Conservation of the chimpanzee using culture and community resources – a national stakeholders’ dialogue
The Cross-Cultural Foundation of Ugaanda (CCFU), on 30th March, 2021 convened a national stakeholders in a dialogue in Kampala to discuss how practical cultural and community resources can be harnessed to conserve chimpanzees in Uganda by:
- Sharing on cultural and community approaches to conserve the chimpanzee and its habitat
- Creating a platform for dialogue between national and grassroot chimpanzee conservationists
- Disseminating a publication on ‘Using culture and community resources for the conservation of chimpanzees in Uganda
The event convened stakeholders such as civil society organisations, government departments, ministries and agencies, private sector, and media, who are concerned with conservation, culture and tourism.
Conserving the chimpanzee in Uganda: Experiences using cultural and community resources
CCFU also launched and disseminated a publication on “Conserving the chimpanzee in Uganda: Experiences using cultural and community resources“. The publication attempts to present the experiences of the state and non-state actors in conserving the chimpanzees and their habitat, illustrated by case studies of clans, families, private forest owners and development partners. The publication aims at triggering discussions on appropriate chimpanzee conservation interventions and the use of cultural and community resources, within and beyond the conservation sector.
Sharing experiences
Stakeholders including CCFU, private forest owners, youth and NGOs shared experiences of their efforts to conserve the chimpanzee, especially using culture and community resource.
Uganda Wildlife Authority also presented its strategy for protecting the endangered chimpanzee (especially those outside protected areas) in 2021 and in the coming years.
Background to CCFU’s Culture and Conservation (of the chimpanzee) project
CCFU, through its ‘Culture in Development’ approach, conducted research and facilitated interventions in the past 3 years towards the use of cultural and community resources for conservation of the Chimpanzee, an endangered species of the great apes.
Supported by the Arcus Foundation, our activities have sought to harness collective responsibility for the conservation of the chimpanzee in the Rwenzori and Bunyoro regions. The collaborative efforts of cultural leaders, institutions and resource persons, Private Forest Owners (PFOs), local governments, state agencies such as the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and the National Forestry Authority (NFA), the youth and community members have been explored. A new publication on good practices in using cultural and community resources for conservation has been developed, and was launched during this national dialogue.
Implementing this project has highlighted a need to strengthen these collaborative efforts at grassroots and national levels. So far, grassroot intergenerational dialogues and stakeholder engagements have demonstrated great potential for conserving the chimpanzee and its habitat, the forest. At the national level, such dialogues will go a long way in harmonising interventions by policy makers and implementers, as well as community level conservation perspectives for sustained results.
Read about CCFU’s study on Culture and conservation of the great apes in Uganda and other resources on CCFU’s work regarding conservation.