Our work

B&RD's objective is the conservation of gorillas and their habitats. We can only achieve this objective if we work together with the local people. Key ways to achieve this are:

• To support the people who are employed by national authorities to protect the gorillas and their forests.
• To raise awareness and provide support to the people who live in gorilla areas – the gorillas would not survive without their cooperation and help.
• To give direct aid during sudden, unpredictable events such as wars, rebel attacks or volcanic eruptions, which often create emergencies.

We support several protected areas constantly and help gorilla conservation projects of partner NGOs when something is urgently needed there. We decide what to fund quickly and without bureaucratic constraints. We collaborate with local contact persons in whom we trust. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo we employ a local project manager who is in daily contact with the various projects. The range of our activities increases all the time. Here are some examples:

• We provide rangers with uniforms and other clothes, equipment and provisions. We try to procure the clothes from local companies and business initiatives.
• We provide equipment to protected areas (e.g. cameras, bicycles and communications equipment).
• We fund the demarcation of protected area boundaries.
• We provide the funds for the construction or renovation of patrol posts.
• We pay for the reforestation of clear-felled areas to expand gorilla habitat or create buffer zones.
• We help to fund research projects conducted by African scientists that contribute directly to gorilla conservation.
• We fund awareness campaigns among local populations. These campaigns are planned individually by local experts.
• We support the local population if this serves gorilla conservation. For example, we help to fund schools providing education for pygmy children, we create opportunities for alternative income and we improve the population's living conditions.