Bonobo (Pan paniscus) Conservation Strategy 2012–2022

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2.2 Process for the Elaboration of a New Bonobo Conservation Strategy

Between 2009 and 2011, the IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group (PSG) organized and facilitated 

a three-phase conservation process for bonobos. This began in 2009 by bringing together repre-

sentatives of the major international groups working in bonobo conservation to seek commitment 

to a process for developing a coordinated conservation strategy. A major challenge will be to 

ensure that the conservation measures proposed are implemented effectively, so participants were 

also asked to identify the main obstacles to bonobo conservation. They agreed upon three broad 

themes and the following steps were then undertaken:

I.  In 2010, three ‘Conservation Challenge Working Groups’ (CCWG) were established to analyse 

issues that are impeding progress towards bonobo conservation. Discussions were organized 

around the following themes:

•  CCWG I: Methods and mechanisms for improved coordination and collaboration 

between those working towards bonobo conservation;

•  CCWG II: Methods for prioritizing, both geographic scope and activities;

•  CCWG III: Methods for better integration and collaboration between bonobo conser-

vation and other sectors and global issues.

II.  The aims of the working groups were to a) understand better the complexities of each chal-

lenge; b) find solutions to overcome these challenges; and c) develop a workplan outlining how 

these challenges could be surmounted. Consultations took place between March 2010 and 

January 2011. After a roundtable meeting in Kinshasa, communication between group mem-

bers was mainly electronic. Summary reports from the three working groups can be down-

loaded at www.primate-sg.org/bonobo/

III.  As part of CCWG II, the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVAN) brought 

together 15 experts from nine institutions from 14–18 January 2011. All available bonobo 

survey data were compiled, standardized and used to a) build a model that predicts the occur-

rence of suitable environmental conditions for bonobos throughout their range, and b) identify 

gaps in survey coverage and assess where future surveys of bonobos are needed. All bonobo 

survey datasets were archived in the A.P.E.S. database

1

 and are listed in Appendix I.

IV.  A stakeholder workshop was organized under the auspices of ICCN and IUCN to bring together 

all the practitioners and organizations involved in bonobo conservation. A total of 68 people, 

from 33 organizations and government departments, participated in the workshop in Kinshasa 

from 19–22 January 2011 (see Appendix II). The approach used to develop this conservation 

strategy was based on BirdLife International’s methodology (Sande & Hoffmann 2002), with 

the following steps:

•  assessment of the current status of bonobos

•  a threat analysis (identification, categorization, evaluation of severity)

•  elaboration of a Vision and Goal for the plan

•  elaboration of objectives, intervention strategies and actions

•  identification of a coordination mechanism for implementation of the plan

V.  A draft strategy was compiled and elaborated by the workshop organisers and circulated to 

participants for their input before finalization. 

Conservation and research initiatives benefit enormously from thorough planning and coordina-

tion. Previous bonobo conservation plans involved no formal coordination mechanism; rather indi-

vidual organizations carried out activities as a function of the resources they were able to mobilise, 

the priorities as they saw them at the time, and the prevailing political context. Poor collaboration 

between NGOs has hindered effective and concerted implementation of bonobo conservation in 

the past. Therefore, the current initiative sought to overcome these problems through an inclusive 

approach to implementation and a workable mechanism to ensure that resources are mobilized 

1 IUCN/SSC A.P.E.S. database developed and managed by MPI-EVAN. See http://apesportal.eva.mpg.de/

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in a timely and coordinated manner. During the 18 months leading up to the 2011 workshop, con-

siderable effort was devoted to improving communication between bonobo NGOs and discussion 

of how to support bonobo conservation through the Conservation Challenge Working Groups. 

Additionally, the outputs of the survey data working group were important not only to summarize 

knowledge on bonobo populations and to create the predictive model, but also to facilitate infor-

mation sharing and foster collaborations. Together these working groups laid the groundwork for 

the 2011 workshop and conservation strategy development.

The new strategy aims to ensure the long-term protection of bonobos across their range through 

the implementation of conservation actions designed to reduce, and if possible eliminate, the 

direct threats and contributing factors that are causing bonobo populations to decline. Given the 

extremely difficult context (institutional, security, accessibility), particular effort was made to ensure 

that the choices of strategies and actions were pragmatic and realistic.

This strategy covers the following:

•  Current state of knowledge of bonobo populations

•  Main threats to bonobos

•  Priority sites for bonobo conservation

•  Strategic objectives and actions to ensure the survival of bonobos

•  Coordination mechanisms for implementation of the plan

•  Priority actions for the first year of implementation

Pasteur Cosma Wilungula 

Balongelwa closing the bonobo 

workshop on behalf of ICCN, 

with Annette Lanjouw of the 

Arcus Foundation and work-

shop facilitator Conrad Aveling 

© Liz Williamson

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