The Bulindi Chimpanzee & Community Project (BCCP) is not just about saving wild chimpanzees, it's also about empowering local communities in Western Uganda. The project, which began in 2015, takes a holistic approach to conservation, recognising that the well-being of people and nature are interconnected.
The Bulindi chimpanzees are a community of wild chimpanzees that live in the Hoima and Masindi districts of Western Uganda. The area, which is a corridor linking major chimpanzee populations in two large protected areas (Budongo and Bugoma forests), has strong conservation value. However, the small forests in the area are owned by local village households and have no formal protection.
The local people, who live in poverty, cut down forests to plant crops and sell the timber to raise money for their families. Habitat loss has led to escalating levels of conflict between villagers and resident chimpanzees, threatening the survival of this important population of great apes.
The Bulindi Chimpanzee & Community Project was established to address this urgent conservation situation, with an immediate goal of halting ongoing deforestation in Bulindi to increase the long-term survival prospects of its resident chimpanzees, and a broader goal of finding a workable template to help conserve the wider population of corridor chimpanzees in unprotected forests regionally, which are equally threatened by human activities.
At the Bulindi Chimpanzee & Community Project, our mission is simple but powerful: to safeguard wild chimpanzees while helping local people thrive alongside them. In western Uganda, chimpanzees live in close proximity to villages and farmland, which brings unique challenges—and opportunities.
What we aim to achieve:
Every tree planted, every family supported, and every chimpanzee protected brings us closer to a future where communities and nature thrive side by side. Make a donation and make a difference in the lives of these great apes, the forest they depend on, and the livelihoods of local communities.