its inclusion in an even larger global network of sites protected by UNESCO", the spokesperson said.
The archipelago covers more than 10,000 square kilometres (3,850 square miles), including sandbanks and mudflats.
It is made up of 88 islands and islets, of which only about 20 are permanently inhabited.
Related Links
Africa News - Resources, Health, Food
| Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters |
| Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters |
