Akatia

Akatia is an Ivorian NGO founded in 2017 by Sarah Crawford and Estelle Raballand with the aim of preserving chimpanzees, which then evolved into the preservation of all primate species. The government of Côte d'Ivoire has been carrying out law enforcement actions for several years to prevent illegal wildlife trade. Unfortunately, before the creation of Akatia, there were no suitable facilities for the care of orphaned primates, and the government was therefore unable to pursue traffickers. As part of a historic agreement, Akatia was allocated two forests protected by the Ministry of Water and Forests: Yapo-Abbe (4,500 ha) and Comoe 1 (1,200 ha). Akatia established two sanctuaries there, marking Akatia the only organization with two primate sanctuaries in two separate forests. This unique arrangement improves the protection of wild populations of chimpanzees and primates, while conserving the rich biodiversity of the Comoé 1 and Yapo-Abbe forests, and includes the wild chimpanzee group.