Educate local communities about primates and sustainable use

Overall effectiveness category Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)
Number of studies: 1
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How is the evidence assessed?

Effectiveness

50%
Certainty

0%
Harms

0%

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

Through passing knowledge on to communities living in/near primate habitat and raising their awareness about primate conservation, this intervention aims to develop changes in people’s behaviour that will benefit wild primate populations. Anticipated effects may include people adopting strategies for more sustainable resource use, making use of alternative meat protein sources (Wilkie et al. 2005, Junker et al. 2015), refusing to keep primates as pets (Akparawa 2006) or trade wild primates.

Akparawa J. (2006) World environment day - utilizing national event days for popular primate conservation education. International Journal of Primatology, 27, 238.

Junker J., Boesch C., Mundry R., Stephens C., Lormie M., Tweh C. & Kühl H.S. (2015) Education and access to fish but not economic development predict chimpanzee and mammal occurrence in West Africa. Biological Conservation, 182, 27–35.

Wilkie D.S., Starkey M., Abernethy K., Effa E.N., Telfer P. & Godoy R. (2005) Role of prices and wealth in consumer demand for bushmeat in Gabon, central Africa. Conservation Biology, 19, 268–274.

Study locations

Key messages

One before-and-after study in Cameroon found that numbers of drills increased after the implementation of an education programme, alongside one other intervention.

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

A before-and-after study in 1971-2002 in tropical montane forest in Bakossiland, Cameroon found that after the implementation of an education programme by the International Council for Bird Preservation (ICBP) in 1992 alongside one other intervention, drills Mandrillus leucophaeus increased in population size by 1997. However, the authors did not provide information on the magnitude of the population increase. Drill group sizes did not change over time, season, habitat, or elevation. In addition, a drill hunting ban was initiated by Bakossi traditional chiefs in 1994. In 1997, a group of 400 drills was observed and since the year 2000, wildlife staff and villagers regularly reported direct drill observations in the area. Independent direct observations of drill groups and their size were recorded by different organizations working in the area. No data were provided on the impact of the education campaign on the species’ conservation. The study does not distinguish between the effects of the different interventions mentioned above.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Wild C., Morgan B.J. & Dixson A. (2005) Conservation of drill populations in Bakossiland, Cameroon: historical trends and current status. International Journal of Primatology, 26, 759-773.

Please cite as:

Junker, J., Kühl, H.S., Orth, L., Smith, R.K., Petrovan, S.O. & Sutherland, W.J. (2020) Primate Conservation. Pages 431-482 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2020. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Primate Conservation

Related Actions

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Integrate religion/local taboos into conservation education Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	0	Synopsis Link
Regularly play TV & radio announcements to raise primate conservation awareness Action Link	Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)	1	Synopsis Link
Install billboards to raise primate conservation awareness Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	0	Synopsis Link