WESTERN CHIMPANZEE CONSERVATION - Regional Alliance - NEWSLETTER |
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Welcome to the December edition of our newsletter! As the year comes to a close, we want to wish you all happy holidays and a wonderful start to the New Year! We want also to extend our gratitude to all individuals and organizations whose hard work is contributing to the protection of western chimpanzees. To wrap up the year, let’s have a look at some of the latest updates and initiatives in the world of western chimpanzee conservation. |
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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. |
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Salimata Koné Salimata Koné has served as the Director of Wildlife and Game Resources at the Ministry of Water and Forests in Ivory Coast for over seven years. In this role, she has led efforts to assess the status of wildlife species nationwide, developing comprehensive policies and strategies for sustainable wildlife management. |
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Her work includes drafting new legislation to strengthen the protection of wildlife and overseeing the implementation of the CITES convention to regulate trade in endangered species. In addition to policy and legislative initiatives, Salimata has been combating wildlife crime, organizing operations to address illegal activities, and enhancing the capacities of law enforcement agents through training programs. She has also developed awareness campaigns to educate communities on the value of wildlife conservation. In January 2024, Salimata joined the ImpCom as the representative for the Land Use Planning seat, working to advance conservation efforts and ensure the survival of western chimpanzees. |
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Itai Roffmann Itai Roffman is an evolutionary anthropologist, lecturer, and researcher at Max Stern Yezreel Valley College in Israel. He earned his PhD with a dissertation exploring early-hominin traits in chimpanzees, providing cultural and behavioral evidence for their reclassification as early hominins. |
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Since 2011, Itai has led groundbreaking research in Mali, West Africa, studying the survival strategies, cultural diversity, and environmental adaptations of wild chimpanzees in arid cliff range habitats. Through tribal agreements, he has secured a 1,600 km² protective green corridor across a cliff chain involving 32 tribes. This initiative forms part of the Jane Goodall Institute’s Roots & Shoots Mali program, which he established. As a board member of the World Biological Corridor, alongside renowned figures such as Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas, Itai continues to contribute to global conservation efforts. He is now working to establish the Jane Goodall Institute of Israel, advancing his dedication to conservation and education. Additionally, as a member of the ImpCom, he serves as a representative for Mali. |
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Join our new initiative: free training in Project Management We are excited to announce the launch in the coming year of the Project Management Course for Wildlife Conservation, a six-week program designed to empower wildlife conservation practitioners at all levels—from those just starting their careers to experienced professionals—with essential project management skills. To ensure broad accessibility, the course will be available in both French and English. This course is part of our mission to provide free training opportunities for conservationists in Africa, with a special focus on West Africa. We are proud to partner with WildTeam, an organization renowned for its expertise in training for wildlife conservation.
Course Details How to Apply If you’re interested in participating, calls will be open from 6 January 2025 to 30 January 2025. We encourage you to apply sending your CV to info@westernchimp.org soon after the call opens, as spots are limited. This course is a unique opportunity to enhance your project management skills, connect with peers, and contribute more effectively to wildlife conservation efforts. Please share this opportunity with colleagues and other conservationists! We look forward to welcoming you to this exciting training program! |
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We keep conservation dynamic: monitoring of the WCAP implementation |
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This year, we’ve been working intensely monitoring the implementation of the Western Chimpanzee Action Plan (WCAP), ensuring it stays a dynamic and effective guide for conservation. Through this work, we’ve identified challenges and opportunities, allowing us to adjust strategies to meet the region’s evolving needs. |
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In September 2023, we conducted a major stakeholder survey across West Africa, reaching out to nearly 600 individuals, from government officials to NGOs and researchers. This gave us a clearer picture of the region’s conservation landscape, revealing key trends in WCAP implementation. While progress is evident, we identified clear geographic and thematic patterns, with certain countries and topics being overrepresented, while other receiving little attention. To dig deeper, we asked conservation organizations and NGOs to evaluate their progress against WCAP’s objectives. Their responses showed promising work in areas like awareness-raising but highlighted underfunded priorities that need urgent attention such as land-use planning and conservation financing. We also engaged with donors to understand their priorities and funding patterns. We discovered that funding often focuses on short-term, high-visibility projects, leaving critical long-term goals like cross-border coordination underfunded. By cross-referencing activities and funding data, we uncovered opportunities for greater collaboration and a more balanced approach to WCAP implementation. As we embark in the new year, these insights are driving our strategy forward. Our full report, detailing findings and recommendations, will be available early next year. Stay tuned for this important update! |
