The Urok Islands Community MPA is part of a network of national protected areas that comprise the Bolama and Bijagós Archipelago Biosphere Reserve. Recognised by Unesco since 1996, the reserve comprises the marine national park of João Vieira/Poilão, the Orango Isles national park and the Urok Community Marine Protected Area. The creation and effective management of the Urok Islands Community MPA is thefruit of fifteen years of work by Tiniguena in collaboration with local and national communities and institutions, the International Foundation for the Banc d’Arguin (FIBA) and other national and international partners. An independent evaluation was conducted in March 2008 following completion of this second phase of the collaboration between FIBA and Tiniguena. The report concluded that the work undertaken is of good quality, combining passion with rigour, using appropriate methods and tools whilst leaving space for innovation and improvisation. The approach is able to combine traditional conservation actions – such as fisheries patrols – with a pioneering cultural element. According to the report, this work, founded on mutual trust between the partners, and seeking to renew hope against a difficult background, is a genuine success. This booklet uses extracts from the main conclusions of the evaluation report, which are presented thematically. For each theme, this document provides comments, illustrations, and examples. Some of the impacts of the Urok Islands Community MPA are therefore portrayed through anecdotes and short stories about changes that the inhabitants of the isles may have observed or experienced. The lessons learned from this unique experience have been documented through interviews with people who are or who were present at the heart of the Community MPA creation process. Finally, perceptions surrounding the impacts of the Community MPA have also been gathered via questionnaires completed by representative samples of Urok fishermen and female shellfish gatherers.