AFRICAN
CONSERVATION AND WEB SITES FOR AFRICA FROM
AFRICANWEBSITES.NET
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Global Witness has been working on forest issues
on a country specific basis since its inception in 1995. Throughout 1995,
Global
Witness conducted ground breaking undercover
investigatio
ns.
Global
Witness is leading the debate on illegal logging and conflict timber
at an international policy level but at the same time
continues to focus on individual countries building
on its experiences in Cambodia. These countries include Cameroon where Global
Witness is the official Independent Monitor, DRC, Liberia and Zimbabwe. Conflict
timber is timber that has been traded at some point in the chain of custody
by armed groups, be they rebel factions or regular soldiers, or by a civilian
administration, or its representatives, involved in armed conflict, either
to perpetuate conflict or take advantage of conflict situations for personal
gain. Illegal logging is the felling of trees or the export of timber in
contravention of domestic regulations or laws.
Global
Witness aims to:
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Photos Copyright Global Witness
In Defense of Animals - Africa (IDA-A) - Bringing
Dignity and Hope to Africa's Chimpanzees. IDA-A is both a project of In Defense
of Animals and a non-governmental organization in the Republic of Cameroon.
Its mission is
to
provide a sanctuary in a natural environment for captive chimpanzees in Cameroon
and to wage a conservation campaign aimed at saving the country's remaining
wild chimpanzees. IDA-A's
sanctuary
, the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center (SYCRC),
was founded in 1999 in a forest within the Central Province of Cameroon.
The Rescue Center occupies over two square kilometers and is currently home
to 24 chimpanzees and three to four
humans at any one time. It employs 18 people from local
villages who serve as chimpanzee caregivers, round-the-clock security guards
and groundskeepers. In the wild chimpanzees die in agonizing pain –
their bodies sold for bushmeat and souvenirs. But those chimpanzees who are
killed are not the only victims of this cruel and illegal trade. The young
survivors – infants and juveniles – are victims as well. Visits
to remote jungle villages and urban markets often include the sight of dejected
orphans listlessly pining for their dead mothers. Visitors to roadside zoos
and resort hotels are often shocked at the sight of adult chimpanzees –
the grown-up orphans – tethered to the ground by short, heavy chains,
or caged behind bars for a lifetime.
Much of Africa's habitat
and its wildlife is threatened by overpopulation and unsustainable use of
natural resources
by poor people. Raptors are no exception; over 100 species
either breed in Africa or migrate there each winter from Europe and Asia.
Conservation of far ranging species like raptors and other migratory birds
presents special problems to biologists. How do we protect animals that range
so far and need widely dispersed habitats in which to survive?
The Peregrine
Fund's Pan Africa Program aims to establish projects throughout Africa
that train local people to do the studies needed to achieve conservation
of birds of prey and other species. The programme will bring biologists from
diverse countries and cultures together in a common effort to protect Africa's
natural resources. You can email The Peregrine Fund at
tpf@peregrinefund.org.
The bushmeat crisis is
the most significant immediate threat to the future of wildlife populations
in Africa. Hunting of wildlife to meet people’s
demand for protein may still be sustainable in the few remaining
areas where population densities are less than 2 people/km2, trade routes
are poorly established, and human population growth rates are low. The scale
of the illegal, commercial bushmeat trade now occurring in Africa, however,
is driven by markets with large, rapidly-growing populations of consumers
and is considered by experts to be unsustainable. This commercial-scale trade
threatens the survival of numerous species as well as posing considerable
health and economic threats for future generations. The
Bushmeat Crisis Task
Force (BCTF), founded in 1999, is a consortium of conservation
organizations and professionals working throughout Africa and dedicated to
the conservation
of wildlife populations threatened by illegal, commercial
hunting of wildlife for sale as meat. The BCTF operates under the direction
of an elected Steering Committee and is funded by Supporting and Contributing
Members. BCTF's primary goals are to: a) work with the general members of
the BCTF to focus attention on the bushmeat crisis in Africa; b) establish
an information database and mechanisms for information sharing regarding
the bushmeat issue; c) facilitate engagement of African partners and stakeholders
in addressing the bushmeat issue; and d) promote collaborative decision-making,
fund-raising and actions among the members and associates of the BCTF. For
more information about the BCTF and the bushmeat issue, please
visit their website
or email them directly.
The
International Primate
Protection League (IPPL) was founded in 1973, and, since this time,
has been working
continuously
for the
well-being
of primates. IPPL has Field Representatives in 31 countries. Its Advisory
Board is composed of experts from the fields of zoology, anthropology, medicine,
biology, veterinary medicine, and psychology. Many IPPL officers have lived
for long periods with primates in their natural habitats. In
countries where primates live, IPPL's Field Representatives
work to create and preserve national parks and sanctuaries, and for the strict
control of primate hunting, trapping, and sale. IPPL's educational efforts
have contributed to decisions by many countries to ban or restrict primate
trade and to establish programs to protect primate habitat. IPPL has raised
funds to help other sanctuaries working to provide a safe and enriching
environment for primate victims of deforestation and poaching. You can
email them for more information.
The Jane Goodall Institute advances the power of
individuals to take informed and compassionate action to
improve the environment of all living things.
The objectives of the Institute are to: increase primate habitat conservation,
increase awareness of, support for and training in issues related to our
relationship with each other, the environment and other animals (leading
to behavior change), expand non-invasive
research programs on chimpanzees and other
primates.and to promote activities that ensure the well-being of chimpanzees,
other primates and animal welfare activities in general. In Cameroon JGI
conservation projects are addressing the commercial bushmeat trade. Find
out how you can assist the Jane Goodall Institute by emailing
info@janegoodall.org.
If you would like to
contact us please email
terry@africanconservation.org
