The Biodiversity Laboratory at Guinea-Bissau is a pilot initiative to foster the conservation of biodiversity and natural, cultural, economic and historical heritage in selected areas of Western Sub-Saharan Africa. It aims to leverage different elements of Tiniguena's experience based in the Urok Islands of Guinea-Bissau (i.e., in the northern area of the Bijagós Archipelago), strengthening environmental governance in Guinea-Bissau.

The initiative intends to offer possibilities for professional training, people exchange and skills reinforcement, together with new knowledge production and diffusion and the development of innovative resources for the expansion of citizenship and cultural identities. It has been planned to be based on four distinct interconnected structures: a) the Biodiversity Laboratory in Protected Areas and APAC sites (i.e., “Areas and Territories of Autochthonous Community Heritage”); b) the Biodiversity Documentation Centre, including the installation of a digital biodiversity library; c) the Observatory of Natural Resources; and d) Specialized and professional training and capacity building. It will be focused in specific actions involving local communities addressing the conditions towards the sustainable economic, social and environmental development of Sub-Saharan Western Africa.