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 With
support from the U.S. Agency for International Development,
JGI has begun a two-year effort to raise awareness about
the plight of the Western Chimpanzee
in critical areas of Guinea and Sierra Leone, and to
strengthen the capacity of local and regional governments
to conserve chimpanzees and their habitat. JGI is working
with the Humane
Society International, Pro-Natura
International, the Chimpanzee
Conservation Center in
Guinea and the Tacugama
Sanctuary in Sierra Leone.
Within each country, JGI and its partners are conducting
local and national campaigns to spread information and
awareness about chimpanzee endangerment and conservation.
At the national level we are using radio documentaries
and dramas, print media, billboards, posters and promotional
items such as T-shirts, stickers and exercise books.
At the local level, we will establish pilot learning
stations with mobile outreach capabilities in Conakry,
Guinea and in Kenema, Sierra Leone.
JGI and its partners are also providing extensive training and technical assistance to help build the capacities of governments, NGOs, community-based organizations, sanctuaries for chimpanzees and other entities to promote and support conservation of habitat and biodiversity. These efforts include working with communities to develop sustainable ways to generate income without pressuring habitat or exploiting chimpanzee populations.
Many people aren't aware that the Guinean Forest hotspot
is one of the highest priority regions in the world
for primate conservation. Of the world's 25 biodiversity
hotspots, this strip of forest — running parallel
to the Western African coast through 11 countries from
Guinea to Cameroon — is exceptionally high in
mammalian diversity. It also has some of the most severely
fragmented habitat anywhere. This fragmentation eliminates
the corridors chimpanzee groups require to intermingle
and ultimately ensure their genetic diversity. In
addition to the deforestation that is largely a result
of slash-and-burn farming and logging, the chimpanzees
in this region are threatened by poaching and the exotic
pet trade.
Although the majority of Guineans are Muslim, with
taboos against the hunting and eating chimpanzees, the
forest region which borders Liberia and Sierra Leone
is predominantly Christian and Animist, with no taboos
against hunting chimpanzees. As a result poaching does
occur in this area. In addition, the massive influx
of refugees into Guinea from Liberia and Sierra Leone
has placed pressure on natural resources due to inadequate
alternative subsistence strategies. In parts of Sierra
Leone, hunting chimpanzees is not outlawed. Some people,
aware of the potential threat chimpanzees pose to humans,
regard them with a level of distrust. While the bushmeat
trade in Sierra Leone is limited, most of the hunting
and trapping that takes place is done by Liberians who
cross the border. Little incentive exists to protect
chimpanzees from exploitation, as local communities
often do not have a stake in the management of protected
areas.
Today, the live trade in chimpanzees continues in Sierra
Leone and Guinea despite chimpanzees' endangered status.
Black-marketeers often sell young chimpanzee orphans
to expatriates who are unaware that chimpanzees are
an internationally protected species or that paying
money for chimpanzees encourages the trade, further
threatening the survival of the species. Wildlife legislation
for the protection of chimpanzees is weak in both Guinea
and Sierra Leone, and the enforcement of the law is
almost non-existent. Local people are often quick to
assume that there is an abundance of chimpanzee populations
and that their actions pose no serious threat of endangering
the wild populations. Current legislation for the protection
of chimpanzees needs to be upgraded and strict penalties
need to be enforced. Although both Guinea and Sierra
Leone are signatories to important international treaties
such as CITES, ratification has been slow and appropriate
laws must be implemented and enforced.
Content to be included as it becomes available
Program Director
This program is in collaboration with: |
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