This page has only limited features, please log in for full access.
Alison recently graduated from the University of Auckland with a Ph.D. in biological anthropology. She is interested in the outcomes of inter-relationships between nonhuman primates and humans. Her Ph.D. research focused on these inter-relationships among the Cross River gorillas, Nigeria–Cameroon chimpanzees, and people in Southwest Cameroon.
Cross River gorillas are the least numerous of the African ape taxa. Since their rediscovery, several organisations have sought to conserve these critically endangered apes, resulting in a “crisis conservation narrative” focused on the threats posed by local human activities. However, landscapes are not just ecological, they are also social, shaped by political and economic processes. This study examines the interconnections between humans and gorillas by approaching the Mone-Oku forest as a combination of ecological, social, and political systems. Through a combined use of botanical surveys, analyses of nesting sites, participant observation, and semistructured interviews, we obtained nuanced ecological and ethnographic insights into the human–gorilla interface. The results illustrate a history of alterations within the Mone-Oku forest, some of which are human-induced. These alterations have had both positive and negative outcomes for the gorillas and continue to the present day, where political history has shaped limited livelihood alternatives, increasing the reliance on a forest that has remained a constant in the more recent history of “developmental” neglect and isolation. However, this situation is not static, with future alterations to the forest also subject to regional and international political and economic influences, such as the increased worldwide demand for cacao.
Alison Wade; Nicholas Malone. Ecological, Historical, Economic, and Political Factors Shaping the Human–Gorilla Interface in the Mone-Oku Forest, Cameroon. Diversity 2021, 13, 175 .
AMA StyleAlison Wade, Nicholas Malone. Ecological, Historical, Economic, and Political Factors Shaping the Human–Gorilla Interface in the Mone-Oku Forest, Cameroon. Diversity. 2021; 13 (4):175.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlison Wade; Nicholas Malone. 2021. "Ecological, Historical, Economic, and Political Factors Shaping the Human–Gorilla Interface in the Mone-Oku Forest, Cameroon." Diversity 13, no. 4: 175.