Using Great Apes to Engage Communities LAURA DARBY GREAT APES SURVIVAL PARTNERSHIP
ABOUT GRASP MANDATED TO CONSERVE GREAT APES & THEIR HABITATS Unique alliance of almost 100 member nations, UN agencies, conservation organizations, and private supporters
APE TRAFFICKING THE CHANGING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COMMUNITIES AND APES OPPORTUNISTIC HUNTING VS ORGANIZED TRADE EXPANSION OF HUNTING DUE TO GROWTH OF EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES INSTILLING ECONOMIC VALUE OF GREAT APE CONSERVATION IN TANDEM WITH TRADITIONAL VIEWS
ECOTOURISM EXPLORING THE RWANDA MODEL $294 MILLION USD IN 2013 INITIATED AS 3-FOCUS APPROACH TOURISM, ANTI-POACHING, & EDUCATION COMMUNITIES HAVING MORE CONFLICT & CLOSER PROXIMITY GIVEN FUNDING PRIORITY PERIPHERALPOPULATION DENSITY ~820/KM 2 MOUNTAIN GORILLAS ONLY GREAT APE SPECIES TO HAVE INCREASE IN POPULATION
Government commitment and engagement & Community participation in anti-poaching and tourism activities Education outreach both at a community level and local University level Visibility of economic benefits of ecotourism projects to the local community LEARNING FROM RWANDA
CONNECTIVITY ODZALA CONSERVATION INNOVATION INCUBATOR First focus on research, to rigorously test alternative technologies, and business models, to generate international exposure and prestige, to create new and diversified tourism products, to act as a vehicle for education and capacity-building Community integration at the local level through education outreach and at the national level through active participation with the University of Brazzaville Optimize scientific research opportunities to explore tourism opportunities
GUARDIANSHIP INSPIRING COMMUNITIES TOWARD STEWARDSHIP Targeting forest users who are literate and setting up long- term alternative livelihood strategies and training programmes Incorporation of government-initiated Village Forest Management Committees Education outreach to reach future generations of guardians Inspiring nearby communities to engage based on the visibility of the project
STEWARDS OF THE FOREST MARKS OF SUCCESS
APES TRAFFICKING DATABASE Capitalizing on community management and capacity building By pooling data from engaged communities, the data is much more representative of the scope and extent of great ape trafficking
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