Until recently, very little was known about the status of wildlife in Equatorial Guinea (EG), although it was clear that changes brought about by the oil boom, such as increased commercial bushmeat hunting and rapid infrastructure development, would likely have long-term negative impacts. With partners from the Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and the EG government and the people of EG, CI recently completed the first nationwide census for apes and elephants in EG with funding from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation, a private donor and with ongoing support from USAID/CARPE.

CI hopes that the dissemination of information gathered during this census will serve to guide development plans towards a green economy that benefits both wildlife and people, in part by highlighting the value of healthy ecosystems in providing ongoing ecosystem services for nutrition, building supplies, medicine and income.