Posted on 12 February
2012 - An anti-poaching patrol in Rwanda
has discovered the carcass of a young mountain
gorilla caught in a poacher’s snare, according
to International Gorilla Conservation Programme
(IGCP). The animal was one of only about
780 critically endangered mountain gorillas
left in existence.
The male gorilla, estimated
to be approximately three years old, was
determined to have been dead for a few days
before it was found on February 1. A post
mortem exam revealed that the mountain gorilla
was dehydrated and its stomach empty, pointing
to the likelihood that the gorilla struggled
with the snare for several days before dying.
The rope snare was set to trap a small antelope
for wild meat.
“It is a heart-breaking thing to see a mountain
gorilla dead after struggling due to an
act by a human being,” said IGCP Director
Eugène Rutagarama. “This incident
does, however, stimulate us to take immediate
action to strengthen law enforcement in
this area and to collectively strengthen
our work to encourage people and communities
in the Virunga landscape to reject and condemn
poaching.”
According to Volcanoes National Park, one
suspect has been arrested and three more
are being pursued in collaboration with
law enforcement authorities. In the last
few months, an unusually high number of
snares have been found in the area.
“Although the more numerous western gorilla
species are dying daily at the hands of
humans in Central Africa, the handful of
remaining mountain gorillas will simply
be unable to endure further significant
losses from poachers and their indiscriminate
snares,” said David Greer, WWF’s African
ape expert. “We strongly urge the Rwandan
and DRC governments to take swift, appropriate
action to ensure that those individuals
responsible are held accountable, creating
the deterrent necessary to discourage future
illegal activities within the park boundaries.’
Habituated gorillas, accustomed to the regular
presence of people for tourism or research,
are monitored on a daily basis and given
on-site veterinary treatment in the case
of a life-threatening injury or illness.
This gorilla, however was part of an unhabituated
group that does not receive these direct
protection benefits. Unhabituated gorillas
are protected through law enforcement, like
anti-poaching patrols within the parks,
as well as incentivizing conservation in
communities living around the park, two
important efforts supported by IGCP.
The Virunga Massif is a transboundary protected
area incorporating parts of Virunga National
Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo,
Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, and Mgahinga
Gorilla National Park in Uganda. Mountain
gorillas move between the three countries
making collaboration between the three parks
is crucial for the long-term survival of
the species.
IGCP is a coalition of WWF, African Wildlife
Foundation, Fauna & Flora International.
+ More
Heart of Borneo beating
strong on fifth anniversary
Posted on 11 February
2012 - Jakarta, Indonesia - A new report
released by WWF to commemorate the Heart
of Borneo (HoB) Declaration’s 5th anniversary
shines a positive light on the environmental
status of this iconic 220,000 km2 landscape.
The Heart of Borneo Declaration, signed
five years ago on February 12, 2007, committed
the governments of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia
and Malaysia to the conserve and sustainably
develop the 22 million hectare ‘Heart of
Borneo’.
However until now, there
was no baseline data from which to assess
the environmental status of the region or
monitor changes over time. That is about
to change with a new report produced in
consultation with a wide range of specialists
and scientists who have been working on
Borneo ecology for many years.
The new report: The Environmental Status
of the Heart of Borneo, analyses the environmental
health of the area via 13 key targets and
more than 50 indicators. The targets include
endangered animal species, such as the orang-utans,
rhino and pygmy elephant and a selection
of ecosystems such as lowland, heath and
montane forests and river systems. Each
key target has been given a rating of very
good, good, fair or poor – depending on
its current quality within the Heart of
Borneo (HoB).
The good news
The good news overall, is that most forest
types in the HoB are currently rated as
good or very good. This is particularly
important for lowland forest which is under
severe threat across the rest of the island
of Borneo. In fact, given that lowland forest
is prime habitat for Pygmy elephant, orang-utan
and Rhino, the HoB may be the last stronghold
for the preservation of this type of forest
on Borneo.
The bad news
The bad news is that the HoB still remains
under serious threat from industrial conversion
of natural forest to palm oil and other
agricultural crops, as well as illegal logging
and unsustainable rates of legal timber
extraction. Forest fire, mining and over
hunting of wildlife are also major threats
which future versions of this report will
serve to monitor.
The report was released by WWF’s Heart of
Borneo Initiative. Its team leader, Adam
Tomasek, highlighted the significance of
the report.
“For the first time
the environmental health of the HoB has
been assessed using a series of scientifically
derived biological and ecosystem indicators
and the results have indicated the HoB is
currently in good health,” he said.
“Just as importantly, now for the first
time, the three HoB governments and key
stakeholders will have a credible and easy
to use tool to monitor progress in terms
of improvements or degradation in key natural
health measures for the HoB. It is a management
tool which can be used to improve decision
making on the sustainable use and conservation
of this globally iconic landscape,” he said.
WWF encourages the three
governments of Borneo to use the report
to raise awareness of the high conservation
values of the HoB and the major threats
to its continued survival as an area of
globally significant biodiversity.
The report was written by WWF Indonesia’s
field biologist, Stephen Wulffraat with
funding from the Sall Family Foundation
via WWF US.
