Participation of the GSAC Alliance in the 35th SFDP Colloquium in Dakar, Senegal

From 4 to 6 October 2023, the GSAC Alliance, represented by Roméo Fopa (Technical Advisor), alongside two members of the network, Guillaume Tati (ESI-CONGO) and Manfred Aime Epanda (Tropical Forest and Rural Development), took part in the 35th colloquium of the “Société Francophone de Primatologie” in Dakar, under the theme “Protecting primates: what conservation strategies for sustainable coexistence? “. The major objectives of the Alliance were fully achieved: to enrich its knowledge of conservation approaches that promote coexistence with humans, to present its initiatives for community conservation of the great apes of the members present, and to establish new partnerships.

During the thematic sessions, the Alliance actively contributed to the scientific exchanges on the conference theme, and was able to appreciate other areas of ongoing research on non-human primates.

The Alliance’s visibility was enhanced by an oral presentation entitled “Challenges, strategies and prospects for community conservation of great apes in Central Africa”, which highlighted the importance of taking communities into account in conservation strategies.

Discussions on the fringes of the colloquium attracted a great deal of interest, particularly from the President of the International Primatological Society, thereby expanding the network’s network of partners.

Positive spin-offs include opportunities for collaboration with key players such as :

–The Burundian NGO “Conservation et Communauté de Changement – 3C” is dedicated to the protection of great apes, particularly chimpanzees, in the Vyanda forest nature reserve in the south of the country. The focus is on resolving conflicts between humans and chimpanzees. Future collaboration with this organisation is conceivable.

–The Laboratoire d’Écologie et de Biologie Évolutive at the Université Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD), as part of a programme to support students in Central Africa in community-based great ape conservation initiatives.

–An invitation to submit an original article to SFDP’s Primatologie journal.

–An invitation to join a group of SFDP experts to contribute to discussions on the conference theme. The results of these discussions will be collated and published in the SFDP’s primatology journal in 2024.

These promising exchanges pave the way for future collaborations, consolidating the GSAC Alliance’s unwavering commitment to great ape conservation in Central Africa.