The project was established in response to the urgent conservation situation facing wild chimpanzees in the region. The area has substantial conservation value as a ‘corridor’ linking major chimpanzee populations in two large protected areas (the Budongo and Bugoma forests, each home to more than 500 chimpanzees). However, the small corridor forests are owned by local village households and have no formal protection. Since the 1990s, these forests have been extensively logged and converted to farmland. 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 implements a variety of conservation efforts to protect wild chimpanzees and their habitats. These efforts include:
Tree planting and forest enrichment: The project plants trees to replenish the forest with natural foods for chimpanzees to reduce future human–chimpanzee conflict (by reducing crop ‘raiding’ by the apes).
Corridor replanting: The project connects the remaining forest along rivers to assist with chimpanzee movement.
Monitoring of the chimpanzees: The project monitors the Bulindi chimpanzees daily. This helps in understanding how wild chimpanzees adjust to living around people in a fast-changing landscape. The research findings can help us plan conservation strategies for great ape populations under human pressure.
The Bulindi Chimpanzee & Community Project also provides various community support programmes to improve the livelihoods of local communities and reduce pressure on the remaining natural forest. These programmes include:
Schoolchild sponsorship: The project sponsors schoolchildren to help households meet one of their primary expenses.
Small household projects: The project supports small household projects such as livestock-rearing and house construction.
Energy-saving stoves: The project provides households with energy-saving stoves.
Seedlings for woodlots: The project provides seedlings for woodlots that reduce pressure on the remaining natural forest.
In Western Uganda's Hoima and Masindi districts, more than 300 wild chimpanzees survive in shrinking fragments of forest on agricultural land. This area has substantial conservation value as a ‘corridor’ linking major chimpanzee populations in two large protected areas (the Budongo and Bugoma forests, each home to more than 500 chimpanzees).
However, the small corridor forests are owned by local village households and have no formal protection. Since the 1990s, these forests have been extensively logged and converted to farmland. Habitat loss has led to escalating levels of conflict between villagers and resident chimpanzees, threatening the survival of this important population of great apes.
At one site within the corridor— in Bulindi, where chimpanzees are studied— more than 80% of the forest was cleared between 2006 and 2014 alone. During that same period, the community of chimpanzees in Bulindi declined from more than 30 individuals to 19, with some of this decline attributable to human actions such as trappings. Despite ongoing conservation activities throughout the corridor region, deforestation has continued apace and conflict remains high.
The Bulindi Chimpanzee & Community Project was established in response to this urgent conservation situation. In May 2015, we initiated a pilot project at the Bulindi site. Our immediate goal was to halt ongoing deforestation in Bulindi to increase the long-term survival prospects of its resident chimpanzees. Our broader goal was to find a workable template to help conserve the broader population of ‘corridor chimpanzees’ in unprotected forests regionally, which are equally threatened by human activities.
Our approach is simple. Since local villagers are poor and clear forests to raise cash (from timber and farming) and for wood (e.g. for cooking), we sponsor schoolchildren to help households meet one of their primary expenses, alongside an extensive tree planting programme. We additionally support small household projects, such as livestock rearing and house construction. Project participation is voluntary, but participating households must agree not to cut any more forest on their land and to help us plant new trees.
The Bulindi chimpanzees are also studied for a long-term research project. This project undertakes daily monitoring of the Bulindi chimpanzees, helping to understand how wild chimpanzees adjust to living around people in a fast-changing landscape. The research findings can help us plan conservation strategies for great ape populations under human pressure.
Since the project’s inception in 2015, the chimpanzee community at Bulindi increased from 18 to 22 individuals, and the natural forest is beginning to regenerate. In 2017, with the support of the BridgIT Water Foundation, we constructed three village boreholes, providing villagers with access to clean water for the first time.
The Bulindi Chimpanzee & Community Project is supported by a range of partners and supporters, including corporate sponsors and foundations such as the BridgIT Water Foundation. The project also works with local government and other non-profit organisations to achieve its goals.
The Bulindi Chimpanzee & Community Project is making a positive impact on wild chimpanzees and local communities in Western Uganda. The project's conservation efforts, community support programmes, and research activities are helping to ensure the survival of the wild chimpanzees and improve the lives of local communities. However, the project needs continued support to achieve its goals. Visitors can support the project by making a donation, sponsoring a chimpanzee or a schoolchild, or volunteering their time and skills.
