Voices on the Ground : Rachel Ashegbofe Ikemeh Saving the Niger Delta Red Colobus Monkey
Rachel Ashegbofe Ikemeh , Founder and Director of our partner SW / Niger Delta Forest Project , was our honored guest in August for Field Journal : Nigeria - Saving the Niger Delta Red Colobus , a virtual conversation with Dr . James Deutsch , Rainforest Trust CEO . Rachel and her team have truly succeeded against all odds with their ground-breaking conservation work .
niger delta landscape-epieni habitate | sw / niger delta forest project
Rachel Ashegbofe Ikemeh is an award-winning leader in conservation who has faced staggering obstacles in Nigeria to protect imperiled species . What began in 2012 as a research project focused on chimpanzees quickly developed into Rachel founding the SW / Niger Delta Forest Project . When the plight of the Critically Endangered Niger Delta Red Colobus monkey came to light , Rachel and her team took action to save it .
Endemic to the Niger Delta , these monkeys thrive only in areas where their preferred foods occur , primarily the young leaves and leaf buds of specific tree species found only here .
“ The first time I ever saw the Niger Delta Colobus Monkey , in 2013 , I was knee-deep in crude oil in their habitat , staring up at monkeys in the trees ." - rachel ashegbofe ikemeh
The monkey ’ s population had plummeted to near extinction levels and no government or large organization was willing to take up its cause . Discovered by scientists to be a unique species from the Western Red Colobus , its first population survey counted about 10,000 individuals living in the upper canopies of swamp forests . When Rachel ’ s team conducted the next survey , in 2013 , there were only about 500 monkeys left across its entire range — a devastating decline . They were racing against time .
It is difficult and dangerous to do conservation in the oil-rich Niger Delta . Navigating a vast swamp to search for animals high in the trees is only part of the story . The lucrative oil industry brings little income to community members and yet it has destroyed traditional livelihoods ( primarily fishing ) in a country plagued by poverty . Armed conflicts persist , oil spills are common , and efforts to protect the conservation area from armed gangs have already taken the life of one team member . Illegal logging for valuable trees occurs in what forests remain . With rampant pollution and no trees , monkeys cannot survive . top rachel ikemeh wading through niger delta swamp forest searching for monkeys .
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