As part of its efforts to strengthen coastal resilience, the WACA–Senegal project supported, in December, the organization of an ecotourism training workshop for the Management Committee of the Gorée Marine Protected Area (MPA), extended to local tourism stakeholders.

This training is part of the ongoing capacity-building actions implemented by the WACA–Senegal project, aimed at supporting income generation through the sustainable use of the ecological potential of the Gorée MPA. It also contributes to diversifying the tourism experience offered to visitors to the island and other remarkable sites within the protected area.

Organized over three days, the training brought together around thirty participants from the Gorée MPA Management Committee, government technical services, local authorities, tourism promotion structures, tourist guides, as well as institutional and technical partners, including the WACA project and IUCN. Staff from the Madeleine Islands National Park also took part in the discussions, in light of the ecological continuum between the two protected areas.

The workshop aimed to strengthen participants’ capacities in ecotourism, particularly with regard to visitor reception in natural areas, guiding techniques, communication with visitors, and the promotion of the ecological, cultural and spiritual heritage of the Gorée MPA. It also provided an opportunity to recall the economic, social and environmental challenges associated with the development of ecotourism in marine protected areas.

Through this support, the WACA–Senegal project reaffirms its commitment to sustainable management of marine protected areas and to the promotion of integrated solutions that reconcile biodiversity conservation, local development and the resilience of coastal communities.