Africa Programs
Participatory Mapping
Participatory mapping plays an essential role in JGI conservation initiatives, recording local perspectives and knowledge of landscapes and land uses and values. Through this process the complex interrelations between people and the places they live are brought to life in a view that incorporates socio-economic perspectives along with ecological ones. The common understanding that results allows communities to plan more effectively and take precious natural resources and habitats into consideration.
Chimpanzee Socioecology
The Jane Goodall Institute's (JGI) conservation science team uses state-of-the-art GIS and remote-sensing technologies to enhance research at JGI’s Gombe Stream Research Center in Tanzania.
Ape Surveys and Distribution Modeling
JGI’s Applied Conservation Science Program provides the detailed census data that is essential to conservation planning and assessment. To be effective, the conservation community needs to know the distribution, status and trends of great ape populations. Identification of human threats in specific landscapes is also critical.
Monitoring ape habitats
Clearing of forests and woodlands has one of the most devastating impacts on great apes, leaving them in isolated, small populations that face edge effects and elevated risk of extinction. Satellite imagery and GIS are powerful tools to monitor chimpanzee habitats and threats even in the most remote, difficult to access areas. JGI has been a leader in applying multi-temporal, multi-resolution satellite imagery to map and detect change in the distribution of chimpanzee habitats in Africa from local to regional scales.
Monitoring Human Land Use
Inclusion of human land uses is essential to effective conservation planning. Human land use not only triggers environmental impacts that must be taken into account but also drives an understanding of the important local needs met by the surrounding ecosystems. The resulting insights uncover the value of conservation to sustain and enhance livelihoods in local communities.
Community Forest Monitoring
Local communities are the stewards of their environment and their participation is essential to mapping and monitoring the natural resources on their village lands. The Jane Goodall Institute's (JGI) community-based conservation approach is designed to empower local stewards in ways that benefit communities, as well as the environment that surrounds them. JGI has become a pioneer and leader in this emerging field as a result of our rapid adoption of new technologies to support community forest monitoring.
Happy Birthday Ferdinand!
Bill Wallauer, JGI wildlife cameraman and research videographer, celebrates the birthday of Gombe National Park’s Ferdinand.
Ferdinand, the alpha male of the Kasakela chimpanzee community in Gombe National Park, Tanzania, turned 19 years old last Friday, August 19, 2011.
Regardless of where I am in the world, I celebrate Ferdinand’s birthday every year. Last Friday was not only the day that brought Ferdinand into the world, it was also the day I was able to film the first great ape birth ever recorded in the wild.
And Now, A Baby for Golden!
In his latest blog entry, Dr. Deus Mjungu, Gombe Stream Research Center’s director of chimpanzee research, discusses the newest addition to the G family in Gombe National Park, Tanzania.
It’s been two days since we saw Golden with her new baby for the first time. One month and four days after her identical twin sister had a baby, Golden has also given birth.
Food for Thought
In his most recent blog entry, Bill Wallauer, JGI wildlife cameraman and research videographer, discusses lamb’s tail, one of his favorite plants found in Gombe National Park.
Favorite Chimp Food
Latin Name: Antidesma venosum
Local Name: Mnziganziga
Common Name: Lamb’s Tail, Tassleberry
The Baby Swap
In his latest blog entry, Dr. Deus Mjungu, Gombe Stream Research Center’s director of chimpanzee research, discusses a recent chimpanzee baby exchange at Gombe National Park, Tanzania.
It has been 12 days now since Glitter became a mom for the first time. However, for the past few days, Gremlin, Glitter’s mother, has been carrying, nursing, and otherwise providing all the necessary physical protection for Glitter’s new baby.
