Bushmeat and Wildlife
Trade Continue to Threaten Gorilla Populations
Across Africa
Transboundary Collaboration
Is Vital For the Success of Gorilla Conservation
Kigali, 31 March 2011 An international meeting
organized by the Convention on the Conservation
of Migratory Species of Wild Animals under
the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP/CMS) called for better enforcement
of wildlife law in the ten countries in
Africa with gorilla populations.
For the first time ever,
UN agencies, national governments in the
region, local wildlife authorities, non-governmental
organizations and international experts
came together this week at a two-day meeting
in Kigali, Rwanda, to deal with wildlife
crime threatening endangered gorillas.
Government officials,
the Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP),
INTERPOL, the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) as well
as the wildlife trade monitoring network
TRAFFIC, among others, joined CMS in reviewing
the current conservation activities affecting
the four sub-species of gorillas in East
and Central Africa, and discussed solutions
to address the major threat of commercial
poaching for bushmeat and live trade in
gorillas.
CMS Executive Secretary
Elizabeth Maruma Mrema said: "Joint
efforts to apply wildlife law are important
because gorillas play a key role in the
ecology of Africa's forests. Their loss
has an impact on the health of the whole
ecosystem and, by extension, on everyone
who lives in or benefits from these forests."
Local, national and
international law enforcement efforts are
essential to protect gorillas and their
rainforest habitat. The UN is already working
closely with INTERPOL and national governments
to curb the trade in live apes, bushmeat
as well as the illegal harvesting of timber.
INTERPOL offered its
global network of national offices to help
combat wildlife crime relating to gorilla
and other endangered species.
"A global response
is required against environmental and wildlife
crime, and in this endeavor it is important
for all countries to work through a multi-disciplinary
approach that also uses INTERPOL's established
National Central Bureau network and its
Environmental Crime Programme to communicate
intelligence and to provide support in capacity
building efforts," said Bernd Rossbach,
the Director of INTERPOL's Specialized Crime
Unit.
The meeting, which ended
on 30 March, concluded that transboundary
collaboration, coordination with UN peace-building
missions, such as MONUSCO, and law enforcement
agencies must be strengthened, with increased
resources and training for law enforcement
personnel and rangers. Orphan gorillas were
already moved to a sanctuary with help from
MONUSCO in July 2010 to combat the illegal
cross-border trade in baby gorillas.
The CMS Agreement on
the Conservation of Gorillas and their Habitats,
which came into force in 2008, provides
the framework for regional cooperation in
the long-term protection of gorillas in
the ten countries of the Congo Basin, ranging
from Nigeria in the west, to Angola in the
south and Uganda in the east. So far it
has been signed by six range states, namely
the Central African Republic, Republic of
Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),
Gabon, Nigeria and Rwanda.
The collaboration is
building on earlier success stories. While
gorilla populations across Africa are in
decline, the Virunga population of mountain
gorillas in Rwanda and Uganda are now on
the rise.
Rwanda, the Democratic
Republic of Congo and Uganda have been engaged
in a trilateral transboundary regional cooperation
across the Virunga Mountains since 1999,
including the Virunga National Park on the
Congo side, which is the oldest National
Park in Africa. Both Virunga and Bwindi
National Park in Uganda are UNESCO World
Heritage Sites and the two remaining mountain
gorilla parks - Rwanda's Volcanoes National
Park and Uganda's Mgahinga NP - have been
proposed. The trilateral arrangement is
one of the most successful examples for
transboundary collaboration with some revenues
from gorilla tourism shared between the
countries.
According to the latest
mountain gorilla census published in December
2010, the Virunga mountain gorilla population
in DR Congo, Rwanda and Uganda has increased
to 480 animals, a boost of 25 percent since
the last count in 2003. A total of 786 mountain
gorillas were counted in all three countries,
including Uganda's Bwindi National Park
and the adjoining Sarambwe Forest in DR
Congo. This positive population trend is
the best indicator for successful conservation
work.
