Fragmentation, degradation and the loss of habitat are, among others, important drivers of human-induced biodiversity loss. Since half of the biodiversity can be found in tropical rainforests it is clear that the key to maintaining this biodiversity is the conservation of forests (Slingenberg et al. 2009). Primates are also severely affected by these threats since 90% of the primate species depend on forests for there survival (Mittermeier and Cheney 1987). This is also the case for the chimpanzee populations living in the DR Congo. The aim of this thesis is to characterise an unstudied population of chimpanzees living in three neighbouring forest fragments on the Lendu Plateau near Lake Albert. In recent decades the fragmentation in the area intensified. In 1985 the area consisted of a larger and small forest fragment. Nowadays the larger forest fragment is split up into two smaller fragments. In this study the tree composition of the forest was analysed. With Shannon indices (H) between 2.49 and 2.98, for the three fragments, the study area can be considered as moderately divers when considering tree species. Although the forest fragments are quite small the density of chimpanzees is quite high compared to other African forests. The density was estimated to be around 3.8 individuals per km2. This study found that night nests were more often found further away from human settlements and on higher altitudes. The data available for this thesis suggests that food trees are more likely to be used as nesting trees. In literature there is still a lot of debate and some articles suggest that other factors such as physical tree characteristics are more important for the selection of nesting trees (Stanford and OMalley 2008). This study shows that small forests can harbour threatened species and thus could be of importance for conservation.

Wild chimpanzees are only found in tropical Africa, where their populations have declined by more than 66% in the last 30 years. This Action Plan focuses on one of the four chimpanzee subspecies, the western chimpanzee, which is one of the two subspecies most threatened with extinction. This publication presents a plan for action that represents a consensus among all parties concerned with the conservation of chimpanzees.

Executive summary: One of the challenges facing great ape conservation is the rising level of interaction between humans and great apes, and the resulting conflicts that emerge. As human populations continue to grow and human development makes deeper incursions into forest habitats, such conflicts will become more widespread and prevalent in the natural ranges of great apes, especially considering that the majority of great apes live outside protected areas. It is essential that we develop a comprehensive understanding of existing and potential conflict situations, and their current or future impacts on both great apes and humans. This will require the integration of quantitative and qualitative data on multiple aspects of human and great ape behaviour and ecology, along with a good understanding of local people's perceptions of the situation. Such knowledge can then be used to develop effective, locally-adapted, management strategies to prevent or mitigate human-great ape conflicts, whilst respecting both conservation objectives and socio-cultural-economic contexts. These guidelines outline a sequence of logical steps that should be considered prior to any form of human-great ape conflict intervention, and propose possible counter-measures to be used in the management of human-great ape conflicts.

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus), otherwise known as pygmy chimpanzees, are the only two species of the genus Pan. As they are our nearest relatives, there has been much research devoted to investigating the similarities and differences between them. This book offers an extensive review of the most recent observations to come from field studies on the diversity of Pan social behaviour, with contributions from many of the world's leading experts in this field. A wide range of social behaviours is discussed including tool use, hunting, reproductive strategies and conflict management as well as demographic variables and ecological constraints. In addition to interspecies behavioural diversity, this text describes exciting new research into variations between different populations of the same species. Researchers and students working in the fields of primatology, anthropology and zoology will find this a fascinating read.

In this stunningly original book, Richard Wrangham argues that it was cooking that caused the extraordinary transformation of our ancestors from apelike beings to Homo erectus. At the heart of Catching Fire lies an explosive new idea: the habit of eating cooked rather than raw food permitted the digestive tract to shrink and the human brain to grow, helped structure human society, and created the male-female division of labour. As our ancestors adapted to using fire, humans emerged as "the cooking apes". Covering everything from food-labelling and overweight pets to raw-food faddists, Catching Fire offers a startlingly original argument about how we came to be the social, intelligent, and sexual species we are today. "This notion is surprising, fresh and, in the hands of Richard Wrangham, utterly persuasive ... Big, new ideas do not come along often in evolution these days, but this is one." -Matt Ridley, author of Genome

The 2010 State of the Forest report (SOF) benefited from financial support from the European Union, the United States, Germany, France and UNESCO. It represents the collaborative effort of over 100 individuals from a diversity of institutions and the forestry administrations of the Central African countries. The SOF process began with the selection and definition of indicators relevant to monitoring the state of forests in Central Africa. The indicators are structured around three thematic areas: (i) forest cover; (ii) management of production forests; and (iii) conservation and biodiversity. They are presented in a hierarchical structure at the regional, national and management unit (i.e. logging concessions and protected areas) levels. The indicators were vetted by a representative panel of stakeholders of forest management in Central Africa. The indicators are used to guide an annual data collection process carried out between April and August by national groups of four to ten individuals working within the forestry administrations. The data reported on in the 2010 SOF were primarily collected in 2009 and 2010. Results were validated in national workshops attended by government officials as well as representatives of environmental NGOs, the private sector and development projects. The data provided an important basis for the authors of the 11 chapters of the 2010 SOF, which were under the coordination of a scientific committee of international renown. A final workshop was held 29-30 March, 2011 in Douala to review a draft report. Following amendments based on comments from a wide audience of experts the final layout was completed.