RZSS LifeLinks Autumn/Winter 2015 - Budongo excerpt

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P H OTO E S S AY

MUCH TO C E L E B R AT E I N THE BUDONGO FOREST Chris West, RZSS’s Chief Executive, and Sarah Robinson, Head of Conservation Programmes, visited the Budongo Conservation Field Station (BCFS) in September to celebrate the ten year anniversary of RZSS’s involvement in the project and the 25th anniversary of the field station itself. Here, Sarah shares a few highlights from the trip

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1 Alternative livelihoods

Albert is an ex-hunter who lives with his family in Kalongo village on the edge of the Budongo Forest. Like many others, Albert used to rely on subsistence farming and hunting to get by, laying snares in the forest which can cause serious injury to chimpanzees and other native wildlife. This all changed when Albert got involved in BCFS’s goat loan scheme. Sitting in his freshly swept yard I could see the raised house where the goats are kept. Hunters have to build these houses before being accepted on the scheme, as well as maintaining good sanitation and hygiene at home and helping remove snares from the forest. BCFS has also provided Albert with a 30 kg bag of seed (thanks to funding from the Darwin Initiative), which he has recently harvested four and a half bags of rice from. The rice fetched the equivalent of one year’s income, which has enabled Albert to pay school fees for three of his children and for solar panels to provide electricity for his home. He has also saved a proportion of the profit and is part of three saving schemes which lend money to local people.

2 Forest-edge farming

BCFS is encouraging farmers on the forest edge to diversify the crops they grow to improve their income and reduce the loss of crops from wildlife raiding. Eric Okwir (BCFS intern and part of the vet team) explained how the demonstration plot

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at Nyakafunjo village was set out, with eight plots being monitored and used as a showcase for local farmers.

3 Celebrating 25 years

It was a real honour to be part of the 25-year celebrations and to see BCFS staff being recognised for all their hard work. Many people from local communities were invited and, once the formalities were completed, the party really kicked off. I was most impressed by the creation of a xylophone from a pit that was dug into the ground. Banana tree stems were laid either side of it to rest the wooden keys on. The instrument was then played by several people while many more danced and the celebrations continued long into the night.

4 Visiting the forest

Early one morning we had the opportunity to head into the Budongo Forest with Sam Adue and Chandia Bosco, two of the field assistants. The chimpanzees had already woken up and were moving about in the canopy when we found them shortly after 7 am. Sam and Bosco knew each chimp by name and could recall a huge amount of information on each animal. We followed the group for about three hours, distracted at various points by invertebrates, fungi and a tortoise as the sun began to rise.

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5 Camp life

Once you have entered the forest, it is a short drive along the aptly named Royal Mile to the field station itself. Over a number of years, old sawmill buildings have been converted into accommodation for researchers and staff. There are kitchens, a meeting room, a small museum, veterinary laboratories, a library and even hot showers. A fire is lit underneath oil drums which contain the water for the showers – timing is everything in achieving the perfect temperature!

6 Back to school

My daughter has just started school in Edinburgh so I was intrigued to meet the students

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at Kalongo Primary. There were 165 children in the class and they were really excited to have visitors. Carol (BCFS’s Conservation Coordinator) explained that these visits are part of their outreach programme which encourages older children to help teach the youngsters about conserving the forest. One Primary Three pupil – Ozale Vincent, aged 24 – dropped out of school when he was eight to help his father set snares. When BCFS started their ex-hunter scheme, Vincent and his father joined up, and Vincent expressed a particular interest in returning to school. Despite being much older than his classmates, his focus and determination are a real inspiration. Δ


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The Snow Leopard by William Walls (1860-1942), part of the RZSS collection on display at the Mansion House, RZSS Edinburgh Zoo 2

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A legacy to RZSS supports Scotland’s role in international conservation, public education and the safeguarding of endangered species, including the snow leopard. To find out more about leaving a gift in your will to RZSS, or how we work directly to conserve hundreds of species, contact Julie on 0131 314 0323 or email development@rzss.org.uk


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