Protecting Chimpanzees

In Guinea’s Haut-Niger National Park, the future of western chimpanzees is closely tied to the young people growing up around their forest home. This year, your support helped expand environmental education, strengthen community engagement and support practical initiatives that reduce pressure on the forest.

Thanks to your generosity, our conservation partners continued to strengthen conservation education and community outreach in this important stronghold for the critically endangered western chimpanzee.

One of the year's biggest achievements was the expansion of the environmental education programme. During the reporting period, 837 schoolchildren took part and 1,283 conservation booklets were distributed, exceeding the original target of 800. These booklets help children reinforce what they have learned and share conservation messages with their families and wider communities.

Forest excursions also surpassed expectations, engaging 260 children. For many students living near the park, the opportunity to experience the forest as a living ecosystem, rather than simply a source of resources, can be truly transformative.

The impact of the programme was clear. Monitoring showed that participating students demonstrated a fourfold improvement in environmental knowledge, while children who completed the full programme achieved results 40% better than those who participated only partially.

Reaching children beyond the classroom

Our conservation partners also expanded their Nature Clubs from the planned six villages to nine villages, reaching more than 500 children, including those not enrolled in school and therefore unable to participate in the main education programme.

Today, the programme benefits 17 rural communities and one urban community, with an estimated wider indirect reach of more than 219,000 people living within the affected areas. A child who learns about chimpanzees may share that knowledge with a parent, sibling, neighbour or village leader. Over time, those conversations help knowledge grow into community-wide awareness.

Supporting communities around the park

Your support has also strengthened outreach beyond schools. Our conservation partners delivered nine awareness workshops on the impact of illegal activities within the National Park, engaging approximately 580 community members on topics including chimpanzee conservation, sustainable agriculture, biodiversity protection and forest conservation.

Community-led initiatives continued to grow, with apiculture, gardening programmes, a cashew tree project and a football tournament all contributing to land restoration, income security and positive behaviour change. Meanwhile, more than 100,000 people listened to the project's conservation radio shows, extending conservation messages far beyond those able to attend workshops in person.

Looking ahead

With your support through GlobalGiving, our conservation partners are helping to build something lasting: a locally led conservation movement where young people and communities have the knowledge, skills and confidence to protect chimpanzees, forests and their shared future.

Thank you for making this vital work possible and for standing alongside the communities working to protect western chimpanzees for generations to come.