Jane Goodall Institute

The Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) is an international nonprofit conservation organization founded in 1977 by English primatologist Jane Goodall and Genevieve di San Faustino. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., it developed from Goodall’s long-term chimpanzee research at Gombe National Park in Tanzania and now works across more than 25 countries. Its central objective is to improve the treatment and understanding of primates, protect wildlife and habitats, and connect conservation with the needs of communities living near threatened ecosystems. Goodall began studying chimpanzees at Gombe in 1960. Her observations challenged prevailing assumptions about the behavioral distance between humans and other animals, documenting such activities as tool use and complex social behavior. Over time, however, the condition of the surrounding forest and the pressures faced by local communities made it clear that research alone could not secure the chimpanzees’ future. Deforestation, poverty, inadequate infrastructure, and limited economic opportunities affected both people and wildlife. JGI consequently adopted a community-centered approach in which habitat protection is linked to public health, education, sustainable livelihoods, and local participation. The institute’s work includes support for great-ape sanctuaries and rehabilitation centers, protection of chimpanzee habitat, anti-trafficking and law-enforcement assistance, public education, and advocacy for improved treatment of primates. Its community programs have included water and health initiatives, efforts to keep girls in school, improved agricultural practices, community-managed microcredit, and sustainable production methods intended to raise incomes without degrading forests or watersheds. JGI also trains and mobilizes young people through Roots & Shoots, an environmental and humanitarian education network associated with Goodall’s broader conservation movement. JGI maintains offices and partnerships in numerous countries. Its work in the Republic of the Congo includes the Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Center, which has cared for orphaned chimpanzees and operates within a protected landscape. The organization also supports or collaborates with other sanctuaries and conservation initiatives, including Chimp Eden in South Africa. In China, its Shanghai office was described as the first and only foreign environmental protection organization recognized as a nongovernmental organization by the city’s municipal government. The institute has expanded its remit beyond chimpanzees to broader questions of animal welfare and environmental protection. In 2022 it formed a Cetacean Committee advocating an end to the captivity of whales, dolphins, and porpoises for entertainment, while also emphasizing humane outcomes for animals already held in captivity. JGI has additionally promoted lower-impact consumption and published The Jane Goodall Institute #EatMeatless in 2021, reflecting Goodall’s long-standing vegetarianism and later veganism. JGI is not a commercial product brand or publicly listed company. It operates as a mission-driven nonprofit whose public identity is closely associated with Jane Goodall, primate science, youth engagement, community-led development, and conservation advocacy. Its present model combines field research and habitat protection with local partnerships, sanctuary support, education, policy advocacy, and practical measures intended to make conservation compatible with human welfare.

Jane Goodall’s association with chimpanzee conservation began with her field research at Gombe National Park in Tanzania in 1960. Her observations documented sophisticated social and practical behavior among chimpanzees and helped reshape scientific and public views of the relationship between humans and other primates. The research initially took place in relatively undisturbed forest, but population growth, tree clearing, poverty, and pressure on wildlife increasingly threatened the ecosystem around the study area. Goodall concluded that protecting chimpanzees required more than biological research or isolated reserves. Local people needed access to better health services, education, water, and economic opportunities, and conservation measures needed to be developed with communities rather than imposed upon them. This insight contributed to the establishment of the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977 by Goodall and Genevieve di San Faustino. During its early period, the institute was run largely from the homes of committee members and volunteers. In the early 1980s it moved into an office at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco and later relocated its headquarters to Washington, D.C. As the organization matured, it built an international network of offices, partnerships, field programs, sanctuaries, and educational initiatives. JGI’s conservation work has included protecting chimpanzees and other primates, supporting sanctuaries, assisting efforts against illegal wildlife trafficking, and educating the public about endangered species. In the Republic of the Congo, the institute has operated the Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Center since 1999. Tchimpounga cares for orphaned chimpanzees, many of whom were affected by illegal hunting and trafficking. The center has access to a 26-hectare site, while a nearby protected area of approximately 72.84 square kilometers was established by the Congolese government in March 1999. The organization’s geographic and programmatic expansion has been accompanied by a community-development strategy. JGI has worked on public health, water access, girls’ education, sustainable agriculture, community-managed credit, and environmentally responsible production. These activities are intended to reduce pressures on forests while improving household resilience and income. The organization also developed Roots & Shoots as a youth-oriented platform encouraging young people to undertake environmental, animal-welfare, and community projects. JGI’s partnerships extend beyond Africa. Its international network has included offices in more than 25 countries, and its Shanghai office was described as the first and only foreign environmental protection organization recognized by the city government as a nongovernmental organization. The institute has also been associated with educational partnerships, including the Jane Goodall Center for Excellence in Environmental Studies at Western Connecticut State University. A grades 6–8 environmental middle school in Salem, Oregon, carries Goodall’s name and reflects the wider educational influence of the movement, although it is not itself a commercial JGI product. In the 2020s, JGI broadened its animal-welfare advocacy through the creation of a Cetacean Committee in 2022. The committee’s position opposed captivity of cetaceans for entertainment and called for careful sanctuary or welfare solutions for animals already confined. The institute also published The Jane Goodall Institute #EatMeatless in 2021, connecting dietary choices with environmental and animal-welfare concerns. Through these activities, JGI continues to combine primate science, habitat conservation, community development, youth action, and public advocacy.

