The Primate Habituation Programme, Dzanga Sangha Protected Areas, Central African Republic: An overview

Dzanga Sangha Protected Areas (DSPA), including Dzanga-Ndoki National Park (DNNP), are located in SW Central African Republic (CAR) and are managed by the government and WWF. DSPA is CAR’s largest remaining nearly intact forest block and known for its outstanding biodiversity, including most of CAR&...

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Main Authors: Terence Fuh Neba, Anna Feistner, Angelique Todd
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Société Francophone de Primatologie 2014-01-01
Series:Revue de Primatologie
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Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/primatologie/1472
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author Terence Fuh Neba
Anna Feistner
Angelique Todd
author_facet Terence Fuh Neba
Anna Feistner
Angelique Todd
author_sort Terence Fuh Neba
collection DOAJ
description Dzanga Sangha Protected Areas (DSPA), including Dzanga-Ndoki National Park (DNNP), are located in SW Central African Republic (CAR) and are managed by the government and WWF. DSPA is CAR’s largest remaining nearly intact forest block and known for its outstanding biodiversity, including most of CAR's gorillas (G. g. gorilla). In 2012, DNNP, and its neighbouring NPs, were designated a World Heritage Site, the Sangha Tri-National complex (TNS) – classified as an exceptional priority area for western lowland gorilla and central chimpanzee (Pan t. troglodytes) conservation in the IUCN Regional Action Plan. The Primate Habituation Programme (PHP) was established in 1997 and plays a key role in DSPA’s conservation management strategy, generating significant revenue for the programme and tangible local community benefits. Now recognized as the most successful western lowland gorilla tourism and research programme, it has successfully habituated three groups, with another two undergoing habituation, and developed a controlled tourism programme. The habituated gorillas are regularly visited by tourists and are subjects of numerous scientific articles and film documentaries that have greatly contributed to our knowledge of this elusive species. Strong measures are in place to combat habitat loss and poaching in DSPA, but increased tourism, while providing income, can also negatively impact gorilla population health. Added to potential emerging diseases, human contact may increase stress and expose gorillas to human-borne pathogens, to which they may have little immunity. A PHP priority is to develop the programme into a model of sustainable best-practice with reduced risk of negative impacts from tourism/research. Current IUCN great ape tourism best practices (PHP is partly/fully compliant on ~90% of 156 criteria) include ongoing observational gorilla health monitoring, prohibiting visitors who are/have recently been ill and regular staff screening. However, disease risk, especially from asymptomatic pathogens, is a real threat and in order to monitor and mitigate these risks, the PHP set up a Wildlife Health Laboratory (WHL) in 2012. The main aim of this presentation is to give an overview of the PHP’s past, present and future activities (including habituation, research, tourism, and WHL), most of which continue despite the current political instability in CAR.
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spelling doaj-art-ad6a74cd968246b3870c9f9ec708e7062025-01-30T10:01:56ZengSociété Francophone de PrimatologieRevue de Primatologie2077-37572014-01-01510.4000/primatologie.1472The Primate Habituation Programme, Dzanga Sangha Protected Areas, Central African Republic: An overviewTerence Fuh NebaAnna FeistnerAngelique ToddDzanga Sangha Protected Areas (DSPA), including Dzanga-Ndoki National Park (DNNP), are located in SW Central African Republic (CAR) and are managed by the government and WWF. DSPA is CAR’s largest remaining nearly intact forest block and known for its outstanding biodiversity, including most of CAR's gorillas (G. g. gorilla). In 2012, DNNP, and its neighbouring NPs, were designated a World Heritage Site, the Sangha Tri-National complex (TNS) – classified as an exceptional priority area for western lowland gorilla and central chimpanzee (Pan t. troglodytes) conservation in the IUCN Regional Action Plan. The Primate Habituation Programme (PHP) was established in 1997 and plays a key role in DSPA’s conservation management strategy, generating significant revenue for the programme and tangible local community benefits. Now recognized as the most successful western lowland gorilla tourism and research programme, it has successfully habituated three groups, with another two undergoing habituation, and developed a controlled tourism programme. The habituated gorillas are regularly visited by tourists and are subjects of numerous scientific articles and film documentaries that have greatly contributed to our knowledge of this elusive species. Strong measures are in place to combat habitat loss and poaching in DSPA, but increased tourism, while providing income, can also negatively impact gorilla population health. Added to potential emerging diseases, human contact may increase stress and expose gorillas to human-borne pathogens, to which they may have little immunity. A PHP priority is to develop the programme into a model of sustainable best-practice with reduced risk of negative impacts from tourism/research. Current IUCN great ape tourism best practices (PHP is partly/fully compliant on ~90% of 156 criteria) include ongoing observational gorilla health monitoring, prohibiting visitors who are/have recently been ill and regular staff screening. However, disease risk, especially from asymptomatic pathogens, is a real threat and in order to monitor and mitigate these risks, the PHP set up a Wildlife Health Laboratory (WHL) in 2012. The main aim of this presentation is to give an overview of the PHP’s past, present and future activities (including habituation, research, tourism, and WHL), most of which continue despite the current political instability in CAR.https://journals.openedition.org/primatologie/1472conservationresearchwestern lowland gorillashabituationtourismhealth
spellingShingle Terence Fuh Neba
Anna Feistner
Angelique Todd
The Primate Habituation Programme, Dzanga Sangha Protected Areas, Central African Republic: An overview
Revue de Primatologie
conservation
research
western lowland gorillas
habituation
tourism
health
title The Primate Habituation Programme, Dzanga Sangha Protected Areas, Central African Republic: An overview
title_full The Primate Habituation Programme, Dzanga Sangha Protected Areas, Central African Republic: An overview
title_fullStr The Primate Habituation Programme, Dzanga Sangha Protected Areas, Central African Republic: An overview
title_full_unstemmed The Primate Habituation Programme, Dzanga Sangha Protected Areas, Central African Republic: An overview
title_short The Primate Habituation Programme, Dzanga Sangha Protected Areas, Central African Republic: An overview
title_sort primate habituation programme dzanga sangha protected areas central african republic an overview
topic conservation
research
western lowland gorillas
habituation
tourism
health
url https://journals.openedition.org/primatologie/1472
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