The designation of the first ever marine protected areas (MPAs) in São Tomé and Príncipe – a tropical archipelago nation in the Gulf of Guinea – became official today, following formal approval of the first two sites by the country’s President Carlos Vila Nova.

In 2025, São Tomé and Príncipe reached a historic milestone for ocean conservation with the announcement and subsequent approval of the country’s first eight Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). The designation was announced by the Minister of Environment, Youth and Sustainable Tourism, Nilda Borges da Mata, during the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice, France, where she highlighted the creation of the country’s first MPAs as a pioneering step towards the global 30×