A partnership to build scientific capacity of Rwanda's future conservationists: The Memoirs Program

Eckardt, Winnie; Tuyisingize, Deogratias; Hoek, Yntze van der; Tolbert, Sarah H.; Stoinski, Tara S.; Ndagijimana, Felix; Kaplin, Beth A.; Mudakikwa, Antoine; Lukas, Kristen E.

doi:10.1002/ajp.23200

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Not giving African scientists actual scientific responsibilities limits their output and lowers self-efficacy. We have seen that this problem can be overcome when organizations dedicate themselves to internal scientific capacity building (see, e.g., Eckardt et al, 2021;O'Connell et al, 2019) and place trust in the scientific aptitude of African scientists-the African authors of this article benefited from the allocation of mentors, time, and trust and were thus enabled to provide intellectual contributions to this and various other publications.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Status of African authorship among conservation research output from sub‐Saharan Africa: An African perspective

Tuyisenge,

Kayitete,

Tuyisingize

et al. 2023

Conservat Sci and Prac

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The effectiveness of science to address conservation issues is linked to the inclusivity and diversity of its practitioners, but scientists from biodiverse tropical countries remain underrepresented in the conservation science literature. To assess the status of sub‐Saharan Africa‐based authorship in conservation science between 2015 and 2021, we analyzed the affiliations of primary authors of research conducted in sub‐Saharan Africa as published in 10 selected conservation journals representative of a range of conservation literature: from high‐impact international journals to Africa‐specific regional journals. Out of 1176 articles, we found that approximately one‐third of the primary authors were based at a sub‐Saharan African institution. African primary authors had a higher output in African than global conservation journals, which corresponded with relatively low overall impact factors and citations for studies led by African authors. African authors were significantly underrepresented in large, multicountry studies, accounting for only 6% of primary authors and 66% of these publications contained no African author. We discuss possible limitations and solutions for African participation and representation in the international conservation literature from the perspective of African conservation scientists.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Status of African authorship among conservation research output from sub‐Saharan Africa: An African perspective

Tuyisenge,

Kayitete,

Tuyisingize

et al. 2023

Conservat Sci and Prac

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“…We chose to let the projects themselves describe the approach they are taking in working with local communities to address conservation issues specific to their location (Boesch et al, 2020 compares approaches used at three different sites). While some activities described followed the traditional conservation education path (Boesch et al, this issue; Bowie et al, in press; Breuer et al, 2020), others focused on behavior change (Kahlenberg et al, in press; Kendall et al, 2020), public awareness campaigns (Cox et al, 2020), staff training (Robbins, 2020), building capacity of future conservationist (Eckardt et al, 2020) and alternative livelihoods and community protection (Boesch et al, this issue; Chancellor et al 2020; Chesney et al, in press). While many other activities were described, the papers featured in this special edition all included some level of evaluation to guide their actions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human engagement and great ape conservation in Africa

Bettinger¹,

Cox²,

Kuhar

et al. 2020

American J Primatol

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Despite large investments of funding into great ape conservation in Africa, wild populations of gorillas (Gorilla ssp), chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes ssp) and bonobos (Pan paniscus) continue to decline. Causes for this decline fall into three broad categories: habitat loss, illegal hunting, and disease. Contributing factors to all of these causes are linked to pressure from the expanding human population competing for forest resources. We have moved beyond the time of debating the pros and cons of including human engagement activities in conservation. If humans are part of the problem, they must also be part of the solution. To move our understanding of which human engagement activities are effective, what methodologies are being used and best practices for setting up a successful framework, we interviewed practitioners representing 53 projects working in great ape habitat in Africa. The interviewees represented almost 900 years of experience with African great ape conservation. We found that all practitioners agreed that for conservation to succeed, projects must engage with humans utilizing resources from great ape habitats. However, evaluation of such work was elusive. Projects that employed at least one person designated as an educator were more likely to have structured programs, regular engagement activities, and to evaluate their work. To date, little information on the success or failure of the activities has been published, thus perpetuating the problem of relying on personal experience rather than evidence when developing new engagement programs. Additionally, linking human engagement activities to biological impact remains a challenge. The results presented in this paper demonstrate the importance placed on human engagement activities to effectively conserve great apes in Africa while at the same time identifies gaps in our understanding on the link between such activities and project success.

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“…Zoos also offer the potential for the training of environmental custodians [34]. The Durrell Training Academy, for example, has trained hundreds of international conservationists who live and work in their homeland [35].…”

Section: Conservation Aims and Societymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Societal Value of the Modern Zoo: A Commentary on How Zoos Can Positively Impact on Human Populations Locally and Globally

Greenwell¹,

Riley

Figueiredo

et al. 2023

JZBG

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Modern zoos and aquariums have evolved greatly since the end of the Second World War, to become centres of conservation excellence and scientific institutions for the study of animal behaviour, ecology, husbandry management. Whilst the impact of zoos and aquariums to biodiversity conservation, population management and advancement of species care is well documented, their positive impacts on society (including the communities that they are located within) is less well known. The four established aims of the modern zoo—Conservation, Education, Recreation (Engagement) and Research—provide a strong foundation for wider review and critique of the societal value of zoos and aquariums. This article synthesises what such value may be, and how it could be measured, from a systematic review of the literature pertaining to each of these four established aims. It also recommends areas of future scientific inquiry to further study the wider impact of zoos on their local communities and on human populations and behaviour more generally. Including Wellbeing as a fifth aim of the modern zoo would also cement their wider societal value. Further scrutiny of the societal value of the modern zoo enhances the value of the zoo’s living collection and the green spaces that it manages to provide accessibility to biodiversity and nature-centric education essential to long-term, planetary friendly human behaviour change.

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A partnership to build scientific capacity of Rwanda's future conservationists: The Memoirs Program

Cited by 4 publications

References 22 publications

Status of African authorship among conservation research output from sub‐Saharan Africa: An African perspective

Status of African authorship among conservation research output from sub‐Saharan Africa: An African perspective

Human engagement and great ape conservation in Africa

The Societal Value of the Modern Zoo: A Commentary on How Zoos Can Positively Impact on Human Populations Locally and Globally

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