From May 5–10, 2025, São Tomé and Príncipe hosted a regional knowledge exchange on environmental and social safeguards under the WACA Program. The mission brought together safeguard, social development, and gender specialists from The Gambia, Ghana, and Guinea-Bissau—countries newly integrated into the ResIP 2 phase.

Organized by IUCN through the WACA Regional Support Office (WACA-BAR), the visit aimed to strengthen the capacities of new project teams by building on São Tomé’s experience implementing safeguard measures under ResIP 1.

Participants took part in field visits and technical discussions covering coastal protection efforts, planned relocation, risk prevention, and ecosystem restoration—including the Micolo mangrove site. The exchange also explored community engagement strategies such as grievance redress mechanisms and labor management.

 

By fostering cross-country learning, the mission supported a more harmonized, locally grounded application of environmental and social safeguards across the WACA program.