The idea for this research stemmed from discussions with other conservationists in Rwanda through a group called “Let’s Talk about Conservation.” Daily, this group shares ideas and information focused on Rwandan biodiversity conservation and sustainability. Discussion arose in this group about plant species eaten by chimpanzees and whether chimpanzee distribution is determined by preferred diet or other factors. This discussion elicited the fact that many believe chimpanzee's distribution and diet are largely random. Therefore, we proposed this research to clarify the most dominant plant species eaten by chimpanzees, how diet affects their distribution and also what conservation measures to undertake for these preferred plant species for chimpanzees welfare in Nyungwe National Park.

This research will contribute to the field by providing an understanding of chimpanzee diet and habitat selection. The outcome of this study will be:

(1) The contribution to global and national chimpanzee conservation targets,

(2) Current chimpanzees’ distribution in the study area,

(3) Distribution of top plants species constituting chimpanzee diet,

(4) Influence of food availability on chimpanzee distribution in the study area

(5) Conservation measures for plants that serve as main chimpanzee food resources.

The findings of this research will help NNP managers and different actors in conservation to take scientifically inspired decisions for chimpanzees and NNP conservation in general. This research will contribute to the conservation of eastern chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) which is classified as engendered on IUCN Redlist. The success of this work will be proved through three main channels where:

(1) The Rwanda Development Board (RDB) will keep the provided database as a baseline which will be updated on annual basis. We plan to assess the same database every year in order to see whether there is any progress in the conservation of the plants species of concern.

(2) After every 2 years, we'll be working with our students in BSc in Biodiversity conservation during their final research projects and internships in order to update the evolution of conservation activities for the concerned plants

(3). We are also planning to start another project which will involve local communities in the conservation of identified plants through the use of indigenous knowledge. The same communities will be able to report any information about the plants of concern.