Women could be a key to great ape conservation in the Congo
▻https://news.mongabay.com/2017/04/women-could-be-a-key-to-great-ape-conservation-in-the-congo
Ongoing violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has taken a heavy toll on the country’s women, with sexual violence there gaining the DRC a label as the “most dangerous place to be a woman.” The nation’s civil strife — along with bushmeat hunting and human encroachment — also threaten its wildlife, especially gorillas, bonobos and chimpanzees.
According to the African Wildlife Federation website, bonobos have been vanishing rapidly for the past 20 years from their habitat, which is restricted to the DRC. Meanwhile, only about 3,800* Critically Endangered Grauer’s gorillas remain in their DRC homeland. Chimpanzees, found in 21 African countries, including the DRC, are also IUCN Red Listed as Endangered.
But now, DRC women are overcoming their own difficulties, and with a novel assist from international conservation organizations, are coming to the rescue of Congo’s great apes.
The Bonobo Conservation Initiative (BCI), Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education Center (GRACE), the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI), and Coopera are all working side-by-side with local women to help advance great ape conservation through education, empowerment, access to health care and food security.