This campaign has now closed

The main goal of our program is to protect and conserve the Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes vellerosus) across the Lebialem Highlands forest and surrounding areas in western Cameroon through research and participatory development strategies.

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Categories

  • Community Support & Development Community Support & Development
  • Education/Training/Employment Education/​Training/​Employment
  • Poverty Alleviation/Relief Poverty Alleviation/​Relief
  • Beneficiaries

    • Children (3-18) Children (3-18)
    • Older People Older People
    • Women & Girls Women & Girls
    • Young People (18-30) Young People (18-30)
    • Other Other

    Situation

    The Cross River gorilla remains the most threatened primate in Africa and is one of the 25 most endangered primates in the world. Identified threats to the survival of gorillas, chimpanzees and other primates in the Lebialem Highlands are agricultural encroachment (the conversion of forest habitats to farms and plantations), commercial logging, habitat and great ape population fragmentation due to settlements and roads, and most especially hunting, trapping and the illegal trade of bush meat. There is an urgent need to complete the assessment of the total distribution of great apes in the Lebialem Highlands and its neighboring areas and the degree to which these threats are influencing population size, distribution and abundance. The project’s main solution is to reconcile local human development needs and great apes conservation. Implementation of ecologically sound alternative income opportunities, in particular wildlife farming and domestication, will reduce the need for bushmeat as the main source of protein. Domestication of wild species is particularly popular in the West African sub-region where bushmeat is a most important dietary item. The project will also continue to roll out the sustainable forest management model to each of the forest areas, in close collaboration with the local authorities and communities. In 2008, we started a successful programme attracting volunteers from around the world the participate in surveys and conservation activities.

    Solution

    100%
    Categories

  • Community Support & Development Community Support & Development
  • Education/Training/Employment Education/​Training/​Employment
  • Poverty Alleviation/Relief Poverty Alleviation/​Relief
  • Beneficiaries

    • Children (3-18) Children (3-18)
    • Older People Older People
    • Women & Girls Women & Girls
    • Young People (18-30) Young People (18-30)
    • Other Other