Welcome to the June edition of our newsletter!

In the last couple of months, the world of western chimpanzee conservation has seen some interesting initiatives. We are excited to share with you some of these updates!

Get to know our community!

Continuing our series of introductions of representatives of the Western Chimpanzee Action Plan (WCAP) Implementation Committee (ImpCom), we are excited to present two more members.

To access the full list and contact information of all ImpCom members, consult the dedicated section on our website.

In his former role within the ImpCom as deputy chair of the Population Monitoring seat, and his current role as representative of the Sierra Leone seat, he works for the advancement of chimpanzee research, monitoring and conservation efforts in Sierra Leone, aligning the efforts made in the country with the broader Western Chimpanzee Conservation Action Plan and its objectives.

For more than ten years, he conducted research activities in the park, focusing on ecological monitoring, park law enforcement and the bushmeat industry, working with entities such as the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation (WCF) and the Office Ivoirien des Parcs et Réserve (OIPR). With his significant experience in operational planning and protected area management, Yves currently holds the position of Technical Advisor for Biodiversity and Protected Area Management with GIZ Côte d'Ivoire, providing technical support for the implementation of management activities in the Taï National Park. As a representative of the Protected Areas seat within the ImpCom, he brings his valuable expertise to advance the protection of chimpanzees in West Africa.

Get involved!

Each seat on the ImpCom is composed of at least two representatives. We are currently looking for a second representative for the Protected Areas seat to work alongside Yves Kablan and help promote the implementation of this aspect of the WCAP.

Are you interested in being part of the ImpCom, or do you know a colleague who would like to support western chimpanzee conservation as an ImpCom member? If so, please get in touch with us at info@westernchimp.org. We will be happy to hear from you!

The IUCN Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas - what can we do together to protect chimpanzees?

The IUCN Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas is a global initiative that provides a benchmark for meeting the environmental challenges of the 21st century. Based on the Green List Sustainability Standard, it offers locally relevant expert guidance to help achieve fair and effective nature conservation in protected and conserved areas. This ensures that wildlife and ecosystems can survive, thrive, and bring value to communities worldwide.

During a previous WCAP Implementation Committee meeting, several representatives from the IUCN Green List initiative presented the initiative as a potentially important tool for supporting regional chimpanzee conservation. They highlighted the benefits of engaging in the Green List process, which include providing an international benchmark for quality that motivates improved performance and the achievement of conservation objectives, as well as ongoing monitoring of conservation efforts and capacity-building support to protected areas.

Currently, there are over 77 certified Green List sites across more than 60 countries. In West Africa, 14 protected areas in seven countries are already engaged in the Green List process, including Comoe National Park and Taï National Park. Protected areas with chimpanzees in West Africa could significantly benefit from attaining Green List status, as it ensures not only the current standard of conservation but also the ongoing monitoring and adaptation of these standards in an ever-changing conservation landscape.

IUCN Green List sites across the world

Are you interested in getting the protected areas where you work Green Listed? If you work at any level of an IUCN protected area (including reserves and community forests) and want to know more about the initiative, please visit their website or reach out directly to Youssouph Diedhiou, expert on World Heritage and Green List in Central and West Africa: you can reach him at Youssouph.DIEDHIOU@iucn.org.

Human-chimpanzee coexistence: a new project in Guinea-Bissau led by three ImpCom members

In July this year, three members of our Implementation Committee will be working to kick-start a new 3-year Darwin Initiative funded project "Fostering human-wildlife coexistence in a biodiversity hotspot in southern Guinea-Bissau". This project will be in partnership with the NGO Palmeirinha in Guinea-Bissau and the Centre for Research in Anthropology (CRIA) and Universidade Nova de Lisboa in Portugal. To work on this project are Dr Kim Hockings (Human-Chimpanzee Interaction ImpCom seat) and Dr Elena Bersacola (Guinea-Bissau ImpCom seat), of the University of Exeter, UK, and Aissa Regalla de Barros (Guinea-Bissau ImpCom seat) of the Institute of Biodiversity and Protected Areas, Guinea-Bissau.

