The Bijagos archipelago is located off the coast of Guinea-Bissau (11°120N, 15°530W) and comprises 88 islands and islets. The intertidal area comprises over 140,000 ha mostly dominated by large areas soft sediment beds interspaced with smaller areas of sandy sediments, often bordered by significant extension of mangrove.

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Located off the West African coast, the Bijagós archipelago, in Guinea-Bissau, is one of the most important wintering areas for shorebirds migrating along the East Atlantic Flyway (EAF), and the second most important shorebird wintering area along the coasts of Africa, just behind the Banc d'Arguin, Mauritania.

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In the Bijagós, maximum counts reach 700,000 shorebirds, which represent roughly 10% of all shorebirds migrating along the EAF, estimated at ca. 7 million birds.

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The Bolama-Bijagós archipelago was classified as Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO and as a Ramsar Site (2014) and comprises three protected areas with an important marine component: the João Vieira and Orango National Parks and the Community-Based Marine Protected Area in Urok.