Conservation

Protection

The CCC is located in the heart of the Park National du Haut Niger. The central area of the Park, the Zone Integrale Protégé (ZIP) is legally fully protected. The release site is also located in the ZIP. Prior to the release a program aiming to reinforce the protection in the ZIP was started. There are officially fourteen guards allocated for the protection of the PNHN. In fact only three are currently living in Faranah. In 2006, protection missions and sensitization programs were funded by the CCC. Since the end of the AGIR program in 2004, the Guinean government no longer receives any funding for Park protection. The CCC has had to fund protection activities to ensure a certain level of protection. To increase protection, in 2007 the CCC set-up and funded a military protection action that resulted in a draft agreement between the Ministry of Agriculture, which is in charge of Guinean Parks, and the Ministry of Defense. The agreement will insure a higher level of protection, enforced by armed and motivated army personnel. The CCC is also trying to create a collaboration with a foreign conservation NGO or a private company to protect the park in a sustainable manner.

Illegal Logging

Since the Park protection has been very limited for the last two years, logging in the buffer zone of the PNHN has become a big problem. The CCC is actively working with government authorities, locally and nationally, to stop illegal logging around the Park. The governor of the Faranah region has signed a ban of all logging in the Bendou sous-prefecture, the prefecture closest to the CCC. The military action funded by the CCC in the beginning of 2007 confiscated illegal wood and another confiscation mission is planned. The illegal wood will be auctioned and the funds used to reimburse the money the CCC had to advance to fund the missions. It is hoped that the auction will also lead to a fall in the price of wood in Faranah, thus making illegal logging less profitable.

New Conservator

The previous Park management was removed by the Guinean government as a result of pressure from funders and the CCC. A new conservator was appointed. Mr. Aliou Kola Diallo. Mr. Diallo is working in close collaboration with the CCC. Numerous missions has been made with Mr Diallo to reinforce park protection As shown in the picture, a visit to fishermen camped out along the Niger River, on the edge of the ZIP was made with CCC’s staff at the end of 2006.

Release Site

Two researchers, Mr. David Lucas and Dr. Catherine Sourmail, came last year to help the CCC find a potential release site (and we did!)

All together, five potential sites were surveyed. The studied sites were Kafama Island, N'dama protected forest, the Reserve de Faune de Kankan and two sites in the Parc National du Haut Niger [Mafou Zone Integrale Protégée (ZIP) and Zone Periphérique].

Due to extensive human encroachment into protected areas, there does not appear to be other high potential release sites to survey in Guinea. There are no absolutely perfect sites and the decision had to be made using the criteria in order of importance. Based on all of the findings, the Mafou ZIP appears to be the best release site possible, in Guinea, at this time.

Since the AGIR project, the project in charge of protecting the PNHN, is coming to an end, the government will be the sole entity in charge of the protection of the PNHN. The small amount of funds, and weak dedication of the Government of Guinea, to protected areas management outside of donor-funded projects, makes the adequate protection of the park highly doubtful into the future. One of the positive points concerning the use of the Mafou ZIP as a release site is that the presence of researchers, eco-guards and chimpanzee trackers would discourage hunters and tree cutters, better ensuring the future protection of the area. Also, since the CCC is located in Somoria, at the extreme west part of la Mafou ZIP, the logistics of conducting the release, monitoring and evaluating the progress of released chimps, and protecting the integrity of the area will be easier.