Inza Koné

Since 2006, Inza Koné has been working to protect the fragile ecosystem of the Tanoé Forest in Côte d’Ivoire. Home to four of the most endangered primate species of West Africa, the Tanoé Forest is under high pressure from bushmeat hunting, and deforestation. In 2008, Inza led a successful campaign against proposals to clear and convert parts of the Tonoé Forest into a palm oil plantation. His work consists of empowering communities to carry out conservation activities and develop alternative livelihoods. To achieve this, he has been combining modern technologies with traditional knowledge and skills.

In 2017, Inza Koné has become the chairman of the African Primatological Society and co-Vice chair of the Africa section of the Primate Specialist Group of the IUCN.

Background

Inza Koné is a primate conservation biologist in Còte-d’Ivoire. In 1997, his research took him to study the impact of poaching and bushmeat trade in the primates of Taï National Park (TNP). Later, he became Senior lecturer at the Felix Houphouët-Boigny University of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire in 2004.  Besides doing important research, Inza Koné is also an active conservationist. He has been working with the Swiss Centre for Scientific Research (CSRS) in several conservation projects, and is the co-founder of two local conservation NGOs. In 2008, he successfully led a campaign to prevent the conversion of the Tanoé Forest into a palm oil plantation, and has been working to preserve it in the long-term.

“Since I won the award, my team and I have been helping to develop alternative livelihoods and highlight the economic value of ecosystem services to demonstrate that conservation does not have to be a choice between wildlife and human welfare. Our work consists of empowering communities to carry out conservation activities. To do so, I have been combining modern technologies with traditional knowledge and skills to achieve our conservation goals.”

Inza Koné

Vision and Approach

Through his work, Inza Koné aims to show that conservation does not have to be a choice between wildlife and human welfare. The Tanoé Forest is the largest of the few remaining rainforests in south-eastern Côte d’Ivoire and is a top priority area for critically endangered primates in West Africa. Despite its significance, the Tanoé Forest is under threat from the overexploitation of bushmeat and timber. And the expansion of human activities has been increasing the pressure to clear it. Realising its potential for primate conservation led Inza to develop the Community-based Conservation Program. His programme acts on six different fronts, ranging from ecological and socio-economic research, to community outreach activities.  Inza’s successful campaign to stop the conversion of 8,000 hectares of the Tanoé forest into a palm oil plantation, strengthened his efforts to have the area officially classified as a community-managed reserve.. Since then, Inza has been helping to create a more sustainable way of life, and ensures greater awareness and protection of West Africa’s most threatened primates.

Impact of the Future For Nature Award

• With the financial support of the Future For Nature Award, Inza  developed alternative livelihoods, such as sustainable farming, for local communities depending on the Tanoé Forest.
• The award funds helped Inza carry out conservation activities and bring support for local development projects.
• After winning the Future For Nature Award, Inza received unprecedented national and international recognition for his work.

"I’m impressed by Inza’s clarity of thought, scientific integrity and in particular by his practical activism in what I can only imagine must have been extremely difficult circumstances politically. Whilst he has won acclaim in the past, I feel the FFN award will give him the critical recognition and financial boost he needs to save the primates of the Tanoe forest."

Ms. Saba Douglas-Hamilton, International Selection Committee