Responsible wildlife
tourism can be an important conservation
tool and boost the national economy at the
same time. In addition to conserving gorillas
and their rainforest habitat, generating
jobs and combating poverty, gorilla tourism
has sparked a multi-million-dollar boom,
contributing substantially to the Green
Economy in Rwanda and Uganda.
CMS explores options
how to replicate this transboundary approach
across Sangha Tri-national, Tridom in the
Congo Basin, Central Africa, and the Cross
River area shared by Cameroon and Nigeria.
Here, the critically endangered Cross River
Gorilla with fewer than 300 individuals
remains in need of urgent help.
CMS continues to support
regional efforts, which were initiated during
the Year of the Gorilla 2009, to fight the
illegal trade in endangered species. Earlier
this year, the Gabonese Government, assisted
by the charity Conservation Justice and
partially funded by CMS, achieved what might
be the biggest arrest related to ape poaching
yet in Africa. Thirteen heads and 32 hands
of gorillas and chimpanzees were confiscated
from five wildlife smugglers, along with
the remains of elephants, leopards, lions
and other endangered species. The smugglers
are all awaiting trial in Gabon. CMS continues
to support similar projects, which help
governments to enforce their laws.
The Rwandan Minister
of Environment and Lands, Stanislas Kimanzi,
concluded: "The meeting has sent a
clear message to all those involved in gorilla
poaching and illegal trade: wildlife traffickers
will be arrested in the ten countries covered
by the CMS Agreement. Gorillas are worth
more alive in the forest than dead on a
butcher's slab or suffering in a cage."
Notes to Editors:
The Convention on the
Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild
Animals (UNEP/CMS) works for the conservation
of a wide array of endangered migratory
animals worldwide through the negotiation
and implementation of agreements and action
plans. CMS is a fast-growing convention
with special importance due to its expertise
in the field of migratory species. At present,
115 countries are parties to the Convention.
The CMS Agreement on
the Conservation of Gorillas and Their Habitats
entered into force in June 2008. The Agreement
area covers Angola, Cameroon, Central African
Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Republic of
Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo (DR
Congo), Gabon, Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda.
www.cms.int
The Great Apes Survival
Partnership (GRASP) is a strategic alliance
of the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) and the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
which aims to lift the threat of imminent
extinction faced by gorillas (Gorilla beringei,
G. gorilla), chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes),
bonobos (Pan paniscus) and orangutans (Pongo
abelii, P. pygmaeus) across their ranges
in equatorial Africa and south-east Asia.
The GRASP-Grid Arendal-
INTERPOL report "The Last Stand of
the Gorilla ? Environmental Crime and Conflict
in the Congo Basin", published in 2010,
calls for more concerted efforts fight environmental
crime. http://www.grida.no/publications/rr/gorilla/
CITES
The Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora (CITES) is an international agreement
between governments. Its aim is to ensure
that international trade in specimens of
wild animals and plants is sustainable,
legal and traceable. It has a membership
of 175 countries.
www.cites.org
INTERPOL
It is the world's largest
international police organization, with
188 member states. The mission of INTERPOL's
Environmental Crime Programme is to assist
its member countries in the effective enforcement
of national and international environmental
laws and treaties. It targets wildlife crime.
www.interpol.org
TRAFFIC, the wildlife
trade monitoring network, works to ensure
that trade in wild plants and animals is
not a threat to the conservation of nature.
A central aim of TRAFFIC's activities is
to contribute to the wildlife trade-related
priorities of its partners IUCN and WWF.
TRAFFIC also works in close co-operation
with CITES. www.traffic.org
Further related links
for UNEP website:
www.cms.int/species/gorillas/index.htm
www.yog2009.org
http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/monusco/index.shtml
www.unodc.org
www.conservation-justice.org
www.4apes.com/gorilla
