A skin disease like scabies can have serious consequences for endangered mountain gorillas. When people and gorillas live in close proximity, human health and wildlife health are deeply connected. This is why we champion a #OneHealth approach; protecting people helps protect gorillas #WalkingWithGorillas instagram.com/reel/DetPYRBoW…

When you care for people, they start to care for wildlife. This was one of the reflections I shared at the Djolifon Conference 2026, where I had the privilege of joining fellow panelists Dr. HamzaHamouchene and DomiSanji, in a conversation moderated by MolemoMoiloa, on “Resistance of the Commons: Rethinking, Reviving, and Reclaiming the Commons in the Age of Predatory and Extractive International Relations.” Over the past 30 years of working with mountain gorillas, I have seen conservation becoming stronger when the communities living alongside wildlife are part of the solution. At @CTPHuganda, we currently engage 630 #coffee farmers, including 230 women. Through initiatives such as @GCCoffee1, we connect livelihoods with conservation and create opportunities for communities to benefit from protecting their environment. Tourism can also play an important role. When visitors buy local crafts, hire community guides, support local businesses and contribute to community initiatives, they help ensure that conservation creates tangible benefits for the people living around protected areas. Our #OneHealth approach through Village Health and Conservation Teams enables communities to take the lead. The people living in these villages understand their challenges best, and they should have a voice in developing the solutions. The near doubling of mountain gorilla numbers over the decades is something we are incredibly proud to have contributed to, alongside local communities, the Government of Uganda, NGOs, researchers and the tourism sector. The lesson for me is simple: we cannot protect nature without caring for the people who depend on it. The commons belong to all of us, and protecting them requires all of us to work together. #DjolifonConference2026 #WalkingWithGorillas

What an incredible week celebrating AFRICA: Earth's Wild Home! Still overwhelmed after watching some of the incredible footage of #wildlife with heartwarming narration on the big screen last week at the Bafta Theater in London. It was lovely to reconnect with my mentor Dr @SylviaEarle along with other National Geographic Explorers from Africa, who are also featured in the series, including @CEmogor, and Dominique Goncalves. It was truly special to introduce Jane-Marie Franklyn who filmed our work 30 years ago for BBC1 and National Geographic to Sarah Hammond who filmed our work for this series which used historical footage from 1997! We were joined by @CTPHuganda Board Member Kevin James. From scabies outbreaks threatening our mountain gorillas, to seeing communities and gorillas thrive through improving their health to gorilla-friendly coffee where every bag gives back. Huge thank you to @NatGeo and @ROLEX who made the series possible and support our work; and to award winning narrator and executive producer Wunmi Mosaku, Showrunner, BBC Studios Natural History Unit @gavinmboyland, my fellow Rolex National Geographic Perpetual Planet Explorer @drSteveboyes, and our brilliant moderator @angellicabell. Watch the full episode here: youtu.be/7IQvvawUDzw #Rolex #PerpetualPlanet #AfricaEarthsWildHome .@MosakuWunmi @VolcanoesSafari @GCCoffee1