In Kigoma, western Tanzania, (Click here for a Map) where world renowned conservationist and primatologist Jane Goodall conducted her groundbreaking chimpanzee research, the local coffee cooperative and the wider community are working together to on an important project to conserve biodiversity in the threatened Masito-Ugalla Ecosystem.

This system stretches from Gombe National Park (site of Jane’s famous chimpanzee research) to Mahale Mountains National Park. The area is home to an estimated 540 chimpanzees, as well as other endangered primates and threatened species such as elephants. The natural environment is increasingly coming under threats from growing human population pressures.

The project has been facilitated by the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) whose primary objective is to achieve “long-term conservation of wild chimpanzees and other species through a network of community managed reserves that link forest patches with existing gazetted forest reserves. “ These wildlife corridors are beginning to allow populations of chimpanzees and other species which have been isolated to interbreed thereby to maintain more diverse gene pools.

JGI works closely with communities in the area to ensure that their specific social, economic and environmental needs are addressed, provide incentives for participation, and help the local population understand the importance of protecting natural habitat.

In order to gain community acceptance and participation JGI implemented a conservation education campaign which focuses on the importance of biodiversity preservation and the health of the ecosystem. This campaign uses radio ads and programs, posters and presentations to schools and community organizations. The Roots & Shoots program is working in schools throughout the area to build community involvement and environmental awareness among the young.

In concert with the awareness campaign the major focus of the program is intensive land-use planning. JGI is working with the District Council and other government and NGO partners to draft a land-use and settlement plan for the ecosystem as a whole.

Out of recognition for the need to balance their own conservation objectives with the communities need for sustainable community development, JGI has initiated programmes which provide targeted support to economic development and social infrastructure initiatives which are tailored to respond to the specific needs of local communities.

The Coffee Project

From the communities perspective perhaps the most important intervention to date has been the coffee project. The growing rural population’s major source of income comes from coffee and rampant expansion of coffee farms was becoming a serious threat to the ecosystem. 

The coffee farmers in Kalinzi, the Coffee cooperative and the local government decided collectively to establish and maintain community owned forest zones and to only allow expansion of farms into non-environmentally sensitive areas. To support this brave and in Tanzania, innovative initiative the farmers were offered assistance to intensify their agricultural production on existing areas and to add value to their coffee through investments in processing equipment and capacity development.

The installation of central processing units to pulp the coffee enabled the coops output to enter the speciality coffee market for the first time. The marked improvement in bean and cup quality together with the inspired decision to market the coffee as chimpanzee friendly, with a photograph of Jane Goodall on the packet, has helped the farmers to receive(according to the Tanzania Coffee Board)  the highest coffee prices in the whole of Tanzania during the 2008/9 season.

The Chairman of the Kalinzi Cooperative, Mr Yahaya said that “ ......the prices and the help we receive from our partners help us to feel like the decision we made to preserve the environment for the chimpanzees and other animals was the right one. We have received recognition from around the world and now farmer’s attitudes have changed from seeing the chimpanzees as pests to be chased and sometimes killed, to perceiving them as beneficial and adding value to their lives.”

Mr. Yahaya continued to say that “.....this year we were paid as much as $1.96 per pound for our speciality coffee, when other farmers in Tanzania were being paid as little as 70 cents per pound. This translated to payments to our of 3,500 Tanzania shillings per kilo after all deductions were made, compared to farmers in some areas who received 1,200 Tsh’s.

Mr. Yahaya concludes “without working with our partners to save the chimpanzees and their environment we could not have achieved all of this.”
“We still face major challenges of trying to provide electricity to our villages and there is a shortage of water which limits our farmers ability to irrigate their coffee and in some places to install CPU’s......but that will be another story.

 

JGI’s community-centred conservation initiatives typically include activities such as:

•    public health and HIV/AIDS prevention programs

•    the construction of schools, dispensaries, water tanks and other social infrastructure facilities

•    support of scholarship programs to allow local girls to attend secondary school

•    the establishment of local micro-finance groups to support small-scale, environmentally friendly enterprises

•    agricultural extension services focused on increasing yields, reducing erosion and protecting forest 

•    working closely with local farmers to identify and support the production of high-quality agricultural and natural products for export, such as forest-gathered honey.

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