Karin Ostertag and Dassi Bah, a Vodoun (Voodoo) adept, looking out over the Tobe protected forest. Some 350 hectares in area, the forest had been severely degraded by agriculture. Over the last 35 yea...

A tree silhouetted against the sky on a rock outcrop in the Tobe protected forest. Some 350 hectares in area, the forest had been severely degraded by agriculture. Over the last 35 years it has been r...

Beehives in a clearing in the Tobe protected forest. Some 350 hectares in area, the forest had been severely degraded by agriculture. Over the last 35 years it has been restored thanks to a partnershi...

The heavily-textured bark of a tree trunk in the Tobe protected forest. Some 350 hectares in area, the forest had been severely degraded by agriculture. Over the last 35 years it has been restored tha...

A tree in a shaft of sunlight in the Tobe protected forest. Some 350 hectares in area, the forest had been severely degraded by agriculture. Over the last 35 years it has been restored thanks to a par...

A rock cairn on an outcrop above the Tobe protected forest. Some 350 hectares in area, the forest had been severely degraded by agriculture. Over the last 35 years it has been restored thanks to a par...

A rare mushroom with a bulb underneath that is traditionally dried and powdered and used by traditional healers in the consultation of oracles. It has become so rare that nowadays healers make do with...

A sign indicating that trapping and hunting are forbidden in the Tobe protected forest. Some 350 hectares in area, the forest had been severely degraded by agriculture. Over the last 35 years it has b...

Sunlight filters through tree leaves in the Tobe protected forest. Some 350 hectares in area, the forest had been severely degraded by agriculture. Over the last 35 years it has been restored thanks t...

ATO Primate Sanctuary rescues primates, many of which are orphans whose parents were killed by hunters and poachers. The combination of habitat loss through deforestation and hunting is having a sever...

ATO Primate Sanctuary rescues primates, many of which are orphans whose parents were killed by hunters and poachers. The combination of habitat loss through deforestation and hunting is having a sever...

ATO Primate Sanctuary rescues primates, many of which are orphans whose parents were killed by hunters and poachers. The combination of habitat loss through deforestation and hunting is having a sever...

Yaya Chabi Ota, an eco-guard, removing his boots at the end of the day at his homestead in the village of Kikele. He is one of team of five who guard a small sacred forest on the edge of the village a...

Traditional priest Yatta Chabi Ota outside the Vodoun (Voodoo) temple in Kikele on the edge of a sacred forest that is home to approximately 30 white-thighed colobus monkeys (Colobus vellerosus), one...

Abdou Dramane (52), a former hunter and now an eco-guard in the sacred forest he protects in Kikele. The forest is home to approximately 30 white-thighed colobus monkeys (Colobus vellerosus), one of t...

Looking up into a tree in a sacred forest in Kikele. The forest is home to approximately 30 white-thighed colobus monkeys (Colobus vellerosus), one of the last remaining populations of the critically...

Ali 'Baba' Biao in his office at his carpentry business. Biao says he purchases wood only from permitted sources. Nonetheless government-approved timber forests are often planted at the expense of nat...

A board being trimmed at a workshop belonging to Ali 'Baba' Biao. Biao says he purchases wood only from permitted sources. Nonetheless government-approved timber forests are often planted at the expen...

Boards being trimmed at a workshop belonging to Ali 'Baba' Biao. Biao says he purchases wood only from permitted sources. Nonetheless government-approved timber forests are often planted at the expens...

Traditional priest Yatta Chabi Ota with a sacred tree on the edge of a sacred forest in Kikele. The forest is home to approximately 30 white-thighed colobus monkeys (Colobus vellerosus), one of the la...

A machete and telescope are seen as Yaya Chabi Ota, an eco-guard, rest at the base of a tree on the edge of a sacred forest he protects in Kikele. The forest is home to approximately 30 white-thighed...

Laissi Achade (40) an eco-guard, in a ceremonial area on the edge of a sacred forest he protects in Kikele. The forest is home to approximately 30 white-thighed colobus monkeys (Colobus vellerosus), o...

A felled teak tree on the edge of a sacred forest in Kikele. The forest is home to approximately 30 white-thighed colobus monkeys (Colobus vellerosus), one of the last remaining populations of the cri...

