Marlowe Hood Yahoo News 24 Mar 10;
DOHA (AFP) – Illegal logging, mining and poaching for bushmeat are pushing gorillas and other great apes in Africa's Congo basin ever closer to extinction, according to a report released on Wednesday.
Earlier estimates that the natural habitat of gorillas could shrink by 90 percent within two decades now seem overly optimistic, said the report, compiled jointly by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and international police organisation Interpol.
"With the current accelerated rate of poaching for bushmeat and habitat loss, the gorilla of the Greater Congo Basin may now disappear from most of their present range within 10 to 15 years," said UNEP's Christian Nellemann.
Outbreaks of Ebola fever have dimmed survival prospects even further, said the report, launched at a meeting of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in the Qatari capital Doha.
The virus has killed thousands of great apes, including gorillas, with about 90 percent of infected animals doomed to die.
The report, entitled The Last Stand of the Gorilla - Environmental Crime and Conflict in the Congo Basin, points an accusing finger at rebel militias ensconced in the remote reaches of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Much of the environmental damage and hunting is linked to trade -- worth hundreds of millions of dollars -- in illegally extracted gold, diamonds and precious woods carried out by the militias to fund their conflict, it found.
Insecurity caused by the fighting, meanwhile, has driven hundreds of thousands of people into refugee camps, creating a demand for ape meat as food.
Logging and mining camps with likely links to militia hire poachers to supply refugees and local markets in towns across the region with so-called bushmeat.
"This is a tragedy for the great ape and one also for countless other species being impacted by this intensifying and all too often illegal trade," said Achim Steiner, UNEP's executive director.
"It is environmental crime and theft by the few and powerful at the expense of the poor and the vulnerable," he said in a statement.
Stronger international support for Interpol's Environmental Crime Programme is needed to help overwhelmed local rangers protect the critically endangered gorillas.
More than 190 rangers have been killed in recent years in the Virunga National Park, most likely by militia members seeking unfettered access to the resources they exploit for revenue.
Mountain gorillas are found only on the slopes of the Virungas on the borders of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and fewer than 700 individuals remain in the wild, according to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International.
Gorillas have also been vulnerable to traps set for other animals, and females have been killed so that their babies could be sold as pets.
Both Rwanda and Uganda have turned gorilla tracking into a major eco-tourism industry and a big foreign-currency earner. War has stalled similar development in eastern DR Congo.
Congo Basin Gorillas Under Mounting Threat: Report
Regan Doherty, PlanetArk 25 Mar 10;
Gorillas may become near-extinct in Africa's Greater Congo Basin by the mid-2020s unless action is taken to prevent poaching and to protect their habitat, a U.N.-backed report said on Wednesday.
The situation is particularly critical in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where activity by local militias has hit local gorilla populations, according to the report by the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) and Interpol.
Illegal logging, mining, charcoal production and escalating demand for bushmeat, or meat for food, an increasing portion of which is ape meat, have also taken their toll.
Logging and mining camps, believed to have links to militias, are hiring poachers to supply refugees and markets in towns across the region with bushmeat, UNEP said. Trade in smuggled minerals and timber drives the militias' activities, generating between $14 million and $50 million annually.
"Gorillas may have largely disappeared from large parts of the Greater Congo Basin by the mid 2020s unless urgent action is taken," the report said.
The study was bleaker than a 2002 U.N. forecast that only 10 percent of the original gorilla ranges would remain by 2030.
"The gorillas are yet another victim of the contempt shown by organized criminal gangs for national and international laws aimed at defending wildlife," said David Higgins, manager of the Interpol Environmental Crime Programme.
Achim Steiner, executive director of UNEP, said: "This is a tragedy for the great apes, and one also for countless other species being impacted by this intensifying and all too often illegal trade."
Outbreaks of Ebola fever have also killed thousands of gorillas. Estimates suggest that up to 90 percent of infected animals die.
The report did have some positive news, of a previously unknown gorilla population.
"A new and as yet unpublished survey in one area of the eastern DRC, in the center of the conflict zone, has discovered 750 critically endangered Eastern lowland gorillas," it said.
(Editing by Alister Doyle and Kevin Liffey)
Gorillas Extinct in Ten Years in Central Africa?
Rise in Chinese timber demand, ape-meat eating, and mining blamed.
Nick Wadhams, National Geographic News 24 Mar 10;
Gorillas may soon go extinct across much of central Africa, a new United Nations report says. Among the threats are surges in human populations, the ape-meat trade, and logging and mining as well as the spread of the Ebola virus and other diseases, the report says.
Stretching from the Atlantic Coast to the East African countries of Burundi and Rwanda, the Congo Basin covers much of central Africa and has traditionally been a rain forest refuge for gorillas and other apes.
