One more push towards our goals

The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund recently awarded a $7,000 grant to Elizabeth Komba of Tanzania's Foundation for Environmental Conservation and Community Enhancement in support of the project: Participatory Conservation Trainings with Schools and Community Stakeholders to Protect Endangered Udzungwa Red Colobus in the Udzungwa Mountains of Tanzania The grant represents partial support for efforts to protect endangered Udzungwa Red Colobus in the Uzungwa Scarp Nature Forest Reserve. Communities living adjacent to the Uzungwa Scarp Nature Forest Reserve rely on the mountain forests for both their basic needs and for income generating activities. The Foundation for Environmental Conservation and Community Enhancement will work with community groups and primary and secondary schools in villages bordering the nature reserve to implement an Udzungwa Red Colobus conservation education program. Workshops will focus on the uniqueness of and threats to red colobus populations, but will also emphasize forest health and the importance of habitat and resources for human health and well-being. Education workshops will be conducted with two primary schools and one secondary school in three villages bordering the reserve, using an art and story-telling group project approach to help students connect forest health and primate conservation. At least five community workshops will be held regarding the importance of reducing activities such as logging, bush fires, firewood collection, charcoal production and hunting.