26 Oct 2007 - Paris, France
– A new agreement endorsed here today by
nine African countries to better protect
gorillas is a major conservation achievement,
said WWF and TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade
monitoring network.
This is the first time that countries where
great ape species are found in the wild
are to be legally obligated to act in a
coordinated manner against threats to these
animals.
The agreement, which will function like
a mini-convention or treaty, specifies efforts
that governments need to undertake and to
collaborate on. These include combating
poaching, supporting law enforcement and
building capacity in the legal and judicial
areas. The agreement will be legally binding,
unlike previous declarations from the range
countries, such as the GrASP Kinshasa Declaration
in 2005.
“This new agreement is a powerful tool
because it has the potential to reshape
the way gorilla conservation is conducted,"
said Dr Susan Lieberman, Director of WWF’s
Global Species Programme.
“It will promote collaboration and political
will to secure habitat, and stop escalating
threats such as poaching and Ebola outbreaks,
all threats to the future of the world’s
gorillas.”
Central African Republic, Uganda, Democratic
Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Nigeria,
Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Cameroon and
Gabon participated in the talks, while Rwanda
was unable to attend.
WWF and TRAFFIC, who are active in gorilla
conservation in most of the range countries,
were heavily engaged in the negotiation
process and final text.
"The priority now is to make sure
that the agreement's recommendations can
be turned into conservation action as soon
as possible," said Roland Melisch,
TRAFFIC's Global Programme Coordinator.
"Only then will we see an upturn in
the fortunes of these magnificent animals."
END NOTES:
• Six countries signed what is called the
"final act" of meeting which outlines
and endorses the agreement.
• Great apes comprise gorillas, bonobo,
chimpanzees and orang-utans. Like all great
apes, eastern and western gorillas are endangered
with extinction in the wild. The two gorilla
species inhabit the shrinking habitat of
equatorial Africa. There are two subspecies
of western gorilla: western lowland gorilla
(Gorilla gorilla gorilla), and the more
recently discovered Cross River gorilla
(G. g. diehli). The two eastern gorilla
subspecies, mountain gorilla (G. beringei
beringei) and eastern lowland or Grauer’s
gorilla (G. b. graueri), inhabit the upland
and mountain forests of eastern Central
Africa.
• GrASP is the United Nations' Great Ape
Survival Project. It is an innovative and
ambitious Partnership between the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and
the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
• Other agreements and conventions encompass
great apes (e.g. CITES), but are not specifically
targeting these species.
Joanna Benn, Communications Manager
WWF Global Species Programme
Richard Thomas, Communications Coordinator
TRAFFIC International
