By MILLICENT MWOLOLO

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There are a myriad of ground-breaking success stories to share about the Gombe Stream Research Center (GSRC).

On wildlife conservation, the center has been conducting long-term primate research, has been training Tanzanian scientists, and supporting local conservation efforts. Also, the Chimpanzees Action plan is in place and more than 400 scientific papers have been published from the research work, says Dr Deus Mjungu, the Director of GSRC.

The restoration of the Gombe-Burundi wildlife corridor has been a game-changer. Surveys conducted at the GSRC have showed that at least 10 to 15 chimpanzees reside on the corridor north of Gombe National Park. 

The Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) also supports local communities in developing sustainable livelihoods, through honey and coffee production. The institute is also engaging with the newly naturalised communities in Mishamo and Katumba. This has seen the formation of 56 Community Conservation Banking Groups, with 1,044 members – among them 434 males and 610 females.

The use of data in conservation work provides useful information, especially on changes happening to environmental conservation, and hence useful in influencing decision-making.

To address the challenges posed by population pressure— including encroachments and poaching— and to minimise the impacts of global climate change, the Jane Goodall Institute Tanzania (JGI-TZ) has partnered with the Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA) to improve park patrols. The effectiveness of park patrols has been strengthened through the use of modern technologies in data collection, including the use of satellite imagery, and GPS tracking.

Other solutions entail community engagement on various activities such as the community conservation banks (COCOBA), which help to generate incomes and reduce dependency on forests.

The institute also seeks to strengthen systems and relationships that improve economic wellbeing of local communities while encouraging sustainable use of natural resources, and incomes from non-timber forest products (NTFPs) such as wild-mushrooms and bee products.

This is to enable the communities to appreciate the benefits of natural resources and better support landscape conservation targets, explains Dr Mjungu.

Further, the LCWT programme seeks to increase household earnings through livelihood strategies that include new and improved income sources such as sale of NTFPs and improved value chain productivity of selected crops.

While the JGI is very keen to conserve and protect the natural habitat for chimpanzees, the funding is never enough as climate change, population pressure and disintegration of the natural habitat continues unabated.

Increased population growth has depleted natural resources, leading to wildlife encroachment. There is need for family planning, land use planning, and community education on conservation.

To contain incidences of zoonotic diseases, the institute has been creating awareness among researchers and tourists to strictly adhere to the rules that have been researched and put in place.

“These include the wearing of masks and maintaining observational distance while following chimps. With a laboratory on site, we are able to provide help in timely identification of the disease causative agents for proper management”, adds the director.

The conservation work at the JGI-TZ also seeks to improve the resilience of communities by empowering women and youth to create environmental stewardship, and to transform understanding through science and technology.

Roots & Shoots: A global movement of youth positively impacting communities

A key contribution to society is the Jane Goodall Institute Tanzania (JGI-TZ) Roots & Shoots programme, which is in its 32nd year.

On February 19, 1991, a group of 12 teenagers met Dr Goodall on her back porch in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, eager to discuss a range of problems they had witnessed in their communities.

Dr Goodall was impressed by their compassion, their energy and desire to develop solutions to problems they experienced. It was with these young people that JGI’s Roots & Shoots was born.

Roots & Shoots, the Jane Goodall Institute’s youth-led global community environmental protection programme, transforms young people into an informed generation of compassionate citizens that the world urgently needs. 

Roots & Shoots has become a powerful global movement of youths working together in schools and communities to address global and local issues, while discovering what matters most to them. By helping these young people today, Roots & Shoots is sustainably building a better tomorrow.

For over three decades, the programme, which has been operational all over the country, has been instrumental in disseminating conservation knowledge among the youth.

Its mainstay has been to encourage young people to learn about, demonstrate care and concern for environment, animals and human communities through hands-on activities.

Every year, thousands of Roots & Shoots members in Tanzania mark the Worlfd Chimpanzee Day with hands-on actions to help save the environment, animals and human communities.

Inspired young people, teachers and educators in collaboration with youth organisations undertake a series of events in schools, streets, watersheds, nature centers, field sites, museums, beaches and islands.

Further protection of chimpanzees’ corridors though surveys and education to communities surrounding those areas is crucial to maintain and improve the gene pool for the chimpanzees.