Another bonobo hero!!!! This is a great article (from baraza.wildlifedirect.org) that talks about Pierrot Mbonzo’s work and the honor he’s received. Congrats Pierrot! …and thanks for all that you do!

IPS 2008 EDUCATION AWARD HONORS BONOBO ADVOCATE IN DR CONGO

The International Primatological Society (IPS) has granted the 2008 Charles Southwick Conservation Education Commitment Award to Pierrot Mbonzo, whose far-ranging outreach programs, innovative workshops, and political savvy have helped make the Lola ya Bonobo sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of Congo a vital part of the battle to protect bonobos and their forest homes.

Mbonozo’s award is the third in a row for a Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA) educator, following those of Ateh Wilson (Limbe Wildlife Centre, Cameroon) in 2006 and Jerry Akparawa (CERCOPAN, Nigeria) in 2007.

Mbonzo (pictured at right) will receive the Charles Southwick Conservation Education Commitment Award at the IPS 2008 Congress, which will be held August 3-8 in Edinburgh, Scotland.

At Lola ya Bonobo, the only bonobo sanctuary in the world, Mbonzo helped establish the conservation education program that now reaches 15,000 schoolchildren in and around Kinshasa each year. Lola ya Bonobo holds weekly Kindness Clubs at the sanctuary’s education center, and Mbonzo conducts outreach activities each Monday, making presentations at area schools, churches and community groups to foster greater understanding of animal welfare and conservation issues.

“PASA is extremely proud of Pierrot and his work,” said Doug Cress, executive director of PASA. “His ability to engage and educate an audience — whether it be schoolchildren, village elders or politicians — is uncanny, and there’s no question he has fostered an understanding and compassion for bonobos that has been invaluable in the fight to save one of Africa’s most endangered species.”

Mbonzo has identified key bushmeat problem areas – particularly those that target bonobos – and fashioned workshops, education programs, and seminars that both educate Congolese and provide the tools to allow other NGOs to continue the education process.

All of this has been done in the DR Congo, a country that is notoriously unstable and often quite dangerous. But whether facing civic unrest in Kinshasa or civil war in the outlying regions to the north and east, Mbonzo has calmly and effectively continued his work.

As part of Lola ya Bonobo’s planned reintroduction program in the Basankusu region of the DR Congo in 2010, Mbonzo has assisted both in identifying potential release sites, and then evaluating them based upon the level of education and awareness for wildlife in the regions. After rejecting sites in Lodja and Mbandaka – in part, due to Mbonzo’s assessments — Lola ya Bonobo selected the current Basankusu site largely because Mbonzo was able to win the support of the Po communities in the region through outreach programs and meetings with village leaders.

Mbonzo has also headed new educational and lobbying activities aimed at influencing the Kinshasa-based environmental decision-makers, those who make laws and decide on strategic orientations for conservation issues in the DR Congo, as well as Kinshasa-based implementation of existing laws.

Lola ya Bonobo is a charter member of PASA, which was formed in 2000 to unite the sanctuaries that care for chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos, drills and literally thousands of other endangered primates across Africa. For more information, please visit www.pasaprimates.org or contact PASAapes@aol.com.

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