Toyota Environmental Activities Grant Program

Green Corridor(Japan)

The chimpanzees of Bossou in the Republic of Guinea are living under extremely difficult circumstances which do not allow them to interact with other groups due to forest habitat fragmentation.
This project contributes to the protection of endangered species by creating an environment that allows chimpanzees to move through green corridors made by planting trees in the savannah area separating Bossou from the World Natural Heritage Nimba Mountains.

Various seeds contained in chimpanzees' feces are collected in both Bossou and Nimba Mountains and are used for tree planting in savannah. The seeds are germinated and grown under arbors made of bamboos and palm leaves. The arbors protect the saplings from strong sunlight and provide the right conditions to nurture and stabilize the saplings enabling them to grow faster.

Green Corridor has been building a good relationship with local residents and, with local NPOs, supporting their environmental education schools and educational settings in schools. A lot of local residents are involved in constructing arbors and planting trees. It is expected to increase their awareness of environmental conservation.

Green Corridor

World Wide Fund for Nature Japan(Japan)

Located in the south-west region of Sumatra, Indonesia, is the Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, a valuable habitat for endangered species such as the Sumatran rhino, elephant and tiger.
It has escaped from large-scale development, thanks to its rough landscape. While its luxuriant forest supports the livelihood of the local residents in surrounding areas, there are problems such as illegal land sales, occupation and development.

As one of the measures against these problems, patrols using trained elephants were introduced. The elephant patrols detect agriculture in illegally occupied areas as well as monitor wild elephant herds.
To recover the damaged forest, trees are planted in areas vacated by illegal occupants, in cooperation with local farmer groups.

World Wide Fund for Nature Japan

Japan International Volunteer Center (Japan)

Laos has promoted rapid economic development to emerge among from the world's least developed countries, so development of dams, afforestation, and mining has been expanding. In addition, overexploitation and drain of natural resources have become serious issues due to population growth and demands of surrounding nations.
This project assists the development of human resources that lead to improved sustainable lives for local residents and protect local natural resources through preservation of lands and forests and agricultural activities such as improvement of rice cultivation in the Center's activity area Sawanakate Province in central Laos. All local villager-participation activities, such as environmental assessment, planning, and case studies, produced changes in villagers' awareness of the need to protect the natural environment. Decreasing natural resources include forest products that are a major source of nutrition for villagers and provide essential cash earnings. As one of the measures to address this issue, a new activity by villagers is under way to provide an area to protect fish in rivers and is spreading to surrounding areas. The Center has been working to link this activity to other programs aimed at protecting natural resources.

Japan International Volunteer Center

Conservation International (USA)

La Amistad Biosphere Reserve, a designated World Heritage site, is the largest natural reserve in Latin America, covering parts of both Costa Rica and Panama. But forest fragmentation caused by conversion to farmland is a serious problem in surrounding areas, and this threatens the survival of native species. This project addresses biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation along with local communities, by using coffee production, one of the surrounding areas' major economic activities.
The project has been trying to promote and expand a method of coffee cultivation in shaded area using local endemic species as shade trees at the coffee estates in the areas surrounding the Reserve. The forests in the depleted farmland are regenerated and conserved by afforestation of local endemic species. An ecosystem corridor linking coffee farms, existing forest areas, and La Amistad Biosphere, reduces the burden on natural resources in the Reserve and conserves various endangered endemic species.
In addition, Conservation International conducts environmental education activities for coffee farmers and residents in surrounding areas, helping to ensure the project's long-term success with a new generation.

Conservation International