Yaya Chabi Ota (45), an eco-guard in the sacred forest he protects in Kikele. The forest is home to approximately 30 white-thighed colobus monkeys (Colobus vellerosus), one of the last remaining popul...

Refuse and the remnants of a rubbish fire surround a sign on the edge of a sacred forest in Kikele indicating that fires, the felling of trees, traps, guns, crop fields, open defecation, livestock gra...

Aboudou Wassiou Dramane (23) clearing land for crops on the edge of a sacred forest in Kikele. The forest is home to approximately 30 white-thighed colobus monkeys (Colobus vellerosus), one of the las...

Yaya Chabi Ota, an eco-guard, walking the boundary of a sacred forest in Kikele. The forest is home to approximately 30 white-thighed colobus monkeys (Colobus vellerosus), one of the last remaining po...

Laissi Achade, 40, an eco-guard, rests against a tree in a sacred forest in Kikele. The forest is home to approximately 30 white-thighed colobus monkeys (Colobus vellerosus), one of the last remaining...

Laissi Achade (40), an eco-guard, walking past broken-down latrines on the edge of a sacred forest in Kikele. The forest is home to approximately 30 white-thighed colobus monkeys (Colobus vellerosus),...

Mathieu Toviehou of NGO GRABE Benin (Groupe de Recherche et d'Action pour le Bien-Etre/ Research and Action Group for Well-Being) showing two varieties of kola nut. Kola is historically important in t...

Mathieu Toviehou of NGO GRABE Benin (Groupe de Recherche et d'Action pour le Bien-Etre/ Research and Action Group for Well-Being) showing the extent of a 0.67ha sacred forest grove in the village of W...

Mathieu Toviehou of NGO GRABE Benin (Groupe de Recherche et d'Action pour le Bien-Etre/ Research and Action Group for Well-Being) showing the extent of an approximately 1ha sacred forest grove in the...

Mathieu Toviehou of NGO GRABE Benin (Groupe de Recherche et d'Action pour le Bien-Etre/ Research and Action Group for Well-Being) showing a seed from one of the plant species the organisation is worki...

Lone trees that tower above the brush below stark reminders of how much forest has been lost. Often only trees with spiritual significance are left standing, while the forest that once surrounded them...

Rigobert Dossou, who estimates his age at 60, carrying cassava tubers on the edge of a degraded sacred forest grove in the village of Agonme. The grove is now being protected following a Forestry Insp...

A lone Kapok tree (Ceiba petandra) on the edge of a sacred forest grove in the village of Agonme. Often only trees with spiritual significance are left standing, while the forest that once surrounded...

A sign at a sanctuary for red-bellied monkeys, also known as the white-throated guenon or red-bellied guenon, created by Peter Neuenschwander in Drabo Gbo. Once thought to have been hunted to extincti...

In 1996 Peter Neuenschwander was struck by this imposing kola tree in Drabo Gbo. He purchased 40ha of the degraded forest land surrounding it and established a forest reserve and monkey sanctuary. He...

A juvenile red-bellied monkey, also known as the white-throated guenon or red-bellied guenon, at a forest sanctuary created by Peter Neuenschwander in Drabo Gbo. Once thought to have been hunted to ex...

Peter Neuenschwander in the tropical forest reserve and monkey sanctuary that he established in Drabo Gbo, Benin in 1996. Neuenschwander purchased 40ha of degraded forest and continues to restore and...

Peter Neuenschwander in the tropical forest reserve and monkey sanctuary that he established in Drabo Gbo, Benin in 1996. Neuenschwander purchased 40ha of degraded forest and continues to restore and...

Peter Neuenschwander in the tropical forest reserve and monkey sanctuary that he established in Drabo Gbo, Benin in 1996. Neuenschwander purchased 40ha of degraded forest and continues to restore and...

Peter Neuenschwander in the tropical forest reserve and monkey sanctuary that he established in Drabo Gbo, Benin in 1996. Neuenschwander purchased 40ha of degraded forest and continues to restore and...

A red-bellied monkey, also known as the white-throated guenon or red-bellied guenon, at a forest sanctuary created by Peter Neuenschwander in Drabo Gbo. Once thought to have been hunted to extinction...

Beninese conservationists Alfred Oga (left) and Yves Olatoundji supervising a biodiversity survey in a small sacred forest grove near the village of Dekanme along the Oueme River. What was once a for...