But "with the rate of poaching and habitat loss, gorillas in the region may disappear from most of their present range in less than 10 to 15 years from now," according to the report, co-authored by the international law enforcement agency Interpol.
Previous Study Too Optimistic?
Eight years ago a similar study had predicted gorillas in the Congo Basin would lose 90 percent of their present habitat by 2030. Now it seems even that dire prognosis was too optimistic, the new report says.
At the time, researchers had failed to predict the rise in Chinese demand for timber or the growth of mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Adding to the gorillas' plight is the shedding of taboos against eating gorilla meat, the report says. Increasingly, mining and logging camps are hiring professional poachers to provide "bush meat"—wild animal flesh—for their workers and for refugees who've fled nearby conflict.
Though gorillas still make up a tiny percentage of the bush-meat trade, losses can be devastating, because gorilla numbers are already so low and their communities are so tightly knit, experts say.
"If you kill a gorilla, you can compare it to killing a family member in a human family," said Christian Nellemann, the new report's editor in chief. "In this case, you also disrupt their movement patterns and feeding sites."
Also disruptive are pathogenic threats—many of them worsening as humans stream into formerly virgin forests—the report says.
In addition to naturally occurring pathogens such as the Ebola virus—which "may be contributing substantially to great ape declines in central Africa"—human- and livestock-based gastrointestinal pathogens such as E. coli can weaken ape immune systems and reproductive success, the report says.
Most of these interspecies infections don't require human-gorilla contact, either. Rather, they make the jump via water or soil, for example.
Cell Phones Bad for Gorillas?
The most threatened Congo Basin gorilla species is the eastern lowland gorilla, which lives mostly in eastern Congo's North and South Kivu regions, said Nellemann, a UN Environment Programme official.
Those areas have seen some of the worst of the fighting between the Congolese army and rebel groups in recent years. Kivu has also seen an increase in mining for metals such as gold and coltan, a mineral used in cell phones and other electronics.
The discovery of a previously unknown group of 750 eastern lowland gorillas buoyed hopes in 2009, but overall numbers are still down from about 17,000 in the mid-1990s to 5,000 eastern lowland gorillas today.
All Eggs in One Basket
The report does point to one success story: the rebound of the iconic mountain gorillas of Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's east,
Virunga mountain gorilla numbers rose from about 250 in the 1950s to some 380 today, thanks mostly to stepped-up ranger patrols, which target poachers as well as loggers, who cut down wood for the charcoal trade.
"It has been a success story, but it doesn't make them any less vulnerable," said Emmanuel de Merode, director of Virunga National Park. "We're dealing with an unusual situation where we have very low numbers in a single location.
"It's like having all your eggs in one basket," de Merode added. "And that makes them very vulnerable [despite] the success we've been having these last few years."
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
UNEP 24 Mar 10;
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.
It says that smuggled or illegally-harvested minerals such as diamonds, gold and coltan along with timber ends up crossing borders, passing through middle men and companies before being shipped onto countries in Asia, the European Union and the Gulf.
The export of timber and minerals is estimated to be two to ten times the officially recorded level, and is claimed to be handled by front companies in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.
Militias - A Key Link
The illegal trade is in part due to the militias being in control of border crossings which, along with demanding road tax payments, may be generating between $14 million and $50 million annually, which in turn helps fund their activities.
Meanwhile, the insecurity in the region has driven hundreds of thousands of people into refugee camps. Logging and mining camps, perhaps with links to militias, are hiring poachers to supply refugees and markets in towns across the region with bushmeat.
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), said: "This is a tragedy for the great apes and one also for countless other species being impacted by this intensifying and all too often illegal trade."
"Ultimately it is also a tragedy for the people living in the communities and countries concerned. These natural assets are their assets: ones underpinning lives and livelihoods for millions of people. In short it is environmental crime and theft by the few and the powerful at the expense of the poor and the vulnerable," he added.
Mr Steiner said he welcomed the involvement of INTERPOL and called on the international community to step up support for the agency's Environmental Crime Programme.
He also underlined the importance of strengthening treaties such as the Lusaka Agreement on Co-operative Enforcement Operations Directed at Illegal Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora, which operates in eight Eastern and Southern African countries in support of CITES.
The new Rapid Response Assessment report also recommends a greater role for MONUC, the UN peacekeeping operation in the DRC operating mainly North and South Kivu.
Strengthening its mandate in terms of support for park rangers and control of border crossings, in collaboration with national customs and international bodies, could go a long way to reduce the revenue-raising activities of militias and their role in the illegal trade. This in turn would bring a peace dividend for the people of the region.
