🌿 Say hello to one of our Frankfurt Spring School winners: Fredrick Paul Mhalafu!

Each year, 6 KfW Stiftung Fellows take part in the FSS. Together with the other participants, trainers and experts, they develop a conservation project idea during the course. A jury representing five FSS partner organisations selected the three KfW Stiftung Fellows who will receive funding to bring their projects to life. This year’s grants go to Tanzania, Honduras and Fiji!

Fredrick, from TANAPA (Tanzania National Parks), works with chimpanzees in Mahale Mountains National Park. His project addresses a key challenge: the main habituated chimpanzee group has reached its tourism capacity. As the animals become more accustomed to humans, they come closer to visitors – increasing the risk of disease transmission, as chimpanzees are highly vulnerable to human illnesses.

To tackle this, Fredrick aims to strengthen biosecurity measures and habituate a second chimpanzee group. This will reduce the time each group spends with visitors, limit close interactions, and prevent the animals from becoming too used to humans, while carefully increasing visitor numbers. By doing so, his project not only safeguards chimpanzees but also supports local communities whose livelihoods depend on tourism – linking conservation outcomes directly with economic benefits.

Fredrick’s enthusiasm for these remarkable animals is truly unmatched – and if you meet him, you’ll likely hear countless fascinating facts about chimpanzees and their striking similarities to humans.

We’re excited to follow the development of this project in the coming years.

Congratulations, Fredrick: a truly well-deserved achievement! 👏