International News

Mountain gorilla at Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda by Rick LoBello

Future for Gorillas in Africa Getting Bleaker

Accelerating Impacts from Poaching to Illegal Timber Trade Hitting Great Ape
Populations and Habitats Faster Than Previously Supposed

UNEP and INTERPOL Call for More Support for Border and Customs Controls

Doha, 24 March 2010 - Gorillas may have largely disappeared from large parts of the Greater Congo Basin by the mid 2020s unless urgent action is taken to safeguard habitats and counter poaching, says the United Nations and INTERPOL - the world's largest international police organization.

Previous projections by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), made in 2002, suggested that only 10 per cent of the original ranges would remain by 2030.

These estimates now appear too optimistic given the intensification of pressures including illegal logging, mining, charcoal production and increased demand for bushmeat, of which an increasing proportion is ape meat.

Outbreaks of Ebola hemorrhagic fever virus are adding to concerns. These have killed thousands of great apes including gorillas and by some estimates up to 90 per cent of animals infected will die.

The new report, launched at a meeting of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) taking place in Qatar, says the situation is especially critical in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where a great deal of the escalating damage is linked with militias operating in the region.

The Rapid Response Assessment report, entitled The Last Stand of the Gorilla - Environmental Crime and Conflict in the Congo Basin, says militias in the eastern part of the DRC are behind much of the illegal trade which may be worth several hundred million dollars a year. More



Mountain gorilla at Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda by Rick LoBello Future for Gorillas in Africa Getting Bleaker Accelerating Impacts from Poaching to Illegal Timber Trade Hitting Great Ape Populations and Habitats Faster Than Previously Supposed UNEP and INTERPOL Call for More Support for Border and Customs Controls Doha, 24 March 2010 - Gorillas may have largely disappeared from large parts of the Greater Congo Basin by the mid 2020s unless urgent action is taken to safeguard habitats and counter poaching, says the United Nations and INTERPOL - the world's largest international police organization. Previous projections by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), made in 2002, suggested that only 10 per cent of the original ranges would remain by 2030. These estimates now appear too optimistic given the intensification of pressures including illegal logging, mining, charcoal production and increased demand for bushmeat, of which an increasing proportion is ape meat. Outbreaks of Ebola hemorrhagic fever virus are adding to concerns. These have killed thousands of great apes including gorillas and by some estimates up to 90 per cent of animals infected will die. The new report, launched at a meeting of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) taking place in Qatar, says the situation is especially critical in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where a great deal of the escalating damage is linked with militias operating in the region. The Rapid Response Assessment report, entitled The Last Stand of the Gorilla - Environmental Crime and Conflict in the Congo Basin, says militias in the eastern part of the DRC are behind much of the illegal trade which may be worth several hundred million dollars a year. More	New national park established in Cameroon January 28, 2010. Yaoundé, Cameroon: A new park created by the Cameroonian government that encompasses the highest mountain in West and Central Africa will help protect some of the rarest ecosystems in the Congo Basin. The government of Cameroon recently signed a decree creating the 58,178 hectare Mount Cameroon National Park, which includes the 4,095-metre high Mount Cameroon – also one of the largest active volcanoes on the African continent. “A park of such importance will help animal populations to rebuild,” said Atanga Ekobo, Manager of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Coastal Forest Project, which covers the region. “It will also encourage the sustainable use of natural resources by introducing and promoting alternative sources of income to the local communities”. Mount Cameroon is an important refuge and home to many species found nowhere else, including high numbers of plants. A very isolated population of forest elephant also lives there. For many years, poor land-use planning, land clearance, increasing agriculture, and the bushmeat trade damaged the area’s forest resources and high biological diversity. But if well managed, the new park will both conserve the remaining natural richness of this fragile ecosystem and improve the livelihoods of local people, according to WWF. About 300,000 people live the area, which provides them with large amounts of non-timber forest products, protects their water supplies and shelters sacred sites for many traditional communities. In addition, Mt. Cameroon has a great potential for eco-tourism, according to WWF. The conservation organization expects the creation of the park will increase this potential.