JOHANNESBURG, 22 July 2010 (IRIN) - People and wildlife have never been in greater competition for limited resources as human populations invade shrinking natural habitats in a fight for living space, food and water. In this vignette of a planet-wide battle, IRIN looks at how to keep elephants away from your crops and raiding monkeys out of your food stores.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=89916

The IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group has published a new set of guidelines on the prevention and mitigation of conflict between humans and great apes. Presented as part of the Best Practice series for great ape conservation, this report is designed to help researchers and wildlife managers understand the causes of human - great ape conflict, and find equitable ways to resolve it.

http://www.primate-sg.org/BP.conflict.htm

Southeast Asia a center for illegal wildlife trade

I'm going to Indonesia soon, to write about the current plight of orangutans who are losing habitat to palm oil plantations. And to learn more about the illegal trade in wildlife, especially endangered primates.

If you regularly read the website of "Traffic: The Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network, you know that southeast Asia is the epicenter of the illegal trade in protected wildlife. The Chatuchak weekend market in Bangkok is said to be the single largest market on the planet where wildlife is traded illegally. That's one place I'm going.

Sally Kneidel Ph.D.--

http://www.basilandspice.com/living-green/great-apes-are-losing-ground-32010.html

The Washington Post recently describedPaul Raffaele as the last of the great old-fashioned adventure writers.

It's true: he's hacked his way through jungles, tracked fierce animals and sought out modern-day pirates, slavers, evencannibals. Yet he dislikes the label. It's not that he minds being called old-fashioned but he has never sought adventure just for the sake of it.
"There has to be a point to it," he says. When he decided to write about the great apes, there was a very definite point.
Every sort of great ape is in trouble, their habitats dwindling and their numbers plummeting. "People and politicians simply don't seem to get how serious their situation is," Raffaele says.

by Stephanie Pain

http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/culturelab/2010/02/stephanie-pain-contributor-the-washington.php

Science Daily

Understanding local human cultures is key
to preserving gorillas, elephants and other wildlife in African parks
and reserves, according to new research from Purdue University.

"Conservation efforts and the management of protected areas are often
designed with the best intentions, but sometimes supporting scientific
data is missing or incorrect assumptions are made about a local  
culture or even the outsiders or trade that plays a role in the area," said
Melissa Remis, a professor of anthropology who studies gorillas.
"Conservation isn't just about protecting wildlife, you also need to
consider the human dimension such as how local hunting technologies or
even migration can change how land is used."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100113172140.htm

The IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group has published a new set of guidelines on the prevention and mitigation of conflict between humans and great apes. Presented as part of the Best Practice series for great ape conservation, this report is designed to help researchers and wildlife managers understand the causes of human - great ape conflict, and find equitable ways to resolve it.