Conservation Education
 Covers of bonobo conservation booklets. Artwork by Delfi Messinger |
The Zoological Society of Milwaukee has been working since 1996 with a Congolese grassroots education group, Bleu Blanc/Afrique Avenir, which publishes educational magazines for children. Sponsored by ZSM, Bleu Blanc has published colorful booklets about the bonobo’s natural history and conservation status. By featuring a traditional folktale, the booklet discourages hunting bonobos for meat and keeping them as pets. Because reading materials are in short supply, one booklet is read on average by at least 10 people.
In response to intensified hunting since the war, ZSM [in collaboration with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)] reprinted 40,000 copies of this bonobo conservation booklet for distribution in the interior of DRC to community centers and military headquarters. From October to December of 2000, the Church of Christ of Congo, a distribution network functioning in the country, distributed these booklets to schools and churches located within the bonobo's range.
 Dedicated volunteers in Congo's capital distribute educational materials by foot. Photo by Deifi Messi. |
 A school in Wamba, a village in the interior of Congo. Photo by Evelyn Ono Vineberg. |
ZSM also has developed a booklet about tropical forest conservation that was distributed in Kinshasa and communities near Salonga. There is an urgent need for economic development in the country, and current government policies promote increased harvest of tropical forests. While timber production in DRC is currently behind that of most central African nations, we estimate that over 55% of the bonobo's current range is within areas designated for commercial logging. Moreover, 80% of the Congolese derive their daily sustenance directly from forest products. Unplanned timber harvest threatens bonobo survival, as well as the existing food source and the livelihood of the majority of Congolese. ZSM also plans to create and distribute a new booklet educating Congolese about wildlife and conservation laws in the DRC.
ICCN Library Support
ICCN has a resource library, but there is a shortage of up-to-date books, journals, and other bonobo related materials. With funding from USAID, ZSM donates texts and periodicals to the library.
Bonobo T-Shirts
When adult bonobos are poached, their infants are often kept alive and shipped to urban centers for sale as pets. Until recently, government officials had no official confiscation program because there was no place to house these orphans. A Kinshasa-based volunteer group, Les Amis des Bonobo au Congo/Friends of the bonobos of Congo (ABC), established a sanctuary to house and care for confiscated orphans. The greatest impact made by the ABC on bonobo conservation is its ability to educate the Kinois and many expatriates against buying orphans and thereby stimulating wildlife trade. Without such a center, urban Congolese children would not have the opportunity to see one of the endemic species symbolizing their natural heritage. Since 1997, ZSM has provided emergency assistance for food and medicines and technical support for animal care.
Order your shirt today to support our bonobo projects.
 Bonobo trackers wearing conservation T-shirts. Photo by: Evelyn Ono Vineberg. |
Congo Headquarters
Bonobo and Large Mammal Survey
Salonga National Park Support
Conservation Education
Acknowledgements
