Who is responsible for chimpanzee protection?
One of the things that will have occurred to the reader by now is the question: To whom
should these ideas for chimpanzee protection be addressed? That is a very good question
indeed. The fact is: everyone and no one is responsible for chimpanzee protection and
conservation. The Uganda Wildlife Authority is responsible for protection of all endan-
gered species in Uganda. The National Forest Authority takes some responsibility for
endangered species living in its Forest Reserves. Some of the big non-government
organizations (NGOs) that exist to study, protect and conserve wildlife have been active
in chimpanzee work in Uganda, such as WCS, CI, NGS and JGI. Many zoos have
helped, directly or indirectly; directly in cases such as the support we receive at
Budongo from Cleveland and Oakland Zoos, indirectly such as the support received from
zoos all over the world that enabled the Entebbe chimpanzee PHVA to take place in 1997.
Non-Ugandan government agencies can be extremely helpful in supporting chimpanzee
conservation indirectly: the BFP was helped by USAID in renovating and building its
camp in 1991, from 1991 to 1997 we received core funding for the BFP from the British
DfID (then ODA) through its forestry research programme, and since that time we have
received core funding for the Project in our role as Field Station for Makerere University
Faculty of Forestry and Nature Conservation from NORAD. Direct non-Ugandan
government funding for chimpanzees also exists: the US Great Ape Conservation Fund
channels US government funds into chimpanzee conservation projects, including for
example a Ugandan national chimpanzee census (Plumptre et al. 2003).
I seem to have re-interpreted the question of responsibility in terms of funding. There
is, evidently, a strong link. People do not fund chimpanzee protection unless they feel
some sense of responsibility for it. However, funding and responsibility are not the same
thing. Funding is a bit further removed from action than responsibility. A responsible
person or institution has to have the human and practical resources to exert responsibil-
ity. External funding agencies have the financial means but not the human and practical
resources on the ground. Who has?
In the forests of Western Uganda where the apes live we find two groups of people
who are responsible for the protection of chimpanzees: employees of UWA and NFA,
and members of research and conservation projects such as BFP. Direct responsibility
lies with UWA (a parastatal^97 ) and NFA (a government department until 2003 when it
became a parastatal).
At the present time the relationship between government agencies, parastatals, NGOs
and projects has not been properly worked out. There are often rivalries and suspicions,
both between government agencies and between NGOs. Small organizations such as
BFP may have very clear ideas of what needs to be done to protect chimpanzees but lack
the funds to do it. Larger NGOs can and do help projects in their capacity as funding
agencies giving grants for which the smaller projects apply. Co-operation between
Who is responsible for chimpanzee protection? 239(^97) Meaning that it has responsibility for funding its own operations through income it raises itself rather
than being dependent on government funding.