Forest guards Clement Zounmenou (left) and Dominic Hounton in a small sacred forest grove near the village of Dekanme along the Oueme River. What was once a forest has dwindled to a grove of less tha...

Seikpon Arakoue and his son Ignace Isatchon, members of a land-owning clan and forest protection committee, in the Tobe protected forest. Some 350 hectares in area, the forest had been severely degrad...

Sebastien Bio, a member of a land-owing clan and the forest protection committee, in the Tobe protected forest. Some 350 hectares in area, the forest had been severely degraded by agriculture. Over th...

Karin Ostertag and one of her dogs on an outcrop above the Tobe protected forest. Some 350 hectares in area, the forest had been severely degraded by agriculture. Over the last 35 years it has been re...

Mathieu, armed with his shotgun, in a cashew plantation near the village of Koko. He says that although he's university-educated, he's unable to find employment and so gets by with a combination of fa...

Ali 'Baba' Biao who instigated moves to protect what remains of a sacred forest on the edge of his home village of Kikele. The forest is home to approximately 30 white-thighed colobus monkeys (Colobus...

Abdou Dramane (52), a former hunter and now an eco-guard in the sacred forest he protects in Kikele. The forest is home to approximately 30 white-thighed colobus monkeys (Colobus vellerosus), one of t...

Yaya Chabi Ota, an eco-guard in the sacred forest he protects in Kikele. The forest is home to approximately 30 white-thighed colobus monkeys (Colobus vellerosus), one of the last remaining population...

Aboudou Wassiou Dramane (23) clearing land for crops on the edge of a sacred forest in Kikele. The forest is home to approximately 30 white-thighed colobus monkeys (Colobus vellerosus), one of the las...

Appolinaire Oussou Lio, the founder of the NGO GRABE Benin (Groupe de Recherche et d'Action pour le Bien-Etre/ Research and Action Group for Well-Being), which uses a mix of the modern and the traditi...

Helene Tovitounhlan (40), standing in a bed of forest plants used in traditional healing in the village of Kotan. The forest garden is an initiative of the NGO GRABE Benin, (Groupe de Recherche et d'A...

Sedogbo Mehounou (72) is a member of a village committee responsible for a small sacred Oro secret society forest grove in the village of Kotan. Local NGO GRABE Benin (Groupe de Recherche et d'Action...

Semassa Adande is a member of a village committee responsible for a tiny sacred forest grove in the village of Wamon. The forest is important to members of the Oro cult, but as is often the case, only...

Raymond Hinnouhou Adokpo (77) is the guardian of a kapok tree (Ceiba petandra) said to be centuries old that towers above the village of Kogbome. Though the forest that once surrounded it has been all...

Felix Gbetekanlin, who estimates his age at 65, is a traditional healer and head of a committee responsible for the restoration of a heavily degraded sacred forest grove in the village of Agonme. The...

Orphee Lokossou, Head of the Department of Personnel, Materials and Finance at the Abomey-Calavi Forestry Inspectorate. He was involved in a project that sought to demarcate 42 traditional sacred fore...

Peter Neuenschwander in the tropical forest reserve and monkey sanctuary that he established in Drabo Gbo, Benin in 1996. Neuenschwander purchased 40ha of degraded forest and continues to restore and...

Using an Android tablet and mobile app to record plant biodiversity in a small sacred forest grove near the village of Dekanme along the Oueme River. What was once a forest has dwindled to a grove of...

Using an Android tablet and mobile app to record plant biodiversity in a small sacred forest grove near the village of Dekanme along the Oueme River. What was once a forest has dwindled to a grove of...

Beninese conservationist Alfred Oga supervising a biodiversity survey in a small sacred forest grove near the village of Dekanme along the Oueme River in Benin. What was once a forest has dwindled to...

Fabienne Boton (30) using an Android tablet and mobile app to record plant biodiversity in a small sacred forest grove near the village of Dekanme along the Oueme River. What was once a forest has dw...

Local youth cross the Oueme River to a small sacred forest grove on the opposite bank, where they will use Android tablets and a mobile app to conduct a biodiversity survey. What was once a forest ha...

