Genevieve CAMPBELL

Dr. Genevieve Campbell is a primatologist by training, with extensive knowledge of African biodiversity and conservation issues. She is leading the activities of the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group Section on Great Apes/Section on Small Apes, and its ARRC Task Force. Genevieve started her career searching for and studying the poorly known Red-Bellied Monkey (Cercopithecus erythrogaster erythrogaster) in Benin. Afterwards, she undertook her PhD thesis on the conservation of the Western Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus), including conducting a nationwide chimpanzee survey in Ivory Coast. The results of this survey indicated a 90% decline in the chimpanzee population in Ivory Coast over the last 20 years, mainly due to the conversion of chimpanzee habitat for cocoa plantations. This instigated a desire for promoting better engagement between conservationists and the private sector, and thus Genevieve has spent the last c.15 years engaging with industrial development companies in c.15 countries trying to improve the mitigation of their impacts on biodiversity, with a specific focus on primates. This has led to the avoidance of important primate habitats by companies, and initiated a better collaboration between the private sector and primate conservation initiatives.