Akwi Dorice
The Central African chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes troglodytes), classified as Endangered by the IUCN, faces severe threats from deforestation, poaching, agricultural expansion, logging, and climate change. The Dja Biosphere Reserve in Cameroon, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the largest intact rainforests in Africa, provides critical refuge for this subspecies. However, increasing human encroachment, habitat fragmentation, and unsustainable resource extraction continue to undermine conservation efforts.
This project, titled Safeguarding Chimpanzees in Dja Reserve: Habitat Protection, Threat Assessment, and Local Involvement, aims to strengthen conservation of chimpanzees and their habitats through an integrated approach combining scientific research, threat assessment, and community engagement. Specifically, the project will:
1. Assess chimpanzee abundance and distribution using line transect surveys and distance sampling, complemented by GIS-based mapping of nests, vocalisations, and feeding remains.
2. Analyse forest cover change and habitat fragmentation through satellite imagery (Landsat, Sentinel-2) and spatial modelling to identify deforestation hotspots.
3. Document major threats by combining field investigations with community reporting, and mapping poaching sites, traps, and encroachment zones.
4. Engage local communities through awareness workshops, focus groups, and participatory rural appraisal (PRA) techniques to promote conservation-friendly behaviours and alternative livelihoods such as agroforestry, eco-tourism, and sustainable harvesting of non-timber forest products.
5. Develop a community-inclusive conservation action plan using stakeholder workshops, SWOT analysis, and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), ensuring both scientific rigour and local ownership.
Expected outcomes include robust data on chimpanzee population trends, spatially explicit maps of threats and habitat change, improved community knowledge and participation in conservation, and a validated conservation strategy endorsed by local stakeholders. By integrating ecological monitoring with social research, the project ensures evidence-based decision-making while addressing the socio-economic realities of communities living around the reserve.
In the long term, this project will enhance law enforcement, inform policy, and build capacity for sustainable conservation in the Dja Biosphere Reserve. Beyond chimpanzees, it will contribute to the protection of multiple threatened species and promote sustainable coexistence between humans and wildlife in one of Africa’s most biodiverse ecosystems.