Conservation and Protection

Protection of the Park National du Haut Niger
Most of 2008 was spent trying to stop the illegal logging happening in the PNHN. It took months of work in collaboration with the local and national government to succeed. The deceased president had signed a presidential decree a couple of years ago banning all logging and exportation of wood from Guinea. That law was never enforced but the CCC has used that law to fund missions and actions by the Guinean government to stop logging and protect the PNHN.

Stakeholder meeting
One of the first activities was to set up stakeholders meetings, with the governor acting as president. An action plan was created and slowly put in place funded by the CCC.

Road block
A road block was set up in October, funded by the CCC, but with personnel from different government agencies (wildlife, customs, police and Park guards), a couple of kilometers from Faranah on the road leaving the PNHN. Some confiscations were made but after pressure on the government by the local population, it was removed. After the president's death, all high ranking government personnel were changed and were replaced by military. Another meeting was set up with the new governor and prefect and another road block was set up in Faranah town this time, blocking every trucks transporting wood. The effect on the PNHN was immediate and it's now very unusual to hear chain saws or to see logging trucks on the road.

Missions
Many missions were funded with military personnel, government officials and/or local officials in the PNHN or in the villages around the PNHN to educate local population or to enforce protection. In the east side of the PNHN, there is an on going activity with high ranking officials from both Faranah region and Kankan region to prevent villagers to enter the PNHN to cultivate and gather honey. Retrocession of fields in the buffer zone is ongoing and we expect the signature of an agreement between three villages to be signed before the beginning of the rainy season 2009. A specific mission was set up to remove fishermen from the Niger River prior to the release. A mission of the fishery government official was funded to give fishing cads to local fishermen that will allow them to fish in the Niger and the Mafou, while preventing outsiders to use their resources. Local populations have a higher respect for the PNHN boundaries and are really understanding of the release project. Non local fishermen who sometimes comes from very far away are really destructive and do not respect the PNHN boundaries.

Minister of Environment
The CCC director also had a meeting in November with the minister of environment regarding logging, hunting and population encroachment in the PNHN. Unfortunately, national government is far from the PNHN and is rarely aware or interested in issues on the ground. The ministry has promised the CCC director the nomination of additional park guards. Thanks to local government, the lack of park guard will soon be a non issue as the governor has promised military personnel to enforce the protection of the PNHN if the CCC can afford to fund them.

Surveys
Prior to the release, the release area was surveyed by Dr. Humle, associated with two guides that she had trained. She is currently doing another survey to evaluate the impact that the release program had on the wild life of the PNHN and on its chimpanzee's population. It is oblivious for the director and the CCC staff that the amount of hunting has decreased significantly to almost zero in areas where released chimps live and where the CCC staff is posted. There has been almost no fishing, apart from local fishing in the rivers, and illegal logging has stopped.

PASA veterinary workshop in Lubumbashi
In November 2008, Dr. Christelle Colin went to the PASA veterinary workshop. She presented Marco's case and made a presentation regarding the health status of the release chimps and health screening made on the chimps prior to their release.

GRASP meeting in Faranah
The Great Apes Survival Program (GRASP) met in Faranah where survival of chimpanzees in Guinea was discussed in October 2008. The CCC director participated in the meeting as well as different government agencies and two non-governmental organizations (the Jane Goodall Institute and LAMIL Project) who work in Guinea for the protection of chimpanzees. After the meeting, most of the participant paid a visit to the CCC where the CCC activities were explained and solutions for the sustainability of the CCC were discussed.