The associations HELP Congo and HELP International have been working since 1989 to protect primates and their habitat. After establishing a chimpanzee sanctuary in Conkouati-Douli National Park in 1991, HELP successfully carried out a chimpanzee forest rehabilitation programme between 1996 and 2005. Ongoing reflection within the association over several years has led its members to the conviction that only greater awareness of environmental issues can ensure, in the long term, the safeguarding of great apes. Chimpanzee survival depends on environmental education, a term encompassing information, awareness-raising and training activities.
HELP has already carried out one-off education initiatives and wishes to expand these through this project.
The project’s objectives are to inform and raise public awareness on biodiversity conservation issues, the plight of great apes, and the causes of their decline; to encourage reflection on ways to contribute to safeguarding primates as a flagship species and to protecting the environment; and to train stakeholders wishing to get involved in this field. The project’s target audience is the local and expatriate population of Pointe-Noire and its surrounding area, particularly children.
