Why communities are key for conservation success

Western lowland gorilla (top and bottom of page) © davecurrey.com

Born Free is so lucky to partner with Donald Mbohli, as we work to protect critically endangered western lowland gorillas, in Dja Biosphere Reserve in southeastern Cameroon – one of Africa’s largest rainforests. I recently visited Dja and was deeply inspired to see him in action on the ground, tirelessly visiting remote villages to help local people develop sustainable livelihoods, protect the forest and coexist with gorillas. 

Dr Nikki Tagg, Head of Conservation

Donald is devoted to securing a safe future for gorillas and his commitment is truly incredible. He leads the Cameroonian organisation Association pour la Protection de Grands Singes (APGS – ‘Association for the Protection of Great Apes’) through which Born Free implements our Guardians of Dja gorilla conservation programme.

Our exciting new programme was launched in April 2022 and operates in several rural villages, nestled in the tropical rainforest habitat of the Dja Landscape in East Region, Cameroon. Currently working with six villages located close to the border of the Dja Biosphere Reserve – a priority gorilla conservation area, and also home to chimpanzees, forest elephants and pangolins – Guardians of Dja comprises a whole host of activities and interventions aiming to empower and enable people in these villages to reduce pressures on wildlife and the surrounding forests.

A team of Eco-Guards

The programme offers conservation-focused primary education at a local primary school named Ecole Jean-Michel Vichard (EJMV) and community outreach via sports events and other celebrations. Through our support of an Agroforestry Training Centre, we offer skills training, providing youths with sustainable and reliable trades, such as agroforestry to replace the need to engage in bushmeat hunting. We support the local wildlife authorities’ efforts to sensitise and enforce wildlife law, and our community-based Great Ape Guardians work closely with small teams of eco-guards. Finally, the programme works with farmers to protect and restore the surrounding forest, using compost to reduce the need to cut down the forest to make new plantations and planting a mix of fruit-bearing and native trees on abandoned plantations, benefitting both the forest and communities. Empowering and enabling the community to hunt less and to invest in their futures is the key to preserving the wildlife of the surrounding Dja forests, including the majestic western lowland gorilla.

With so much to do and such an important goal, Donald is incredibly busy ensuring that the work is delivered as planned, and that updates and impacts are captured and communicated to our supporters. As communities are essential to effective conservation, Donald spends the majority of his time in the villages, delivering the work that benefits so many people.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF DONALD

Donald Mbohli, Programme Lead, Guardians of Dja 

When planning a visit to the villages, Donald will invariably have shopping to do the day before. It might be necessary to buy rubber boots or raincoats, to collect an order of wild mango seedlings, or to stock up on notepads and pencils for school children. Then, at 6am, Donald sets off from Yaoundé (Cameroon’s capital city) with his Toyota packed full of supplies. On the way out of the city, Donald will stop to buy provisions for his trip – fresh fish and bread and maybe a few pineapples or watermelons.

After about three hours of driving, the tarmac ends abruptly at the town of Messamena, north of Dja. Donald pulls onto the dirt track that will take him – eventually – to the villages in the northern periphery of the reserve where Born Free operates.

As the vehicle approaches Malen V – the last village that can be accessed by car – Donald parks his car at the Agroforestry Training Centre. Here he unpacks the supplies he has brought for the centre and loads up a couple of motorbikes with the rest of the supplies and provisions for his stay. The village path through Malen V and to the next village Doumo Pierre – which involves crossing a long wooden bridge over the River Mpou – can be safely navigated by motorbike at dry times of the year, saving Donald an hour’s walk.

A pepper farmer with his harvest

Donald reaches his quarters within the EJMV primary school in Doumo Pierre at around 3pm. He talks to the primary school teachers who are setting up for the start of the new school year, before handing over the boots and raincoats to a small team of eco-guards from the local wildlife authority who are planning a patrol in coming days. He then wanders down to greet a few villagers living nearby and plans his activities for the next day, before the evening sets in soon after 6pm. In the evening, visitors will continue to call by to welcome Donald, and he will share his fish and boiled plantain dinner with some of them, before everyone heads home to sleep.

Throughout a few days’ stay in the villages, Donald will convene several meetings, he’ll welcome everyone who knocks on his door, at any time of day or evening, and he’ll likely help resolve issues, wherever they might arise. He might have labourers to pay, or earnings from pepper farming to be distributed to hard working farmers, and he will have the following month’s activities to plan and set in motion.

It can be complex and sometimes fraught, but Donald exudes a patience and a fairness that is wholly respected by the community. By spending quality time in the villages, always considering people’s needs and listening to everyone, Donald ensures that the conservation interventions we deliver in this region have the best possible chance of success. Only with strong community engagement and involvement can conservation succeed, and this is a model that Donald knows very well and that he delivers expertly.

You can help Donald continue to work closely with and among this community of the Dja by learning more about his work there and supporting the programme if you can. You can adopt a gorilla at our partner sanctuary in Cameroon, run by Ape Action Africa, to contribute to gorilla conservation in Cameroon. Thanks to Donald, and thanks to you, gorillas will have a chance of survival.

GUARDIANS OF DJA: FIND OUT MORE