Tropical forests are among the most essential ecosystems on Earth, supporting over 50% of terrestrial species, regulating the global climate, and sustaining the livelihoods of millions of people. Yet, these forests are undergoing rapid transformation due to land-use changes. Initiatives that allow for both biodiversity conservation and the welfare of local communities comprise worthwhile conservation alternatives for formal protected areas. Community-managed forests appear to constitute such alternatives. Yet, little is known about the potential of these forests to sustain both biodiversity and value generating practices for local communities. To help filling this gap, we examined the socio-ecological value of community-managed forests in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa. To do so, we selected 12 community-managed forests, each associated with a different village. We (i) performed camera-trapping surveys within each forest targeting terrestrial mammals (1233 trap-nights) and (ii) applied 320 questionnaire interviews with community members to quantify the value-generating practices from these forests. Community-managed forests harboured 23 mammal species, two of which were primates classified as nearly threatened by the IUCN. Higher species diversity was associated with forests presenting higher structural integrity. Being daily to weekly used by the interviewees, forests were associated with 11 value-generating practices related with existence, environmental, life sustaining, economic, creative, cultural, medicinal/health, spiritual and bequest values. Most of the interviewees found positive changes after the implementation of the community-managed forests, which were said to be contributing to climate regulation and economic improvements (e.g. through the collection of non-timber forest products). While these findings suggest that community-managed forests can benefit both biodiversity and local communities, we now look forward to integrating both social and ecological data to unveil how these forests can be managed to maximize such benefits.