Stolen Apes Counts Illegal Trade Toll

The illegal trade that sees almost 3,000 live great apes lost from the forests of Africa and Southeast Asia each year is increasingly impacting wild populations as links to organized crime grow stronger.

Stolen Apes: The Illicit Trade in Chimpanzees, Gorillas, Bonobos and Orangutans [PDF] is the first report to analyze the scale and scope of the illegal trade and highlights the growing links to sophisticated trans-boundary crime networks, which law enforcement networks are struggling to contain.

Stolen Apes, which was produced by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) through GRASP, estimates that a minimum of 22,218 great apes have been lost from the wild since 2005 – either sold, killed during the hunt, or dying in captivity – with chimpanzees comprising 64 per cent of that number.

The report examines confiscation records, international trade databases, law enforcement reports, and arrival rates from sanctuaries and rehabilitation centers between 2005 and 2011.

Ape Summit to Confront Issues

The Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival, the United Nations’ Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP) and the Arcus Foundation will join to convene the Great Apes Summit, an international symposium that will tackle major issues that threaten the long-term survival of gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and orangutans in Africa and Asia.

The Great Apes Summit will be held Sept. 21- 24, and will complement the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival’s biennial media industry conference through a high-profile series of public events and private conference sessions.

Great ape advocates, public policy experts, media professionals, range state leaders and program funders will take part in topic-driven meetings to highlight areas of concern, and propose solutions to ensure a future for these endangered species. Emphasis will be placed upon agreements or activities that will have significant impact.

Sessions will be grouped under three themes: 1.) Consumption, 2.) Ethics, and 3.) Going Forward.

GRASP Promotes Trans-Boundary Process in W. Africa

A trans-boundary process to promote wildlife and habitat conservation in the Tai-Sapo Forest Complex between Libera and Cote d’Ivoire is back on track following a two-day steering committee meeting that was held March 20-21 in Abdijan.

The Tai-Sapo Forest Complex is home to numerous endangered species, including the Western chimpanzee, which numbers less than 1,000 in that landscape.

Delegates crafted a vision statement that emphasized “conservation of biodiversity and participatory sustainable management of natural resources” while ensuring the “well-being” of local communities.

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AWARD ENTRY

From the Field

About GRASP

The Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP) is an innovative and ambitious partnership comprised of great ape range states with an immediate challenge - 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 Southeast Asia.

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A.P.E.S.Portal

The A.P.E.S portal is an online tool that provides real-time, visual representation of information about great apes, their habitats, populations, threats and conservation efforts around the world.