Terrestrial laser scan of a typical forest, of the kind to be used in the Tchimpounga Nature Reserve.

New space research at the University of Leicester is set to use remote sensing techniques to survey the habitats of endangered chimpanzees in the Republic of the Congo.

Leicester researchers have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) and secured Research England funding to explore how remote sensing data, combined with machine learning approaches, can help to map, characterise and develop further understanding about the habitats of chimpanzees in the Tchimpounga Nature Reserve.

The collaboration seeks to advance a number of projects that will provide critical scientific insights about the forest and woodlands of Tchimpounga, in the Congo Basin, which is the home of the Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Center managed by JGI in collaboration with the Republic of Congo’s Ministry of Waters and Forests.

Chimpanzees are listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as an endangered species. The Jane Goodall Institute has, for more than 40 years, worked to advance scientific and public understanding of chimpanzees, as well as their conservation through community-driven approaches. JGI’s work in Tchimpounga represents a major part of their footprint in all of these areas.

Professor Kevin Tansey, of the School of Geography, Geology and the Environment, will work closely with colleagues at Space Park Leicester – the first phase of which is now complete – in supporting the research and knowledge exchange programme. […]

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