Impact
Forestry Certification
GTAP scientists leverage their research and partnerships on the ground to lobby for formalized protections of High Conservation Value Forest (HCVF) areas and resources, recommend changes in management practices and use empirical data to strengthen Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification standards. Regional “ape-friendly” logging recommendations continue to be modified and improved for implementation in national concession management plans.
The GTAP’s ongoing research efforts contributed to findings showing that the number of behavioral elements documented across chimpanzee communities declines with increasing human disturbance – thus, the unique cultures of chimpanzee social groups are disappearing just as we expand our knowledge of the breadth of chimpanzee tool-use across equatorial Africa. Forest certification requires adherence to practices that include protecting biological, environmental service, social and cultural values that are significant or critically important. Findings from GTAP are being used by scientists to elevate protection measures of wild chimpanzee to include cultural processes and behavior diversity.
