Capturing the endangered Sclater’s guenon (a species occurring only between the Niger & Cross rivers) on camera traps is a big win. Proof our work is scaling impact for fragile forests and local communities in Nigeria! 🌍💚#Wildlife #Nigeria #Biodiversity #CommunityConservation

BREAKING NEWS: Watch the first-ever video of chimpanzees (alive not dead) in Nigeria’s Niger Delta! Following months of surveys, we have located the last remnant groups in this critical stronghold. Huge thanks to local communities for partnering with us. BUT time is ticking!!!

#2025 was not just another year of #conservation work, it was a year that #redefined what is possible when conservation science, community power and unrelenting commitment converge. In the Niger Delta and the Ise Forest Conservation Area, we pushed boundaries, broke scientific ground, and influenced policy at a scale that will echo for decades. On January 1st, 2025, the #Bayelsa State Government announced a total ban on logging operations across the state — a monumental policy and administrative shift. This was not a #coincidence: We ran a weekly radio program on Radio Bayelsa that educated communities to demand sustainability actions. Meanwhile, three community‑based conservation areas have been established in the State through our work. This is what community‑driven conservation looks like when it works: policy change at the highest level, championed by grassroots voices. During the course of the year: - we captured the first‑ever footage of the Critically Endangered Niger Delta Red Colobus amongst other scitific milestones. This breakthrough was not luck. It was the result of years of persistence and stakeholder engagement. - we deepened partnerships, strenthened local insitutions and pushed for policy reforms; - we supported community's socio-economic development aspirations; - we worked with relevant stakeholders/authorites to have the community conservation areas registered on the #World Database of Protected Areas; - we produced evidence‑driven outputs that shaped public awareness; - We brought #communities together in social events such as festivals and football matches; - we carried out infrastructual projects such as providing access to water for thousands of people and increased access to education including higher education learning across four communities. - We provided comprehensive training and industry equipment to local-based MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) to boost their sales and profits. Our initiatives are not just conventional conservation rhetoric to deliver measurable, on-the-ground results, they are stories of resilience, local leadership, and possibility. The hashtag#work ahead is immense. But so is our hashtag#momentum. And so is our hashtag#resolve. #2026 will not be a hashtag#continuation. It will be an hashtag#escalation. In summary, We have strengthened conservation in the hashtag#four protected areas we helped create in Africa's most populous nation and have now cleared the path for hashtag#three more. With these agreements signed, we are on track to see seven (or more) formal protected areas emerge from our work before the end 2026. This is what it looks like when conservation stops being a concept and becomes a force!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR

#TGIF Hope you can get away this fast to have a restful weekend away from the hustle and bustle of a busy week. Well, this galago already beat you to it 🐾🌙 the wide-eyed bush baby known for its gravity-defying leaps and haunting calls. These nocturnal primates are shy, swift, and check out those eyes like flashlights. 📍 Location: Ise Forest, Nigeria 🕯️ Time: Just after sunset 🌿 Mood: Mystical, wild, unforgettable Let this be a reminder: our forests are alive with wondering eyes. Protect them, explore them, and listen closely, you never know who might be watching from the trees. Did you catch the a sight of the Giant African Millipede too? #BushBaby #IseForest #WildlifeNigeria #NocturnalLife #ForestLife #ConservationMatters #EyesInTheDark #AllCreaturesGreatAndSmall

Rangers make up ~60% of our team and as such on World Rangers Day marked annually on 31st of July, it is a celebration for us all. This year, it coincided with a rangers' training for community rangers from Gbanraun and Kokolo-ama communities in Bayelsa State. And while we've helped establish four protected areas (from scratch) in Africa’s most populous nation, perhaps our most profound achievement so far, is raising a passionate people as defenders of biodiversity, wildlife and nature. Beyond the physical training, they are also equipped with field technologies, biomonitoring, communication strategies for community engagement, conflict management, conservation education and overall learning on the significance of the natural ecosystem to human well-being. 🌿Through this immersive and holistic training, they emerge prepared for any challenge—and more importantly, many have stepped into their roles as the conservation champions we proudly celebrate today. Hmmm...the dancing in the rain? Well, let's just say, champions are not always photo ready 😅 Here’s to the champions who protect what matters. #WorldRangersDay #ConservationHeroes #ProtectNature #CommunityRangers

🎉 Big news from #IPS2025 in Madagascar and on the last day of this year's International Primatological Society (IPS) congress! After appearing 5 times since 2008, the Niger Delta Red Colobus Monkey was VOTED OUT of the biennial Top 25 most endangered primate list after having made an appearance 5 times since 2008. The consideration to upgrade the status of this endemic primate surviving only in Nigeria's Niger Delta is the result of deeply-rooted local action! 🐒🌿 This conservation milestone is thanks to visionary community-led conservation in Apoi Creek Forests —especially from Apoi, Gbanraun, and Kokolo-ama. Against all odds, these communities stood up to protect a species found nowhere else on Earth. Without their courage, this primate could’ve been lost forever. This is proof that when communities lead, conservation wins. Today, its forest habitat is effectively protected, its population is growing, and hope is thriving. We’ve even begun new searches to find any last surviving groups in isolated parts of the species range. Thanks to these grassroots efforts this species is finally on the path to resilience and long-term protection. A big thanks also to our partners that made this huge achievement possible @RainforestTrust Biodiversity Challenge Funds DAUGHTERS OF THE EARTH @milkywire @BayelsaS etc. #ConservationWorks #NigerDeltaRedColobus #CommunityStewardship #ApoiCreek #PrimatologistsOfAfrica #Nigeria

We’re excited to share that CNN World has spotlighted some aspects of our work—and our remarkable director, Rachel Ashegbofe Ikemeh in their latest edition of *Call to Earth*! The feature highlights key moments from our day-to-day team efforts and the ongoing mission to protect Nigeria’s endangered primates and forest habitats. We’re deeply honored to have our story told on such a global platform. From grassroots engagement at six project sites to field research and advocacy, this recognition reinforces the importance of the work we do. ✨ A heartfelt thank you to the CNN team for amplifying our voice and the stories of the ecosystems and communities we serve. 🔗 [Watch the full feature here]() Together, we can protect what’s left—and restore what we’ve lost. Thanks to our partners who have been the wind beneath our wings @rainforesttrust @whitleyawards @tusk_org @rewild @ekitistateforestry @bayelsastategov @milkywire @uicn_comitefrancais @daughters4earth @UKBCFs Apoi Community Conservation Association; Ise Community #CallToEarth #ConservationMatters #NigeriaWildlifeMatters #NigerDelta #PrimateProtection #Biodiversity #ConservationLeadership #CNNWorld #SWNigerDeltaForestProject #HopeForNigeriaWildlife