Abstract

For a conservation project to succeed, engagement with local communities and understanding of the local culture is vital. Long term goals must be set, and a level of trust and respect between project and community must be reached before real progress can be made.

The Nigerian based NGO Pandrillus, formed by Peter Jenkins and Liza Gadsby to help in their work with drill and chimpanzee rehabilitation, began working at Limbe Wildlife Centre (LWC) in 1994. The Government of Cameroon is a partner with Pandrillus through the Ministry of Forests and Environment. Most of the animals that come to the LWC are orphans, donated by their previous owners, or confiscated by wildlife officials. Primates are orphaned by hunters who shoot the mothers for bush-meat, or by loss of habitat through forest destruction. Cameroon is a relatively prosperous and stable society compared to its neighbours. As such, its mission statement reflects a goal that, in recent years, appears to be being achieved.

LWC Mission statement: To secure the ultimate survival of threatened and endangered species, the Limbe Wildlife Centre focuses on conservation education to raise awareness and change attitudes towards Cameroon’s unique wildlife.

This mission has been successfully realized by concentrating on the three following areas.

Rescue

Predominately primate species (including drills, chimpanzees, mandrills, gorillas and various guenons and mangabey species). All species are accepted however, and return to the wild of other bird and mammal species after rehabilitation is conducted similar to any wildlife rehabilitation centre worldwide. As members of the public are now volunteering animals, a more thorough history of where animals originate is possible. The centre currently houses 140 primates, with 20 new arrivals annually. Over the last 10 yr, hundreds of birds and non-primate mammals have been released to suitable habitat, usually close to their origin. Good relations with the Cameroon government are vital. Most of the workers at LWC are government employees, including a wildlife official authorized to confiscate wildlife being held illegally.

Educational material is provided for animal donors on bushmeat and conservation in Cameroon, in local Pidgin, English and French. This is vital, as payment is never made for animals, and donors are never compensated for any materials, such as food, they may have provided the animal, to try and negate the perception of animals as an income source. Maintaining good relations allows periodic back up checks on donors, to make sure they are not obtaining more animals. International funding sources - including individuals, zoos, other NGOs, charities and businesses. Full financial details are available on the web (Limbe produces an annual report) at https://limbewildlife.org/.

Rehabilitation

LWC has 22 permanent Cameroonian staff, all with at least 4 yr primate husbandry experience. Several, including the senior education officer, have also trained at the Durrell Conservation Trust. Pandrillus volunteers, (a project manager and assistant, plus onsite veterinarian), act as advisers. Limbe has its own Cameroonian ‘conservator,’ with his own government budget (a first for a Cameroonian wildlife organization). A major role for the onsite veterinarian is staff training in basic veterinary techniques, as well as more specific training for a local Cameroonian vet. Veterinary protocols and care, produced by Pandrillus’ veterinary advisor John Lewis, (International Zoo Vet Group), provides the basis for health care and disease surveillance of the animals and staff.

Conservation Education

Two years ago, LWC’s education officers were able to instigate an outreach programme - travelling to villages throughout Southern Cameroon: 35,000 Cameroonians in 2002 and close to 50,000 in 2003 were reached. Bush Palaver, an anti-bushmeat play, written by the Cameroonian education officers in local pidgin has proven an effective icebreaker to broach the subject of bushmeat.

Natures Club, an onsite education programme for local school children has been running for a number of years. Bilingual (English and French) education material is provided, and many of the LWC staff assist with lectures and activities. Final year school children, who have been through the ‘Natures Club’ system, volunteer to show visitors around the centre. This personalized system allows them to not only discuss individual animal rescues with visitors, but use them as ambassadors for the more general topics of bushmeat and habitat protection.

While the output of a conservation project is relatively easy to measure, the impact of that project on peoples’ attitudes and actions locally is much more difficult to quantify. Conservation organizations worldwide are grappling with this problem, but information on impact is vital, if organizations like the LWC are to proportion severely limited funds and resources most effectively.