By Jennifer Moustgaard | Program Coordinator
2018 marks an important year for us at the Bonobo Conservation initiative. Not only will we be celebrating 20 years of protecting bonobos and empowering their human neighbors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but we will also mark 10 years of partnership with GlobalGiving in October! We are grateful for the family of collaborators that we have built over the years. And we are grateful that this family continues to grow!
While he has been a part of our team for several years, Albert Alukana recently embarked on a new mission of his own to expand bonobo protection near his home village. Albert was employed as a nurse at the Kokolopori health clinic, where he was inspired by the Bonobo Peace Forest concept. He saw that there was a way to simultaneously preserve rainforest and wildlife while securing better economic opportunities for his local community.
Albert left Kokolopori and traveled back to his village in the Bosoku sector of the neighboring Tshopo province, where he spearheaded the effort to form a conservation association focused on bonobo protection. He began by gaining the support of his community, and extended his efforts to nearby villages. He then pursued and received authorization from the local government to establish a conservation program in the area. After getting trained in GPS mapping techniques, Albert recently completed delimitation of what is now known as Foret Riche. During this process, he confirmed the presence of both bonobos AND forest elephants! We’re excited to work together on the next phase of mapping this high biodiversity area, and to develop a conservation program with our new community partners!
We are so proud of Albert and our other partners in the Congo. The progress that we have made so far in protecting bonobos is testament that our approach is working and continues to work. Your support has made this all possible. As we look forward to a new year and a new decade of progress, we also look forward to taking Albert’s project--and those of our other Peace Forest partners-- to the next level. Working together, we are creating a brighter future for bonobos and all who share their rainforest home.
As always, thank you for standing with us…and please help BCI and our partners by spreading the word about our work!
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