Scientists and people working in collaboration with ‘Projet Grands Singes’ (PGS) in Cameroon, came up with the idea in 2006 to set up the NPO Ape Assistance. Here you find an overview of the ongoing project PGS. You can also visit its webpage.
Presentation
Due to the political instable situation in DRCongo, it became inpossible to continue the research activities on Bonobos in Iyema. Primatologist Jef Dupain had gained enough experience and decided to continue the in-situ research on great apes in another country in Central-Africa. In 2000, he decided to set up a fieldstation in Cameroon, where research would be done on Western Lowlandgorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and Central chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes), who share the same habitat in several places. Research on these both species in Central-Africa has been doing for a long time (see ‘links‘) ,though due to the geographically extraordinary position, Jef Dupain and his team decided to start in the South-East part of Cameroon.
The choice of this area was also infuenced by the alarming situation in which the zone was and still was. Less than 10 percent of the forest has the status of Reserve or National park, and this while 76 percent of this area has been sold as concessions to logging compagnies. If no action would be taken for the gorilla and chimpanzee populations in the non-protected areas, the reserves would soon only content island populations.
Out of scientific point of view, the researchers loved to find an solution for the causes leading to the disappearence of these great apes. Why is it, that unless the many similarities between bonobos and chimpanzees (fission-fusion structure, physique, philopatry,…), there are so many striking diffences between both species (social organization, dominance structure, conflict-solving behaviour, diet,…)? Maybe the cohabitation of gorillas and chimpanzees has influenced their way of living. Another factor influencing the choice for this area, was the fact that there has not been done a lot of research on this subspecies of gorillas. It was not easy to collect data on this subspecies, because these animals always flee away as soon as they heard or saw humans. It is not clear why it is not possible to get the habituated to people. Possible explanations are the high predation pressure, the dense plantgrowth, and hunting by humans.
In 2000, an expedition was carried out to two places in Cameroon: one in the North of the Dja Reserve and another in the South of the Lobeke National Park. Populationdensities of great apes in both locations were estimated to be as high as in the reserves! Thanks to the experience and cooperation with the npo ‘Nature+’, an organization that has several years of experience in the region, the researchteam found very quickly an appropiative location. After the first and promissing prospections, the team set up a fieldstation in the Ntonga forest, at a distance of about 20 km from the village Mboumo, in the North of the Dja Faunal Reserve (DFR). As soon as the reguired licences and documents were in order, researcher was started at the beginning of 2001: the research camp was build, agreements with the local people were made, cooperatants were hired and got trained, Cameroonian scientists got the opportunity to complete their knowledge (capacity building) and the first European volunteers arrived. The cooperation with the local communities did not take an easy start, mainly due to the conflict of intrests between the younger and elder generations in Mboumo.In october 2001, the cooperation stopped very sudden. Although the local people did not really understand the meaning and the aim of this conservation project, that wants to cooperate instead of employing them, the project got known in the region.
It did not take long until the request for cooperation came from several villages in the region. Finally the team decided to work together with two little villages close to the research camp, Mimpala en Doumo-Pierre, that are located very isolated in the forest. Because another village, Malen V, claimed to be the owner of the research site, the inhabitants were invited to cooperate with the project as well.
Thanks to a lot of long discussions and meetings, and the canvass of one ‘sensibilisateur’, the project normally functions very fluently. Because the project wanted to offer alternatives for the unsustainable hunting, the project supported the local communities in the culture of cocoa.
In April 2002, the Belgian biologist Isra Deblauwe started research for a PhD degree on insectivory in both great ape species ; an interesting aspect complement to the socio-ecological focus. You can find more information on this study at the site of the CRC here.
In the summer later that year, Manfred Aimé Empanda started a study on the socio-economical aspect of PGS: he studies the influence of this project on the lives of the involved communities. Zones around these villages for sustainable hunting were developped.
Ecofac asked to do research in the Dja Reserve itself (07/2002); a research camp and transects were made. Results from this ‘new’ site site could be used to compare to the results of research in the periphery of the reserve to study the influence of hunting and logging on great apes.
In February 2003, psychologist Patrick Guislain joined the team again, and took care of the organisation of the socio-ecological research in the field.
In March 2003, Eric Arnhem started doing research for his PhD in cooperation with PGD. Eric Arnhem made a comparative analysis of the reactions of chimps and gorillas to logging activities. He selected an area where logging was very high. There was a good cooperation with R. Pallisco, a logging company about 70 km in the East from Mimpala. You can find more information on this sudy at the website of CRC: here.
From the end of August 2003 until January 2004, there was a temporary interruption in het scientific research of PGS: the licence to do research was blocked by MINEF (Ministère des eaux et forêts). The reason why was not clear. PGS used this period to updae datafiles, work on publications, and in response to a logging company to do initial research on fauna and flora, with recommandations for further management of the area.
Research started again in ‘La Belgique’ in February 2004. Also in the Dja Reserve itself socio-ecological research was set up. In response to WWF-Central Africa there were initial prospections in Campo Ma’an Reserve at the South coast of Cameroon. Researcher studied the potential of this reserve (densities of gorillas, chimpanzees, elephants and buffalos, hunting pressure and logging). The Campo-site has a totally different vegetation (Atlantic tropical rainforest) and can yield very interessting information; certainly when the data are compared to data from the Dja-site (transition zone to the tropical forests of the Congo-basin).
PGS was in that period active in 5 several research sites!
* Further development of sustainable hunting plans
* Three other villages in the periphery of the Dja Reserve joined PGS in socio-economical activities.
* The project won the Whitley Award! Manfred Aimé Empanda flew to Great-Brittain to receive with thanks this great price from Princess Ann (photo underneath).
Last step to the legalisation of the hunting management plan was set in November 2006
In 2001, Projet Grands Singes (PGS) initiated step-by-step, together with local communities at the periphery of the Dja Biosphere Reserve (DBR), the development of a participatory hunting management plan with the support of The Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, Rufford and Booster grant since 2002 and Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust.
As a major step towards formal agreement on the implementation of this management plan, PGS facilitated a stakeholders meeting on the 14th of November 2006, at Messamena. The meeting was headed by the local government representative. Participants included the representatives of the six involved villages, the major of the local rural council, the local Brigade Commander, Ecoguards of the DBR and the local representatives of the ministry in charge of wildlife and forestry, the ministry in charge of agriculture and rural development, and of the ministry in charge of livestock growing.
After presentations of the PGS staff, participants debated in three working parties on needed improvements of the proposed management plan.
At the end of this meeting, all participants concluded on the way towards a formal agreement between local communities and the government on the implementation of the plan. They adopted the strategic collaborative anti-poaching program, and the rural development plan.
