The relatively intact highland rainforests in Cameroon are home to populations of critically endangered Cross River gorillas, which are threatened with extinction due to habitat loss and poaching at a time of overlapping global crises. Working with local communities, our project turns poachers into Community Rangers, empowering them to protect great apes and their habitat, while generating income for their families, addressing poverty, food security and youth employment needs.
Critically Endangered Cross River gorillas are threatened with extinction due to the Anglophone, bushmeat, climate change and Covid-19 crises. The Anglophone crisis forced many people to flee their homes and take refuge in the forests. The resident and refugee communities have no choice but to rely on bushmeat and other forest resources - timber to build shelters and wood for cooking - for their subsistence and survival. The climate crisis worsens these problems.
Our project has a strong community-led approach to great apes conservation and poverty reduction. 20 community members (10 men and 10 women) will receive training and be employed as Community Rangers to conduct Cross River gorilla monitoring and forest surveillance to detect and prevent illegal activities. They will not only get a respected job, but also receive a sustainable income so that they can feed their families, pay school fees for their children as well as any medical costs.
Cross River gorillas will be secure and increasing in number under science-based monitoring by Community Rangers in viable, connected populations across their current range. Our local capacity development approach will pay off through a network of highly motivated community rangers in isolated villages able to conduct forest and wildlife monitoring. The data they collect will enable us to develop sustainable Management Plans for these rainforests.
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