Conservation Efforts Protect African Wildlife and Habitat

By Natasha Tworoski

We recently wrote about the frontline conservation work PASA and it members are accomplishing across Africa. There were so many, we couldn’t fit them all into one article! Here are some more stories on how we are working hard to protect Africa’s primates.

Planting Trees in Uganda 

Ngamba Island, also known as the Chimpanzee Sanctuary and Wildlife Conservation Trust, is an island sanctuary located in Uganda’s Lake Victoria. Years of flooding due to climate change and deforestation have made the sanctuary vulnerable, so the sanctuary has organized multiple tree planting initiatives. Deforestation from logging is a huge threat in Uganda to all wildlife, including chimpanzees. Greater Good Charities recently awarded Ngamba a grant to plant 240,000 seedlings in western Uganda over the next five years to help restore natural habitat. As greenhouse gases build up in our atmosphere, planting trees can offset the carbon that is heating up our planet and destroying our ecosystems.

Protecting Wildlife with Patrol Dogs in Malawi

It’s not just humans protecting wildlife! Lilongwe Wildlife Trust is a PASA member sanctuary that helps all wildlife, including Malawi’s monkey species. The illegal wildlife trade is a major issue in Malawi and Lilongwe is proud to support the Wildlife Detection Dog Unit, which works closely with the Malawi Police Service and the Department of National Parks and Wildlife. In August 2021, the Wildlife Detection Dog Unit played a major role in the arrest of Bin Liu, a Chinese national living in Malawi, who was found with 10 kgs of raw and processed ivory, as well as an assortment of firearms and ammunition likely used for poaching.

Protecting Wild Forest Land in Cameroon 

Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue, a PASA member in Cameroon, is working to create the Wall-Mbargue Wildlife Reserve, protecting 28,265 acres of the Mbargue Forest that surrounds the sanctuary. After years of gathering local and political support, the area will be protected from bushmeat poaching and illegal logging. The forests of Mbargue Forest are home to chimpanzees, gorillas, many species of monkeys, pangolins and many other threatened species of plants and wildlife. Grants from Re:wild and the National Capital chapter of Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK ) have helped the team demarcate this space, an important step in protecting the reserve. In January 2021, PASA was awarded a generous $10,000 grant from New England Biolabs Foundation, and the funds are being used to teach farmers a new cropping technique to increase their yields and thus take pressure off the Wall-Mbargue Wildlife Reserve from slash-and-burn farming.

To stay up-to-date on current conservation efforts completed by PASA, please follow us on social media! You can learn more about each of our 23 sanctuary members. To help us support more conservation success stories, please consider making a donation here https://pasa.org/donate/.