During her time spent conducting fieldwork, Goodall came to understand the crucial link between lifting people out of poverty and preserving biodiversity in the national park. This realization led to the creation of the Tacare program, which provides microloans to start sustainable businesses, scholarships for girls who were previously denied secondary education, and family-planning counseling. Additionally, farmers are given guidance on sustainable farming practices, like permaculture.
Goodall reflected on how the struggle for survival led people to cut down trees – for growing food, making land, or earning money from charcoal or timber. Their farmland had become infertile from overuse, forcing them to turn to deforestation.
By enabling individuals to secure their livelihoods, they become more aware of their environmental impact. In villages near the national park, new technologies are assisting locals in reporting illegal activities. With a mobile app, villagers can document illegal tree felling, aiding in conservation efforts.
Preventing deforestation has allowed chimpanzees to establish connections with neighboring groups, fostering genetic exchange and increasing their chances of survival. Gombe’s chimpanzees are now linked with counterparts in nearby Burundi.
In Uganda, a farmer participating in the Jane Goodall program faced conflicts with chimpanzees raiding his sugarcane fields. To mitigate this, he allocated part of his land for crops favored by the chimpanzees, reducing their incentive to invade his sugarcane fields.
Goodall emphasizes the positive impact of grassroots efforts in conservation, highlighting the importance of protecting biodiversity for a sustainable future. Despite inspiring examples of environmental stewardship, she also acknowledges the challenges ahead, such as threats to conservation efforts in the U.S. and the impact of Chinese investments in Africa.
While China is making progress in solar power development, their activities in Africa, like rapid road-building and mineral extraction, have raised concerns about environmental degradation. Goodall stresses the need for global cooperation to protect the environment and ensure the well-being of both wildlife and humans.