Africa Programs

Learn about JGI's work in Africa and around the world: chimpanzee behavioral research at Gombe National Park in Tanzania, our Tchimpounga sanctuary for chimp orphans, our work with communities to promote sustainable livelihoods, and our global youth program, Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots.

As part of our conservation strategy, the Jane Goodall Institute works with local communities to spread knowledge about sustainable farming and forestry practices. Traditional slash-and-burn practices fragment chimpanzee habitat, lead to dangerous soil erosion on hillsides, and force local women to walk longer and longer distances for fuel wood.

JGI's TACARE program works with villagers to develop sustainable livelihoods and improve health care and education in Kigoma villages. This holistic approach ensures villagers are better-positioned to think about and work towards long-term conservation. One local woman who participated in our family planning programs said: "Thank you for giving me my life."

At the heart of the declining chimpanzee population is habitat loss and another, lesser known problem -- the illegal poaching of chimps and other great apes for meat. The Jane Goodall Institute works with governments and local communities to end this devastating practice.

Chimpanzees face a number of serious threats, including habitat destruction and the illegal poaching of animals for bushmeat. Habitat loss results from commercial logging, slash-and-burn agricultural practices and various mining activities. The Jane Goodall Institute works to eliminate these threats in the fight to save this precious species.