To address this issue, this project will take place in Cantanhez National Park (CNP), a 1067 km² area in Guinea-Bissau. CNP is a special type of protected area where people and nature are meant to live together sustainably. It is home to at least 10 chimpanzee communities and over 25,000 people. The forests in this park are important for both humans and wildlife, providing food and medicinal resources for the local people. This project aims to create ways for humans and chimpanzees to coexist peacefully across West Africa.

The project will focus on four main areas:

1. Create a Coexistence Toolkit: the project research the conflicts and their impact on people’s lives. Based on this research, the team will work with the community to develop solutions like crop protection measures and reforestation projects.

    

2. Strengthen Collaborative Management: the project will improve conservation efforts through better monitoring using patrols and remote sensing technology, as well as enhance communication and cooperation between local communities and park staff.

    

3. Promote Livelihood Diversification: the team will implement community-developed projects, focusing on initiatives led by women, to improve local livelihoods and wellbeing, and reduce conflicts with wildlife.

    

4. National Career Development: The project will provide key roles in project management and research to Bissau-Guinean researchers, ensuring that national researchers are included in all foreign-led biodiversity projects.

"The chimpanzee, my friend": a day dedicated to raising awareness of West African chimpanzees in Taï National Park, Ivory Coast

Unfortunately, their numbers have dropped in recent decades because of diseases and poaching. Among the many efforts to protect these animals, the South-West Zone Management of the Office Ivoirien des Parcs et Réserves (OIPR) has increased surveillance inside and around the park. Programs to raise awareness, involve the local population, and educate people about environmental protection are also implemented regularly.

Recently, in Djouroutou, a part of Taï National Park, a special day was organized dedicated to chimpanzee conservation. Over 300 schoolchildren, along with teachers, leaders, and parents, came together to learn about protecting these wonderful animals. Led by the Sector Chief and organizing team, through a presentation on the theme “The chimpanzee, my friend”, these children learned about protecting the environment while having fun. They watched presentations, acted out scenes, danced like animals, and played sports, all to understand why it's important to protect chimpanzees and their forests.

A Centralized Funding Database for western chimpanzee conservation

Searching for funding opportunities can feel overwhelming. It's often difficult to know where to start, and important opportunities to finance research and projects can slip by unnoticed. To support you, as conservation stakeholders in West Africa, we've created a Centralized Database where you can easily access funding opportunities and grants that are relevant, even indirectly, to western chimpanzee conservation. This database relies on user submissions, so we encourage you not only to use it to find available grants, but also to upload any funding opportunities you come across that you think might be of interest to the community.

You can access the Database here (both in English and French), where you'll also find instructions on how to upload grants.

We need your help!

To become a trainer, you should have experience with the topics and be available to follow your chosen course(s) for six weeks. After attending the course, you should be available to translate teaching materials into French and teach a 6-week online course at the end of 2024. You can access the Best Practice manuals for each course here to get an overview of the content, and to assess your suitability as a potential trainer. Individuals selected for funded access to the training courses will have the opportunity to be paid to become wildlife conservation trainers for the francophone members of our WCAP community.

If you are interested, please get in touch with us at info@westernchimp.org. We look forward to hearing from you!

This newsletter is distributed to stakeholders of western chimpanzee conservation. If anyone in your network is interested in receiving future newsletters and staying informed about western chimpanzee-related content, please direct them to this brief form to share their contact information with us: EN | FR | PT.

Do you have an announcement you would like to make, or an activity you would like to highlight? A success story you would like to share? Please get in touch so we can include your story in the next bimonthly newsletter!

For inquiries or submissions, please contact us at info@westernchimp.org. We welcome your engagement and questions!

You can access the French version of this newsletter, as well as past editions, on our website.