The writer of this article, Mr Sukhdev Chhatbar (right), with world-renowned conservationist Dr Jane Goodall (left) at the Cultural Heritage Centre in Arusha in February 2025. At the centre is Mr Saifuddin Khanbhai, the Centre’s Managing Director, who is overseeing the construction of the Jane Goodall Museum at the Centre.
BY SUKHDEV CHHATBAR
One year ago, on October 1, 2025, Dr Jane Goodall died peacefully in her sleep in Los Angeles, United States, aged 91. Tanzania and the world lost a conservationist whose patience, courage and compassion changed humanity’s understanding of nature.
Her absence is deeply felt, but her contribution remains inseparable from Gombe, where she began studying chimpanzees in 1960. Her discovery that chimpanzees could make and use tools challenged established scientific thinking and brought attention to Tanzania’s natural heritage.
Paying tribute following her death, President Samia Suluhu Hassan said: “Dr. Goodall’s remarkable work at Gombe National Park transformed wildlife conservation.” The President also praised her contribution to placing Tanzania at the centre of international efforts to protect chimpanzees and nature.
Writing in TANAPA Tourism Splash magazine’s January-March 2026 edition, Dr Deus Mjungu, Director of the Gombe Stream Research Centre, described Goodall as “a global symbol of peace, compassion and hope”.
Dr Mjungu explained that her discoveries contributed to Gombe’s elevation to national park status in 1968. Her research also gave visitors a deeper appreciation of chimpanzees as individuals with distinct personalities, making Gombe a place of discovery.
He recalled how Goodall recognised that protecting chimpanzees required addressing poverty among neighbouring communities. Her TACARE programme, launched in 1994, helped restore degraded forests and supported local livelihoods, linking human wellbeing with the survival of wildlife.
“The world will miss her,” Dr Mjungu wrote.
Goodall’s influence extended beyond research. Through the Jane Goodall Institute and Roots & Shoots, established in Tanzania in 1991, she encouraged communities and young people to protect animals, restore their surroundings and improve lives.
In her March 2025 interview with The Arusha News, recalled in the newspaper’s subsequent tribute, she offered an enduring message: “My hope is in young people…” She spoke of their potential to become compassionate leaders and build a better future.
Her grandson, Merlin van Lawick, captured that continuing influence at her memorial: “The seeds of hope you [Jane] planted have taken root in millions.”
Today, remembrance carries a responsibility: to protect the forests she cherished, support conservation research and nurture the young people she trusted.
Tanzania remembers a devoted friend; the world remembers a voice of hope. At Gombe, her legacy lives on in research, protected habitats and generations inspired to care.
Goodall’s own words remain a fitting call: “We have the choice to use the gift of our life to make the world a better place.”
