The International Primatological Society (IPS) has granted the 2008 Charles Southwick Conservation Education Commitment Award to Pierrot Mbonzo, whose far-ranging outreach programs, innovative workshops, and political savvy have helped make the Lola ya Bonobo sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of Congo a vital part of the battle to protect bonobos and their forest homes.

Mbonozo’s award is the third in a row for a Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA) educator, following those of Ateh Wilson (Limbe Wildlife Centre, Cameroon) in 2006 and Jerry Akparawa (CERCOPAN, Nigeria) in 2007.

Mbonzo will receive the Charles Southwick Conservation Education Commitment Award at the IPS 2008 Congress, which will be held August 3-8 in Edinburgh, Scotland.

At Lola ya Bonobo, the only bonobo sanctuary in the world, Mbonzo helped establish the conservation education program that now reaches 15,000 schoolchildren in and around Kinshasa each year. Lola ya Bonobo holds weekly Kindness Clubs at the sanctuary’s education center, and Mbonzo conducts outreach activities each Monday, making presentations at area schools, churches and community groups to foster greater understanding of animal welfare and conservation issues.

HELP-Congo is a charter member of PASA.

“PASA is extremely proud of Pierrot and his work,” said Doug Cress, executive director of PASA. “His ability to engage and educate an audience — whether it be schoolchildren, village elders or politicians — is uncanny, and there’s no question he has fostered an understanding and compassion for bonobos that has been invaluable in the fight to save one of Africa’s most endangered species.”

Mbonzo has also identified key bushmeat problem areas – particularly those that target bonobos – and fashioned workshops, education programs, and seminars that both educate Congolese and provide the tools to allow other NGOs to continue the education process.

All of this has been done in the DR Congo, a country that is notoriously unstable and often quite dangerous. But whether facing civic unrest in Kinshasa or civil war in the outlying regions to the north and east, Mbonzo has calmly and effectively continued his work.

As part of Lola ya Bonobo’s planned reintroduction program in the Basankusu region of the DR Congo in 2010, Mbonzo has become a key player in both identifying potential release sites, and then rating them based upon the level of education and awareness for wildlife in the regions. After rejecting sites in Lodja and Mbandaka – in part, due to Pierrot’s assessments — Lola ya Bonobo selected the current Basankusu site largely because Mbonzo was able to win the support of the Po communities in the region through outreach programs and meetings with village leaders.

Mbonzo has also headed new educational and lobbying activities aimed at influencing the Kinshasa-based environmental decision-makers, those who make laws and decide on strategic orientations for conservation issues in the DR Congo, as well as Kinshasa-based implementation of existing laws.

Lola ya Bonobo is a charter member of PASA, which was formed in 2000 to unite the sanctuaries that care for chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos, drills and literally thousands of other endangered primates across Africa. For more information, please contact PASAapes@aol.com.

A children’s coloring book that tells the story of the capture, rescue and rehabilitation of an infant chimpanzee in an African sanctuary is now being distributed by the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA) for use in its conservation education programs.

“The Story of a Baby Chimpanzee” was written and edited by PASA educators in Uganda, Cameroon, Sierra Leone and the United States, and illustrated by American artist Pearl Ollie. The text is in both English and French, and includes fact sheets on chimpanzees, gorillas and bonobos.

The 30-page coloring book was made possible through the technical, logistical and financial support of the Brevard Zoo, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), the Columbus Zoo, and the Twycross Zoo. Graphic designer Jerry Hanzl of Digital Art by Jerry in the U.S. provided the layout.

“PASA is extremely proud of this collaborative effort,” said Doug Cress, executive director of PASA. “As often happens, the lack of education materials that specifically address the issues of bushmeat or conservation or ecology from a sanctuary point of view required us to create out own. This coloring book will be a valuable tool as PASA educators seek to engage an even wider audience.”

PASA member sanctuaries currently receive almost 400,000 visitors per year, and PASA education programs are targeted primarily at rural schools, communities and towns. Studies have shown that PASA education programs are effective at changing local attitues regarding hunting and conservation.

All 18 PASA sanctuaries in 12 African countries will receive shipments of the coloring book to distribute.

“The Story of a Baby Chimpanzee” follows an infant as her family is killed by hunters in the forest, and she is captured for sale in a city. When a child notices the chimpanzee and remembers that her teacher had stressed the importance of protecting animals, she alerts the police. The police arrest the man trying to sell the chimpanzee, and take the confiscated chimpanzee to a PASA sanctuary.

Over time, the chimpanzee regains its health, and learns to bond with other orphans in the sanctuary.
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