Apes in the News

The number of mountain gorillas living in the Virunga Massif in central Africa has soared by 26.3% since 2003, according to a new census. The increase in numbers from 380 to 480 individuals is thanks to "immense" efforts to reduce poaching and disease, scientists said - but should not be read as a sign that the fight to save the highly endangered species is over.

The 450-square-kilometre Virunga Massif is composed of three national parks: the Volcanoes national park in Rwanda - made famous by the film about the conservationist Dian Fossey, Gorillas in the Mist - the Mgahinga gorilla national park in Uganda and Parc National des Virunga in the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to the census, which was conducted in March and April this year, its gorilla population is growing at a rate of 3.7% a year.

09/12/2010
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Stop the Baby Trade reception draws support from celebrities, MPs and primatologists.

Dr Brian May and Bill Oddie joined a host of MPs, primatologists and scientists at the BUAV's highly successful Stop the Baby Trade Reception at the House of Commons last week.  The event was hosted by Caroline Lucas MP with guest speaker, Ian Redmond OBE.  Ian is a field biologist and conservationist, renowned for his work with great apes, in particular his conservation efforts on behalf of the Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda and Uganda which he pioneered along with the late Dr Dian Fossey. Ian also served as Ambassador for the UN Year of the Gorilla in 2009.

http://www.buav.org/article/609/celebrities-dr-brian-may-and-bill-oddie-join-buav%E2%80%99s-parliamentary-reception-on-primate-trade

07/12/2010
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By Jane Goodall

We must consider setting an explicit time frame for protecting forests and halting their rapid degradation, the rate at which species are disappearing from Planet Earth is horrifying. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the rate is between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than the natural rate of extinction. This is largely due to human activity. The United Nations declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity to raise awareness of the critical role that biological diversity plays in sustaining life.

At the same time, nations are grappling with thorny questions of how to slow climate change. The UN is currently convening its 16th climate change conference in Cancún, Mexico, where bold steps may be taken to protect forests as a means of lowering carbon emissions.

03/12/2010
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“It is estimated that tropical and sub-tropical forest and woodland ecosystems comprise more than 50 per cent of all species; they also absorb about a fifth of anthropogenic greenhouse gases each year. We in the Ape Alliance would stress that for forests to have permanence as a carbon store, it is essential for them to regenerate,” said Ian Redmond.

“Up to 95 per cent of tropical tree species have their seeds dispersed by fruit-eating animals such as primates. These seed dispersal agents are often described as the ‘Gardeners of the Forest’ because they plant the trees of tomorrow,” he added.

Many apes are threatened by commercial hunting – much of it illegal. Hence, if a REDD+ agreement is to ensure continuity of natural carbon capture and storage, it is essential to use the revenues generated to protect the whole forest ecosystem, including the animals. 

Ian Redmond said: “REDD+ holds the promise of slowing biodiversity loss as well as stabilising the climate. This will not happen if REDD finance is permitted to subsidise continued industrial logging of the world’s few remaining old-growth forests or the continued clearance of important natural forests for agriculture.”

01/12/2010
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Ian Redmond OBE, Chairman of the Ape Alliance, delivered an open letter to the Prime Minister David Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg this morning.  The letter urges Cameron and Clegg to ensure necessary measures for the mechanism for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) are finalised at the UN climate change conference in Cancun, Mexico, this week.

01/12/2010
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Redd scheme designed to prevent deforestation but critics call it 'privatisation' of natural resources.

Some of the world's largest oil, mining, car and gas corporations will make hundreds of millions of dollars from a UN-backed forest protection scheme, according to a new report from the Friends of the Earth International.

The group's new report - launched on the first day of the global climate summit in Cancun, Mexico, where 193 countries hope to thrash out a new agreement - is the first major assessment of the several hundred, large-scale Redd (Reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation) pilot schemes. It shows that banks, airlines, charitable foundations, carbon traders, conservation groups, gas companies and palm plantation companies have also scrambled into forestry protection.

28/11/2010
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