Barbary Macaque Awareness and Conservation (BMAC) works to conserve the Barbary macaque and other Moroccan wildlife. We use ethnographic and ecological data in the development of culturally and socially appropriate strategies to include urban and rural communities in conservation. We aim to encourage an intrinsic value for Barbary macaques among children and adults alike.
Barbary Macaque Awareness and Conservation (BMAC) is a Moroccan Association working to conserve the Endangered Barbary macaque. Established in 2009, our project is based around the principle of true inclusion of local people in conservation; of listening to and understanding their needs, and collaborating with them to create conservation strategies that work. Each of our initiatives encompasses carefully designed, socially and culturally appropriate projects that tackle issues in Barbary macaque conservation on a case-by-case basis depending on location and stakeholders.
Our community programs reassure local communities that we also are concerned about their welfare. Our innovative Shepherd Outreach Program has been successful in reducing macaque mortalities in one area of their distribution, where shepherds now actively protect the macaques from people or dogs posing a danger to them. Our field work is based in the Tangier-Tétouan region of north Morocco, an area which includes Bouhachem, the last stronghold of truly wild Barbary macaques in Morocco. Also within our remit is work on the illegal trade of Barbary macaques as pets. The public presence and illegal sale of the macaques tacitly legitimises the practice of taking and using wildlife in Morocco, without any regard for the negative implications for the individual or species. The macaques are captured from the wild in such numbers that the macaque was classified as Endangered by IUCN Red List in 2008.
