The interface between wild chimpanzee culture, land use management and agricultural development: the case of the oil palm

The oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) is a common and sometimes predominant feature of many West African landscapes. In countries such as Guinea and Sierra Leone, wild or feral oil palms often dominate fallow and cultivated fields, as well as abandoned or recent human settlements; they also thrive in gallery and secondary forests. We will highlight here the extent to which wild chimpanzees differ in their cultural use and dependence on the oil palm. Across Africa, many wild chimpanzee communities make use of oil palm parts for feeding and nesting purposes. People also traditionally depend on the oil palm for a range of purposes including among others cooking, soap and wine making and construction for both subsistence and commercial purposes. Increasing global demand for oil palm is rapidly changing the landscape to include both large and small scale plantations. We used data gathered as part of a nationwide survey of chimpanzees as well as from more focused studies in areas reporting high levels of human-wildlife interactions to assess 1) the extent of competition in the use of oil palm between people, chimpanzees and other wildlife and 2) relative perceptions concerning competition for the oil palm between chimpanzees and people. We discuss the implication of these patterns with respect to land use management and agricultural development in West Africa.