The Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA) gained leadership and experience today when it announced the addition of three primate experts to the PASA Steering Committee.

Dr. Liz Williamson, the coordinator of the Great Apes section of the IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group, Rebecca Rose, the Field Conservation Coordinator for the Columbus Zoo, and Sylvie (Briscoe) Martin, a consultant for Fauna & Flora International, were all added to the PASA Steering Committee following meetings earlier this year in Sierra Leone.

“PASA is honored to be able to add people with such vast experience to our steering committee,” said committee chairman Norm Rosen. “Each of them has dedicated their lives to protecting primates and the forests in which they live, and they’ve been extremely successful. They are highly regarded in a variety of conservation and welfare fields. We look forward to being able to work closely with each of them to make PASA even more effective in the future.”

The PASA Steering Committee is comprised of sanctuary managers, advisors and supporters and is charged with directing the organization’s overall policies and protocols. The three new additions bring the number of PASA Steering Committee members to 14.

Williamson is an Honorary Research Fellow at Stirling University. She began fieldwork on great apes in 1982, completed a Ph.D. on the ”Behavioural Ecology of Western Lowland Gorillas in Gabon” in 1988, and has surveyed and studied gorillas and chimpanzees in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Liberia and Rwanda. Williamson is a former director of the Karisoke Research Centre in Rwanda.

Rose holds degrees in education and wildlife management and became involved with wildlife sanctuaries 18 years ago while collaborating with a facility in Central America to develop educational materials. She serves on the Bushmeat Crisis Task Force (BCTF) steering committee, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Field Conservation Committee, and is a board member for Friends of Bonobos. Rose oversees the grants program at the Columbus Zoo, which provides support for 70 projects in 34 countries each year, and has awarded $3.4 million in grants since 2002.

Martin holds a BSc. Hons in Psychology, with a specialization in Evolutionary Psychology, from St. Andrews University, Scotland, and previously served as the Interim Sanctuary Manager at the Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Uganda in 2000-2001. Martin spent the last five years with the Jane Goodall Institute –USA, building their Individual Giving efforts with the establishment of a membership and major donor program and managing a $3 million annual Major Donor program. She also served as JGI’s representative for various bodies, including AZA and BCTF.

PASA 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 contact PASAapes@aol.com.

A children’s coloring book that tells the story of the capture, rescue and rehabilitation of an infant chimpanzee in an African sanctuary is now being distributed by the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA) for use in its conservation education programs.

“The Story of a Baby Chimpanzee” was written and edited by PASA educators in Uganda, Cameroon, Sierra Leone and the United States, and illustrated by American artist Pearl Ollie. The text is in both English and French, and includes fact sheets on chimpanzees, gorillas and bonobos.

The 30-page coloring book was made possible through the technical, logistical and financial support of the Brevard Zoo, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), the Columbus Zoo, and the Twycross Zoo. Graphic designer Jerry Hanzl of Digital Art by Jerry in the U.S. provided the layout.

“PASA is extremely proud of this collaborative effort,” said Doug Cress, executive director of PASA. “As often happens, the lack of education materials that specifically address the issues of bushmeat or conservation or ecology from a sanctuary point of view required us to create out own. This coloring book will be a valuable tool as PASA educators seek to engage an even wider audience.”

PASA member sanctuaries currently receive almost 400,000 visitors per year, and PASA education programs are targeted primarily at rural schools, communities and towns. Studies have shown that PASA education programs are effective at changing local attitues regarding hunting and conservation.

All 18 PASA sanctuaries in 12 African countries will receive shipments of the coloring book to distribute.

“The Story of a Baby Chimpanzee” follows an infant as her family is killed by hunters in the forest, and she is captured for sale in a city. When a child notices the chimpanzee and remembers that her teacher had stressed the importance of protecting animals, she alerts the police. The police arrest the man trying to sell the chimpanzee, and take the confiscated chimpanzee to a PASA sanctuary.

Over time, the chimpanzee regains its health, and learns to bond with other orphans in the sanctuary.
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