Area:

245 857 km2

Population:

1 931 300 habitants (2008)

Climate:

Guinea enjoys a tropical weather characterized by the alternation of two seasons with unequal duration in the north and the south: the dry season is marked by the Harmattan (a dry and dusty West African trade wind) and the rainy season by the West African monsoon. The rainy season lasts between 5 and 7 months (April to October) from north to south. The average rainfall is 1835 mm distributed unevenly in both space and time. The maximums are found in the regions of Conakry and Macenta and the minimums in the northern regions of the country.

Natural Resources:

The ecosystems and their resources are affected by a general process of degradation caused by anthropogenic factors and climate variability/change. The degradation of the Guinean forest ecosystems is particularly remarkable at mining sites, agricultural areas and around major cities. Since 1965, the canopy has been reduced at the rate of about 140,000 ha per year. The rainforest dries and suffers a 17% regression every 15 years, that is to say a loss of 9,120 ha per year. It has gone from 14 million hectares in 1967 to only 700,000 ha in 2002. Regarding the forests of Ziama and Diecke, this regression represents around 1.1 ha, degrading the habitat of animal species more and more, exposing the soil and greatly reducing water resources.

Agriculture:

The agricultural population has gone from 3,946,395 in 1988/1989 to 6,364,790 in 2000/ 2001, which is to say a growth rate of 5.1%. In the same periods the surfaces occupied by annual crops have increased from 773,290 ha to 1,370,145 ha (an increase of 6.4%). Livestock includes 4,019,583 cattle, 1,874,520 sheep, 2,428,759 goats, 252,306 pigs, 4,528 horses and 6,218,649 heads of poultry.

Climate Vulnerabilities:

The downward trend in rainfall, the higher temperatures observed since 1961, the population growth and the extreme poverty and make the different socio-economic groups and the country’s resources highly vulnerable to climate change.

Source:

http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/napa/gin01f.pdf