Science
JGI Hails Paradigm Shift in Chimpanzee Research―Calls for Transparency
After reviewing a report released last week by a committee of the Institute of Medicine (IOM), which had been tasked by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) to analyze the necessity of using chimpanzees in biomedical and behavioral research, the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) welcomed the committee’s conclusions and recommendations, noting that they represent a paradigm shift in how the United States approaches the use of one of our closest relatives in the animal kingdom in invasive medical research.
Staff Spotlight: Deus Mjungu, Ph.D.
As director of chimpanzee research at the Jane Goodall Institute’s (JGI) Gombe Stream Research Center, Dr. Deus Mjungu is responsible for the management and operation of chimpanzee research at Gombe National Park.
About Gombe National Park
Gombe Stream Research Center
The Gombe Stream Research Center was founded in 1965 to advance Jane Goodall’s revolutionary findings about chimpanzee tool-making and other behaviors.
Tanzania Conservation Action Plan
Threats to chimpanzees in Tanzania include unsustainable agriculture, fuel wood extraction, logging, expansion of human settlements, disease and a growing problem of hunting for bushmeat and witchcraft.
Key Activities:
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Great Ape Conservation Fund will help JGI and partners develop strategies designed to abate the most critical threats to chimpanzees and their habitats. These will include strategies to:
Tanzania REDD program
Background / Issues:
The project, which involves a variety of leading public and private partners, received a three-year, $2.7 million (USD) grant from the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Tanzania.
Wild West Wildlife, Landscapes and Development for Conservation
The Wild West Project is a collaboration between the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) to support biodiversity conservation and improve natural resource management in northern and western Uganda.
The Wild West Project:
TNR Expansion
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.
DRC CAP
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.
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.
