What is GAFI

Description:
Television programmes can be a powerful means of raising awareness and triggering action to solve conservation problems. The vast majority of viewers, however, live far from most of the species or habitats under threat. Such programmes could make a far greater contribution to worldwide conservation if they were more widely seen by the people who live and work in the places where the animals are and by decision-makers who control the fate of those habitats.

Our aim is to make wildlife television programmes about the great apes freely available to audiences in their countries of origin.

Specifically, we want to enable the free transmission of great ape programmes on television networks in 23 countries (21 in Africa plus Malaysia and Indonesia (the range states of great apes). In addition we will distribute tapes to education projects working with local communities in and around ape habitats through co–operation with local and international NGOs. We shall also give sets of these conservation films to decision-makers e.g. ministers in governments and community leaders to encourage them to instigate policies which will protect the habitat of all great apes and allow them to thrive alongside their human cousins.

The difficulty lies in the fact that TV programmes are owned by broadcasters, producers and distributors who are understandably reluctant to forego the earnings from their rights. The good news is that earnings from countries with great apes are negligible, so no significant losses will be incurred. All that is needed is someone to negotiate agreement from each party that transmission fees can be waived for this purpose. The only costs will then be the copying and delivery of the broadcast quality tapes and the translations into local languages where appropriate.

Main message:
The main messages that GAFI will convey will be an understanding of the importance of great apes for the following reasons:
1. Great apes play a keystone role in the ecology of their habitats, which makes them beneficial to humans who also utilise that habitat or products derived from it;
2. Great apes are of scientific importance as the species that most resemble humans;
3. Great apes can be of economic benefit to communities, particularly where they or their habitat is the focus of carefully developed eco-tourism activities.

From the point of view of television controllers in these countries, however, the important point is that wildlife documentaries make fascinating and compelling viewing that elicit a strong audience reaction – hence cultivating a positive attitude towards the conservation and sustainable management of ecosystems.

Why is the initiative needed:
Television viewers in the developed world are used to seeing new and fascinating discoveries about animal behaviour and ecology, and so place a high value on the survival of natural ecosystems, even if they don’t have any direct contact with them. Television viewers in developing countries seldom see such documentaries, and so are ill-informed about the value of their country’s wildlife and wilderness areas, or how important the rest of the world considers this issue.

In 2004 GAFI demonstrated that there is an eager audience for these programmes in Cameroon and Congo, in 2005 GAFI was able to build on this success by:
A) Delivering more programmes to these countries
B) Extending the programme to 14 of the great ape range states.
C) GAFI now monitors the outcomes of the screenings in local communities to enable the most effective conservation films to be made in future.
D) GAFI is linked with 17 international and local NGOs supporting their education and conservation projects.
E) GAFI continues to liase with international broadcasters to create a library of top quality programmes on all great apes for distribution to the three GAFI target audiences in all range states
F) GAFI gave talks and presentations on the GAFI project to audiences in UK, creating awareness and offering many options for people who wanted to help save great apes into the future.

Target audience:
There are three target audiences:
(1) Urban television viewers of Africa and Southeast Asia, including consumers of bushmeat, potential purchasers of pet primates, decision makers and law enforcement agents in whose hands the future of great apes (and many other endangered species) lie.
(2) Local communities -school children, students and communities who participate in education programmes/ presentations/video-clubs organised by NGOs, Embassies or the British Council, Wildlife Centres.
(3) Government ministers, decision makers

Who does it

Funders and partners
GAFI has been generously funded and supported by the following organisations, without whom the work could not have happened.

Volunteers
GAFI has an extremely effective and enthusiastic group of volunteers who have allowed the rapid growth and success of GAFI to be extended into 14 countries so far. GAFI would like to thank: