CCFU builds the capacity of journalists from Bunyoro and Rwenzori to positively report on issues of the chimpanzee.
The capacity building training which took place between the 3rd and 4th of October was attended by different actors such as representatives from television, radios, news papers, online and other digital channels, and community radios; from Kagadi, Kibaale, Hoima, Kakumiro, Kyenjonjo and Kasese districts.
Due to the depletion of the chimpanzee habitat in Bunyoro and Rwenzori that is a result of the population explosion, the need for arable land and other development initiatives, there has been increased human-chimpanzee conflicts in the regions.
As a result, media reporting has focused on the danger that chimpanzees pose to human lives, neglecting the need to restore their habitat and the need to promote peace co-existence between people and chimpanzees.
CCFU’s hope is that the training will influence media reporting on chimpanzee conservation with a specific focus on the role that culture plays in addressing contemporary development challenges, especially conservation of the chimpanzee.
During the training, common questions and misconceptions about chimpanzees that are encountered in the media’s work were addressed. For instance, why chimpanzees should be conserved – highlighting their value, who owns chimpanzees, the aspects of the law, why chimps are aggressive today (and highlighting their behavior), issues of translocating chimpanzees, and calling for concerted efforts for chimpanzee conservation.
“With the increasing human-wildlife conflicts, I feel confident in chimpanzee reporting, especially responding to community concerns. I now understand issues for example why chimpanzee have become violen and some of these are a result of human activity.” Alex Tumuhimbise from Daily Monitor noted.
The role of culture in conserving the chimpanzee
Culture plays a role in the conservation of nature, including animal species such as chimpanzees. Particularly in Bunyoro and Rwenzori, the chimpanzee is a totem to different clans such as the Batangi and Bayanja,, making it an important part of their cultural heritage.
CCFU has harnessed the power that this interconnectedness between culture and the chimpanzee holds to promote and advocate for its conservation. Communities have been empowered to use cultural and community resources in their midst to provide a home to the chimpanzee. Private forest owners have as a result dedicated their forests to hosting chimpanzees as a way of conserving their heritage.
During the training, focus was on the composition of cultural practices and values in conservation and how these shape biodiversity and landscapes, maintain a vibrant mosaic of ecosystems and sustain local livelihoods.
Journalists also participated in a field excursion to a private forest hosting chimpanzee, to interact with the chimpanzee habitat and the community and thereafter, facilitate experiential reporting.
“Most of us report from a point of no field experience and some of our stories lack facts. This experience will change our reporting for the good of the chimps and the community.” Sharon Kobusingye from Kabalega FM.
CCFU’s efforts to conserve the chimpanzee in Rwenzori and Bunyoro.
CCFU works with local communities, state and non-state agencies to foster a culturally-aware approach to conservation work. Our approach is premised on the conviction that drawing on community-based cultural and natural resources and worldviews can be a strong strategy for sustaining development efforts geared towards conservation.
In 2014 and 2018, CCFU carried out a desk study and action research respectively that confirmed a significant nexus between culture and conservation, with a particular focus on the great apes, especially the chimpanzees. The research highlighted cultural resources linked to ancestry, genealogy, identity, spirituality, social practices, legends and folklore and traditional medicine. It was concluded that such cultural and social attachments contribute to communities’ motivation to conserve nature, and the great apes in particular.
In light of the above, and with the continued support from the Arcus Foundation, CCFU implements the #CultureForChimps project which harnesses positive cultural resources to strengthen the collaborative conservation of chimpanzees and habitat restoration in the Bunyoro and Rwenzori regions. Utilisation of indigenous knowledge systems for chimpanzee conservation, livelihood options, behavioral change, forest corridor restoration, intergenerational cultural dialogues, mitigating human-chimpanzee conflicts, understanding chimpanzee behaviors and national stakeholders’ chimpanzee dialogues are being implemented.
Read more about CCFU’s conservation programme