• 2023

  Institute responds to Tokitae’s death

  [1]Jane Goodall Instituteen.wikipedia.org

  A representative of the Cetacean Committee publicly commented on Tokitae’s death and reiterated the organization’s opposition to entertainment-based cetacean captivity.

• 2022

  Cetacean Committee formed

  [1]Jane Goodall Instituteen.wikipedia.org

  JGI created a committee advocating an end to cetacean captivity for entertainment and humane solutions for animals already held in captivity.

• 2021

  The Jane Goodall Institute #EatMeatless published

  [1]Jane Goodall Instituteen.wikipedia.org

  The institute published a plant-focused cookbook intended to connect food choices with environmental and animal-welfare considerations.

• 1999

  Tchimpounga rehabilitation work begins

  [1]Jane Goodall Instituteen.wikipedia.org

  JGI began operating the Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Center in the Republic of the Congo, supporting the care of orphaned chimpanzees.

• 1980

  Institute moves into a San Francisco office

  [1]Jane Goodall Instituteen.wikipedia.org

  After an initial period managed from the homes of volunteers and committee members, the institute moved into an office at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco in the early 1980s.

• 1977

  Jane Goodall Institute founded

  [1]Jane Goodall Instituteen.wikipedia.org

  Jane Goodall and Genevieve di San Faustino established the institute to advance primate understanding, habitat protection, public education, and conservation partnerships.

• 1960

  Jane Goodall begins chimpanzee research at Gombe

  [1]Jane Goodall Instituteen.wikipedia.org

  Jane Goodall began her long-term study of chimpanzees in Gombe National Park, Tanzania. The research later became the scientific and philosophical foundation for the institute’s conservation work.

A science-informed, community-centered conservation organization that links primate protection and habitat preservation with human development, youth education, and animal-welfare advocacy.

• Youth environmental education

  Roots & Shoots

  Roots & Shoots is JGI’s youth engagement and education program. It encourages young people to design and carry out projects addressing environmental protection, animal welfare, and community needs. The program extends the institute’s conservation model beyond field sites by developing practical leadership, civic participation, and ecological awareness among students and young activists.

• Wildlife sanctuary and rehabilitation · 1999

  Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Center

  Located in the Republic of the Congo, Tchimpounga is a major JGI-supported rehabilitation center for orphaned chimpanzees. The institute has operated the center since 1999. Its work combines animal care with habitat protection, public education, and conservation activity in the surrounding landscape.

• Conservation program

  Chimpanzee habitat and community conservation

  JGI’s field programs protect chimpanzees and other primates by combining habitat conservation with community-centered development. Activities can include support for law enforcement against trafficking, sustainable agriculture, water and health improvements, girls’ education, and income-generating approaches intended to reduce pressure on forests.

• Publication and food advocacy · 2021

  The Jane Goodall Institute #EatMeatless

  Published in 2021, this cookbook presents plant-focused recipes and relates food choices to environmental and animal-welfare concerns. Its foreword was written by Jane Goodall, who has long promoted vegetarian and vegan dietary choices.

• 2022End cetacean captivity for entertainment

  International

  Through its Cetacean Committee, JGI called for an immediate worldwide prohibition on keeping whales, dolphins, and porpoises in captivity for entertainment, while supporting humane solutions for animals already confined.

  Outcome. Created a formal JGI advocacy platform focused on cetacean welfare and captivity.

  Source
• Roots & Shoots

  International

  A youth network and education initiative that supports projects for animals, the environment, and local communities. It is a central mechanism for recruiting and training younger generations in conservation and civic action.

  Outcome. Established an international platform for youth-led environmental and community activity.

  Source
• Community-centered conservation

  International field locations

  JGI links wildlife and habitat protection with public health, water access, education, sustainable agriculture, microcredit, and livelihood development so that local communities can participate in and benefit from conservation.

  Outcome. Integrated human development into the institute’s conservation model.

  Source

• 2022

  Establish the Cetacean CommitteeOther

  Background

  JGI expanded its animal-welfare advocacy beyond primates to address the treatment of whales, dolphins, and porpoises held in captivity.

  Action taken

  The institute formed a Cetacean Committee and adopted a position calling for a worldwide ban on cetacean captivity for entertainment, with welfare-oriented solutions for animals already confined.

  Aftermath

  The committee provided a formal platform for JGI’s public interventions on captive cetaceans, including its response to Tokitae’s death in 2023.

  Source

• 1999

  Operate the Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation CenterStrategy

  Background

  Orphaned chimpanzees affected by hunting and trafficking required long-term care and rehabilitation in the Republic of the Congo.

  Action taken

  JGI began maintaining and operating Tchimpounga as a sanctuary and rehabilitation center, alongside conservation activity in the surrounding protected landscape.

  Aftermath

  Tchimpounga became one of the institute’s most prominent wildlife-care and conservation facilities.

  Source

• 1977

  Create an institute linking primate protection with community welfareStrategy

  Background

  Goodall’s experience at Gombe showed that habitat loss and wildlife decline were connected to the living conditions and economic pressures facing nearby communities.

  Action taken

  Jane Goodall and Genevieve di San Faustino founded JGI with a mission combining primate protection, habitat conservation, public education, legal and policy advocacy, and community partnership.

  Aftermath

  The community-centered model became a defining feature of the institute’s international conservation work.

  Source

1. 1Jane Goodall Instituteen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Jane Goodall Institute official websitejanegoodall.org