A strong partnership of stakeholders was built to ensure the best use was made of the wide range of available experience and technical skills. This partnership was critical to the successful implementation of the project.

The key partners for the project included:

● National governments of the five core countries (Mali, Chad, Gambia, Togo and Sierra Leone) and the three additional countries (Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso) involved in some regional activities;

● UNEP agencies: UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and UNEP Division of Environmental Policy Implementation (DEPI);

● IUCN: Programme for West and Central Africa (PACO, based in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso) and Global Species Programme (Cambridge, UK);

● NGOs: BirdLife (International and Africa Secretariats);

● Academic institutions: Durham University and the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) at the University of Kent;

● Met Office Hadley Centre, UK; and

● National experts and consultants who worked alongside international experts on specific topics such as assessing the vulnerability of species to climate change, and the links between communities, PAs and climate change.