A man rubs his eyes as local youth cross the Oueme River to a small sacred forest grove on the opposite bank, where they will use Android tablets and a mobile app to conduct a biodiversity survey. Wh...

Local youth waiting in the village of Dekanme to board pirogues and cross the Oueme River to a small sacred forest grove on the opposite bank, where they will use Android tablets and a mobile app to c...

Homes in the village of Dekanme along the Oueme River. Dwindling fish stocks are one of many factors that accelerate pressure on forests, as people must instead clear land for agriculture or hunt. Wha...

Moise Avihoue casting his net into the Oueme River on the edge of the village of Dekanme. Dwindling fish stocks are one of many factors that accelerate pressure on forests, as people must instead clea...

Moise Avihoue removing a meagre catch from his net along the Oueme River on the edge of the village of Dekanme. Dwindling fish stocks are one of many factors that accelerate pressure on forests, as pe...

Moise Avihoue casting his net into the Oueme River on the edge of the village of Dekanme. Dwindling fish stocks are one of many factors that accelerate pressure on forests, as people must instead clea...

Moise Avihoue carrying his fishing net to the river in the village of Dekanme on the Oueme River. Dwindling fish stocks are one of many factors that accelerate pressure on forests, as people must inst...

A child paddles a canoe as a man swims on the edge of the village of Dekanme along the Oueme River. Dwindling fish stocks are one of many factors that accelerate pressure on forests, as people must in...

A gentoo penguin on Barrientos Island, in the South Shetland Islands. The Greenpeace ship MY Esperanza is on the final leg of the pole to pole voyage from the Arctic to the Antarctic. The almost ye...

Gentoo penguins on Barrientos Island, in the South Shetland Islands. The Greenpeace ship MY Esperanza is on the final leg of the pole to pole voyage from the Arctic to the Antarctic. The almost yea...

A southern elephant seal and gentoo penguins at Hannah Point, on the south coast of Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands. The Greenpeace ship MY Esperanza is on the final leg of the pole...

Gentoo penguins on Deception Island, in the South Shetland Islands. The island is actually the caldera of an active volcano. It last erupted in 1969 forcing the British to abandon their research stati...

Chinstrap penguins on Barrientos Island, in the South Shetland Islands. The Greenpeace ship MY Esperanza is on the final leg of the pole to pole voyage from the Arctic to the Antarctic. The almost...

An elephant seal and a gentoo penguins on Barrientos Island, in the South Shetland Islands. The Greenpeace ship MY Esperanza is on the final leg of the pole to pole voyage from the Arctic to the An...

Gentoo penguins on Barrientos Island, in the South Shetland Islands. The Greenpeace ship MY Esperanza is on the final leg of the pole to pole voyage from the Arctic to the Antarctic. The almost yea...

A whale dives near a ship fishing for krill off the South Orkney Islands. The Greenpeace ship MY Esperanza is on the final leg of the pole to pole voyage from the Arctic to the Antarctic. The almost...

A chinstrap penguin colony at Hannah Point, on the south coast of Livingston Island. The Greenpeace ship MY Esperanza is on the final leg of the pole to pole voyage from the Arctic to the Antarctic....

Trinitas, a Norweigan reefer, sailes among icebergs off the South Orkney Islands. The Greenpeace ship MY Esperanza is on the final leg of the pole to pole voyage from the Arctic to the Antarctic. T...

Trinitas, a Norweigan reefer, sailes among icebergs off the South Orkney Islands. The Greenpeace ship MY Esperanza is on the final leg of the pole to pole voyage from the Arctic to the Antarctic. T...

Trinitas, a Norweigan reefer, sailes among icebergs off the South Orkney Islands. The Greenpeace ship MY Esperanza is on the final leg of the pole to pole voyage from the Arctic to the Antarctic. T...

A group of elephant seals at Hannah Point, on the south coast of Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands. The Greenpeace ship MY Esperanza is on the final leg of the pole to pole voyage fro...

An elephant seal on Barrientos Island, in the South Shetland Islands. The Greenpeace ship MY Esperanza is on the final leg of the pole to pole voyage from the Arctic to the Antarctic. The almost ye...

Gentoo penguins on Barrientos Island, in the South Shetland Islands. The Greenpeace ship MY Esperanza is on the final leg of the pole to pole voyage from the Arctic to the Antarctic. The almost yea...