AWF’s Multifaceted Approach to Chimpanzee Conservation

Chimpanzees play a vital role in maintaining forest health and contribute to human well-being through income-generating projects such as tourism. This year's World Chimpanzee Day serves as a reminder to intensify our conservation and sustainable development efforts to protect these species and restore the natural ecosystems they inhabit, which are crucial for human well-being.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified chimpanzees as endangered since 1996. Their population has been steadily declining due to habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching, disease, and other threats exacerbated by climate change impacts. Current estimates place their wild population between 150,000 and 250,000 individuals. Without focused conservation action, this downward trend is expected to continue.

In the forest belt of Africa, spanning from Senegal to western Tanzania, there are four subspecies of chimpanzees: Western, Nigeria-Cameroon, Central, and Eastern. These chimpanzees live in a variety of environments, including rainforests, dry savannas, and cultivated landscapes dominated by oil palm. The African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) is actively working to conserve and protect these chimpanzees, with major programs in Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In Uganda, where AWF is also involved, chimpanzees coexist with other species.

AWF's Multifaceted Approach

AWF is spearheading chimpanzee conservation in Bili-Uere (DRC) and Dja and Campo Ma'an (Cameroon). Eco-guards conduct regular foot patrols in Bili-Uere, lasting 10-15 days each. These patrols search for wildlife crimes, record ecological data like chimpanzee nests and vocalizations, and look for signs of poachers, particularly important in this conflict zone.

Understanding the importance of involving local communities in sustainable conservation and development, AWF conducts environmental education visits to schools around Bili-Uere, raises awareness among resource users to encourage regulated use practices, and works with women selling bushmeat to discourage the sale of chimpanzee meat.

Transhumant herders, known as Mbororo, pose another threat as they enter the Bili-Uere landscape seeking pasture. While transhumance is a way of life for many in this expansive region, if unregulated, it can destroy chimpanzee habitat and sometimes lead to the killing and selling of chimpanzees for survival. AWF works to raise awareness among these communities and encourages cooperation with other stakeholders, including local communities and government agencies.

As part of a multifaceted approach, AWF supports park rangers (ICCN) who are at the forefront of the fight against poaching and illegal trafficking in DRC. We have partnered to train judges, magistrates, and airport/port officials to strengthen enforcement by improving wildlife product identification and imposing penalties for wildlife offenses. Additionally, AWF fosters information sharing among all key stakeholders.

At the local and provincial levels, AWF revitalizes governance structures like Local Development and Conservation Committees (CLDCs) to ensure effective communication regarding chimpanzee protection. Members trained in these committees then relay information to the public.

To ensure that key stakeholders are involved in setting up a vision and strategies for the long-term conservation of these key conservation landscapes, home to chimpanzees, AWF convenes these groups to undertake participatory landscape conservation planning. In 2022, we convened stakeholders to develop the landscape conservation plans for Dja and Billi Uere landscapes, with chimpanzees and their habitats emerging as key conservation targets to be protected in perpetuity.

AWF's activities in Dja include habitat conservation, nature-based conservation enterprise (e.g., cocoa-value chain), training and equipping, and biomonitoring with regular surveys and anti-poaching patrols. Highlighting their success, rangers last year rescued an orphaned baby chimpanzee from poachers who fled, abandoning their weapons and prey. AWF convenes various stakeholders, such as in 2022, to develop a participatory landscape conservation plan.

The Ministry of Forest and Wildlife (MINFOF) in Cameroon collaborates with AWF on projects like the ongoing UNESCO initiative launched in March 2024. Local community members play key roles in patrols, biomonitoring missions, and village wildlife protection committees. Income-generating activities are implemented to combat poverty and reduce dependence on resource exploitation, benefiting chimpanzee conservation and the local people.

In Campo Ma'an in southern Cameroon, AWF strengthens law enforcement and deploys patrol teams to deter poaching. Community awareness campaigns promote chimpanzee protection, while development programs improve livelihoods, e.g., through tourism and reduce reliance on resource extraction by local communities and indigenous people.

As we celebrate World Chimpanzee Day, let us remember the urgent need for action. Saving chimpanzees and their natural habitats is beneficial for them and humans in the future! Let's all join hands to ensure their survival.

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