IBSS RAS and CEREMAC-G projects in Guinea

Within the framework of bilateral scientific and technological cooperation with the Center for Marine and Coastal Research of Guinea (CEREMAC-G, formerly CERESCOR), the Federal State Budgetary Institution of Science Federal Research Center “Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the South Seas of the Russian Academy of Sciences” (IBSS RAS) implements significant scientific projects in the Republic of Guinea aimed at solving urgent environmental and social problems.

In 2023, within the framework of a grant from the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, a joint project between IBSS RAS and CERESCOR with the participation of the Institute of Steppe of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the industrial partner Sintol was launched on the topic “Development of technology for assessing anthropogenic impact on tropical basin ecosystems to develop recommendations for their protection and optimization of natural resource use using the example of the Fatala River Basin (Guinea Republic)”. 

Within the framework of the project, 2 expeditions were conducted in 2023 and 2024. From the Russian side, 9 people participated in the expeditions; in total, from the IBSS RAS side, up to 14 scientists were involved in the project at a time. 

The samples collected in Guinea were studied in the laboratories of IBSS RAS. Interesting scientific results were obtained, some of which have already been published in joint articles by scientists of IBSS RAS and CERESCOR. As a result of the research, the technology of anthropogenic impact assessment on aquatic and terrestrial tropical ecosystems was obtained, and recommendations on rational use of landscapes and optimization of nature management in the studied territory were given. 

Another joint project to identify natural foci of Schistosoma infestation, which will last for 2 years, started in 2024. The aim of the project is to obtain scientific results on the natural foci of schistosomiasis, a parasitic human disease, in Guinea and their relationship with environmental parameters that are important for improving the effectiveness of the strategy to combat the spread of schistosomiasis. 

A joint Russian-Guinean expedition has already been carried out. A team of scientists from the Institute of Biology of the South Seas and the Center for Marine and Coastal Research of Guinea (CEREMAC-G) has surveyed 27 water bodies in the two prefectures of Koya and Kindia. 

Russian-Guinean scientific cooperation is reaching a new level. In early November 2024, an official visit of the delegation of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Guinea led by Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education K.I. Mogilevsky took place. During the visit, the delegation held meetings with key representatives of the Guinean scientific and educational community, including the Minister of Higher Education, the President of the Academy of Sciences, and the Director General of the Guinean Center for Marine and Coastal Research. 

“At present, my colleagues and I continue to work actively to develop and expand scientific cooperation based on CEREMAC-G. We are considering many areas, including the development of research and technological infrastructure, as well as joint efforts to create and modernize modern laboratories. Special attention will be paid to environmental, agronomic, medical, and materials research and earth sciences. I am confident that this work will be an important step towards strengthening scientific cooperation between Russia and Guinea. This cooperation will contribute to the achievement of Guinea's key development goals and make a significant contribution to the sustainable development of the country. The prospects of our cooperation are really impressive, and we are looking forward to its realization." - Director of IBSS RAS, Dr. Roman Vyacheslavovich Gorbunov.