PASA is working with its member wildlife centers throughout Africa and a film company named Nature for Kids to distribute a series of excellent, entertaining films about wildlife conservation. The videos are designed to appeal to children in underdeveloped areas such as rural African communities. PASA is distributing the films widely across Africa on national television and through other media to maximize their impact on public awareness.
Many local communities in Africa have not had the opportunity to learn about the negative impacts that some of their unsustainable practices have on their environment. The illegal, commercial bush meat trade and habitat loss are the primary threats to ape populations. In addition to chimpanzees and gorillas, the bush meat crisis affects many species of monkeys, antelopes, buffalo, forest elephants, birds, crocodiles, and tortoises resulting in a serious threat to Africa's biodiversity.
While engaging audiences with entertaining and sometimes exciting content, the videos convey important messages about the inherent cruelty of hunting animals and trapping them with snares, the illegal nature of extracting resources from protected forests, arrests and imprisonment of poachers, and the health risks of consuming ape meat. The films also describe alternative livelihoods to hunting and trafficking wildlife such as raising chickens, goats, or rabbits.
Sharing these videos through the media of multiple African countries has the potential to change the perspective and behavior of African communities. A positive change in human-environmental interactions in Africa will increase eco-tourism in the impacted countries, and ensure that Africa's wildlife lives on for future generations.
This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Word file (projdoc.doc).