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This institute will be dedicated to advancing great ape conservation by promoting scientific research and strengthening conservation capacities within great ape range countries. Its mission is to establish essential data and research infrastructure, empower local experts, and foster collaboration to develop impactful conservation strategies. By expanding access to the A.P.E.S. Database for nationals of ape range countries, the aim is to ensure that great ape conservation efforts and ecosystem protection are locally driven. As the SGA moves forward with the proposal for the Institute for Great Ape Conservation Science, it is crucial to ensure it aligns with the needs of all stakeholders. Therefore a survey has been developed to gather feedback and suggestions of all stakeholders involved. Please take a few moments to complete this brief survey (ENG | FRE) to help shape the direction of this vital initiative. Your insights are essential to its success! |
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Help Update the IUCN Red List for Great Apes One of the key responsibilities of Specialist Groups is to make sure that the IUCN Red List assessments for species are updated at least every 10 years. The last updates for most great ape species were done in 2015 and published in 2016, so it’s time to prepare for the next round! We’re asking for your help. If you have any new great ape survey data or reports, please share them with the A.P.E.S. database. You can email the A.P.E.S. database manager Dr. Tenekwetche Sop at tenekwetche.sop@senckenberg.de. Don’t forget to include a signed data usage and sharing agreement with your submission—you can download templates from this page: A.P.E.S. Database Policy. If you have questions about sharing your data, you can also reach out to Dr. Sop at tenekwetche.sop@senckenberg.de or apes@iucnapesportal.org. In early 2025, the review process of the Red List assessment texts will begin. For general questions about the Red List update process, contact Liz Williamson, the IUCN Red List Authority Coordinator for great apes, at e.a.williamson@gmail.com. For more details, check out these useful resources: Thank you for helping us protect great apes and their habitats! |
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Get involved! Help combat illegal chimpanzee trade and improve rescue centers efficiency |
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The Law Enforcement & Sanctuary Coordination ImpCom group, led by Jenny Desmond and Aram Kazandjian, is dedicated to tackling the illegal capture and trade of chimpanzees in West Africa and improving sanctuary operations to rehabilitate rescued chimpanzees. |
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As part of their work to implement the Western Chimpanzee Action Plan, the team is gathering critical information on law enforcement efforts and sanctuary activities in each country. This information will help identify overlaps, gaps, and opportunities for collaboration, ensuring a more coordinated and impactful approach to conservation. If you have insights about sanctuaries or law enforcement activities related to chimpanzee conservation in your country, we encourage you to share them by completing this survey. Even if you do not work directly with these issues, please help by forwarding the survey to others who might contribute. The broader the participation, the better our understanding and planning will be. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Jenny Desmond at jjdesmond@hotmail.com or liberiachimpanzeerescue@gmail.com. Thank you for supporting this important effort! |
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The WCAP Regional Alliance Concept Note If you're interested in gaining an overview of the WCAP Regional Alliance's goals, strategy, and operational approach, you can access our Concept Note via the following link. |
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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. Among the opportunities listed in the database, the Leakey Foundation Emergency Fund for Primate Field Research provides emergency funding up to $25,000 to keep long-term primate field sites operational until other funding can be secured. Another opportunity is the GEF Small Grants Program, which offers up to $50,000 for the protection of landscapes and key species in situ, with submissions accepted year-round. You can access the Database here (both in English and French), where you'll also find instructions on how to upload grants. |
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We need your help! As one of the most charismatic flagship species, Western chimpanzees often draw significant attention for conservation efforts. However, they are just one of many threatened species in West Africa, where numerous other species and landscapes also need protection. Preserving these can also benefit chimpanzees. |
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As the WCAP Coordination team, we aim to develop a strategy that integrate chimpanzee conservation with the broader biodiversity conservation landscape in West Africa. By reviewing conservation Action Plans for various species and landscapes, we can identify opportunities for collaboration, avoid duplicating efforts, and enhance our funding success. |
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If you are aware of or are working on an Action Plan for specific species or landscapes in West Africa, please get in touch with us at info@westernchimp.org. We would love to hear from you! |
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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. |
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