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    The Forest is Calling

    the Jane Goodall Institute's International Mobile Phone Recycling Day

  • About The Forest is Calling

    The Forest is Calling is an international campaign of the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) to inspire action around recycling and extending the useful life of mobile devices and other used electronics. Through these actions, JGI is raising awareness about how such efforts can help promote conservation of great apes and their habitats in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (EDRC) and around the globe.

     

    By 2020 it's estimated there will be almost 3.6 billion smartphones in circulation around the world - that's the equivalent of almost half the global population with a smartphone! With an average lifespan of approximately 2 years before upgrade or replacement, the demand for the resources used to produce mobile devices and the number of devices potentially entering the waste stream will only continue to grow.

     

    Bushmeat hunting associated with the mining of minerals found in mobile technologies has been identified as the number one threat to chimpanzees and gorillas in EDRC. Control over these resources has also fueled civil conflict and unrest, resulting in the deaths of more than five million people.

     

    On December 15th, 2019 citizens from around the globe can participate in The Forest is Calling by pledging to either extend the life of their mobile device by keeping it for longer than the two-year average or recycle their unwanted mobile devices with one of JGI’s recycling partners With these simple actions, JGI’s friends and supporters can help protect chimpanzees and their habitat.

  • Join Dr. Jane

    Watch the video above to hear from Dr. Jane about the importance of recycling your mobile phone.

  • Answer the call of the forest

    Around the globe, members of the JGI family are actively promoting mobile device and other electronic recycling. Below find links to these countries for more information on how you can participate in The Forest is Calling near you.

  • Why Are We Doing This?

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    Protecting Chimpanzees

    Mobile phones and many other electronics contain valuable minerals like gold, tin, tungsten, cobalt, and tantalum (coltan). Substantial proportions of the global supply of these minerals are mined in EDRC and are extracted from areas that are both crucial conservation sites for Grauer's gorillas and home one of the largest remaining intact populations of eastern chimpanzees.

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    Mission Connection

    The Jane Goodall Institute’s work in Africa focuses on protecting chimpanzees and safeguarding their habitats through community centered conservation. Extraction of these natural resources involves destroying the forests that chimpanzees call home. Tracts of forest are cleared to make way for new roads leading to mining sites, which then open up previously inaccessible forest to loggers and poachers.

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    Reducing Conflict Among People

    Control over the mining of these minerals has fueled conflict among human communities and perpetuated unsustainable livelihoods for the people who live among them. Conflict fueled in part by the artisinal mining industry has resulted in the deaths of more than five million people. Many people have retreated into the forest in search of safety from the conflict, which results in hunting of local wildlife, including chimpanzees and gorillas, for food.

     

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    Every Individual Makes A Difference

    As consumers, we can make a big difference by recycling our mobile devices or extending their useful life. Doing so removes these items from the waste stream, and also reduces the demand for extraction of resources from the habitats that many species call home.

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    Leading Change

    The Forest is Calling: International Mobile Phone Recycling Day kicks off a united effort among JGIs around the globe. On December 15th, 2020, JGI will engage our global community in taking collective action toward reducing the demand for conflict minerals and the corresponding impacts on chimpanzees, gorillas, and their habitat in EDRC and beyond.

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    Global Impact

    This campaign unites the efforts of multiple JGI offices around the world who are spreading the word about the link between mobile devices and great apes. In doing so, their efforts are magnified and participants are better able to understand the impacts of our collective action.

  • Already Recycling Your Electronics?

    Help Us Spread The Word

    Tell the world you answered the call of the forest and why it's so important to you to recycle and extend the life of your mobile devices. Share this page on social media and use the hashtag #FORESTISCALLING to join others around the world in this very important action to protect chimpanzees, gorillas, and their habitats.

     

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  • Let's Connect!

    Have questions about our campaign?

  • Presented by the Jane Goodall Institute

    Founded in 1977, the Jane Goodall Institute continues Dr. Goodall’s pioneering research on chimpanzee behavior — research that transformed scientific perceptions of the relationship between humans and animals. Today, the Institute is a global leader in the effort to protect chimpanzees and their habitats. It also is widely recognized for establishing innovative community-centered conservation and development programs in Africa, and Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots, the global environmental and humanitarian youth program, which has groups in nearly 100 countries.

     

    To connect with the Jane Goodall Institute in your country visit, www.janegoodall.org/offices.

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