David Higgins, Manager of the INTERPOL Environmental Crime Programme, said: "The gorillas are yet another victim of the contempt shown by organized criminal gangs for national and international laws aimed at defending wildlife. The law enforcement response must be internationally co-coordinated, strong and united, and INTERPOL is uniquely placed to facilitate this."
"We are committed to combating all forms of environmental crime on a global scale. INTERPOL is mandated to do so by providing law enforcement agencies in all our 188 member countries with the intelligence exchange, operational support, and capacity building needed to combat this world-spanning crime."
The report, issued during the UN's International Year of Biodiversity, is based on scientific data, new surveys including satellite ones, interviews, investigations and an analysis of evidence supplied to the UN Security Council.
It has been compiled by UNEP and partly updates its assessment of 2002 entitled 'The Great Apes - The Road Ahead'.
The 2002 report said at the time that around 28 per cent, or some 204,900 square kilometres of remaining gorilla habitat in Africa, could be classed as "relatively undisturbed".
"If infrastructure growth continues at current levels, the area left by 2030 is estimated to be 69,900 square kilometres or just 10 per cent. It amounts to a 2.1 per cent, or 4,500 square kilometre, annual loss of low-impacted gorilla habitat across range states including Nigeria, Gabon, Cameroon and Congo," the report said at the time.
Christian Nellemann, a senior officer at UNEP's Grid Arendal centre who was lead author of the 2002 report and who has headed up the new one, said the original assessment had underestimated the scale of the bushmeat trade, the rise in logging and the impact of the Ebola virus on great ape populations.
"With the current and accelerated rate of poaching for bushmeat and habitat loss, the gorillas of the Greater Congo Basin may now disappear from most of their present range within ten to fifteen years," said Mr Nellemann.
"We are observing a decline in wildlife across many parts of the region, and also side-effects on poaching outside the region and on poaching for ivory and rhino horn, often involving poachers and smugglers operating from the Congo Basin, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda, to buyers in Asia and beyond," he added.
Ian Redmond, Envoy for the Great Ape Survival Partnership, established by UNEP and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said clamping down on ape meat in the bushmeat trade would not harm local people.
"Ape meat is only a tiny proportion of the million tonnes of bushmeat consumed each year in the Congo Basin, so removing it from the diet of consumers would not greatly affect their protein intake - but it would assist in halting the current decline in gorilla populations being subjected to hunting and who, given their complex social structures, are so sensitive to the killing of individuals," he added.
The report does, however, contain some positive news. A new and as yet unpublished survey in one area of the eastern DRC, in the centre of the conflict zone, has discovered 750 critically endangered Eastern lowland gorillas.
The other good news is that the mountain gorillas in the Virungas, an area which is shared by Rwanda, Uganda and DR Congo, have survived during several periods of instability. And this is the result of transboundary collaboration among the three countries, including better law enforcement and benefit sharing with the local communities.
This is also due to the efforts of courageous park rangers who last year, for example, destroyed over 1,000 kilns involved in charcoal production in the Virunga National Park. But this has come at a price - over 190 Virunga park rangers have been killed in recent years in the line of duty, with the perpetrators thought to be militias concerned about a loss of revenue.
Both UNEP and INTERPOL say that significant resources and training for law enforcement personnel and rangers on the ground must be mobilized, including long-term capacity building.
This includes funds for supporting and investigating transnational environmental crime in the region, including the companies concerned in Africa and beyond, all the way to the consumers.
The College of African Wildlife Management at Mweka, near Kilimanjaro (Tanzania) has worked with UNEP in developing new programmes for anti-poaching as part of the development of the report. The college trains rangers across the entire eastern Africa.
A UNEP report published in 2007 and entitled The Last Stand of the Orangutan underlined similar threats to great apes in Asia. Since then, the Indonesian government has successfully stepped up law enforcement in many of its parks - and these improvements could be mirrored in the Congo Basin.
The report 'The Last Stand of the Gorilla - Environmental Crime and Conflict in the Congo Basin' was financed by the Government of France and the Great Ape Survival Partnership (GRASP) established by UNEP and UNESCO.
Notes to Editors
The report 'The Last Stand of the Gorilla - Environmental Crime and Conflict in the Congo Basin' can be accessed at www.unep.org or at http://www.grida.no/publications/rr/gorilla, including high and low resolution graphics for free use in publications.
The report will be released at 8:30 am GMT on 24 March at the 15th Conference of Parties of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Doha (Qatar).
For more information on the Great Ape Survival Partnership (GRASP) please visit www.unep.org/grasp
The Last Stand of the Gorilla - Environmental Crime and Conflict in the Congo Basin (pdf)
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