Africa Programs

Every year poachers in the Congo Basin kill thousands of chimpanzees as part of the illegal bushmeat trade. Typically, the hunters spare the lives of the smallest, confiscating them and selling them as pets despite laws forbidding such trade.

JGI’s peer-to-peer education program equips young women in Uganda with information on topics including HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases and reproductive health.  JGI also provides training in life-planning skills designed to help girls successfully navigate the challenges of maturing into adulthood.  The girls then return to their schools and communities and share what they've learned with their peers who are often more comfortable receiving information from people of the same age group rather than adults.  

Description / Objective(s): 

Thanks to the efforts of the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) and its partners, a micro-hydro power plant is delivering critical electricity to the Tayna Center for Conservation Biology (TCCB), a maternal and child health care center and other facilities in Kasugho (Lubero territory in North Kivu), in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). 

Background / Issues:

In the West African country of Guinea, the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) supports sustainable income generating activities that improve the local economy and environment.

The overarching goal of the Gombe-Masito-Ugalla (GMU) Program is to conserve biodiversity and protect and restore wildlife habitat in critical ecosystems in western Tanzania.

The Girls’ Scholarship project helps to decrease the gap between the levels of education achieved by men and women in the Kigoma community of western Tanzania.  Thus far, the program has sponsored 249 girls to attend elementary school, high school and university.

Key Activities:

Through the hard work and determination of the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) staff, and thanks to United States Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS), the Congolese government and supporters like you, the expansion of the Tchimpounga Nature Reserve is a reality.

Background:

In the spring of 2011, the Congolese government ratified a decree to expand the Tchimpounga Nature Reserve (TNR) by 750 percent.  JGI's Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Center, the largest chimpanzee sanctuary in Africa, lies within the current boundaries of the TNR.

The forests of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are one of the most globally important regions for biodiversity. The Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) with support from the Arcus Foundation and The World We Want Foundation is leading a conservation action planning (CAP) process in the region.

Building on its experience working in Uganda since 1996, JGI, in partnership with the Ugandan National Forest Authority (NFA), launched the Budongo ecotourism project in 2006 with funding from the American people through the United States Agency for International Development. The goal of the project was to provide sustainable revenue generating opportunities from ecotourism to support the protection and maintenance of Budongo.