News
Announced as People Young and Old Skate
Off in London to Lift Threat of 'Gorillas
on Thin Ice'
ITV's Dancing on Ice 'Star' Donal Macintyre
to Take Part
London/Bonn/Nairobi, 15 January 2009 -Three
projects aimed at countering the slide towards
extinction of one of human-kind's closest
relatives were spotlighted today as events
to mark the international Year of the Gorilla
(YOG) 2009 got underway with a 'Gorillas
on Thin Ice' event.
As part of the launch
of the United Nations Environment Program's
(UNEP) international Year of the Gorilla
(YoG) in the United Kingdom, a troupe of
skaters dressed as gorillas are to take
to the rink at The Natural History Museum
in London.
The projects, the first
among a list being drawn up by the UNEP
Convention on the Conservation of Migratory
Species of Wild Animals (UNEP/CMS) in need
of government and corporate support, are
aimed at boosting the prospects for the
Cross River Gorilla which is Africa's rarest
ape.
Proposed by the Wildlife
Conservation Society, the projects involve
educational initiatives and public awareness
campaigns among local people to curb hunting,
bush burning and logging alongside the establishment
of community-based 'gorilla guardian' initiatives.
The involvement of communities in conservation
activities will be promoted as an add-on
to more government driven approaches.
One also involves gathering
more scientific data on the evasive Cross
River Gorilla population in Cameroon and
Nigeria to improve the conservation of these
great apes and their habitat. The identification
of suitable new habitat and the potential
for accessing newly emerging multi-million
dollar carbon funds could prove crucial
for the long-term prospects of gorillas.
Under the UN climate
change convention, governments are considering
funding forests in order to reduce deforestation
and the release of greenhouse gases. The
project is to assess whether Cross Gorilla
habitat might prove attractive to investors,
thus boosting conservation, local livelihoods
and the fight against climate change.
Other projects, to be
approved shortly under the CMS Gorilla Agreement's
Action Plan, will also cover populations
of the other subspecies across the ten African
countries where gorillas are still found.
Funds raised throughout the YoG will support
these innovative projects.
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary
General and UNEP Executive Director, said:
"The world is currently going through
a sixth wave of extinctions, so it not just
gorillas that are skating on thin ice -
you could put a whole menagerie out there
today on the Natural History Museum rink
from Iberian Lynx and Cuban crocodile to
the La Palma Giant Lizard and the Rameshwaram
Parachute Spider."
"Thus in supporting
the Year of the Gorilla countries, companies
and citizens will not only be acting to
save important high-profile species, but
also a rich array of forest biodiversity
upon which many people depend. Biodiversity
too that may hold the clue to breakthroughs
in pharmaceuticals and improved crops to
new kinds of smart materials and processes
that will be urgently needed for a sustainable
21st century."
Robert Hepworth, CMS
Executive Secretary, said: "Gorillas
play a crucial role in maintaining the tropical
rainforests in Africa, which are one of
the key pillars of a world climate in balance.
The future of these forests depends on gorillas
who plant the seeds for the next generation
of trees. The Year of the Gorilla is a unique
opportunity to secure government, corporate
and civil support for the survival of our
closest relatives. The Gorilla Agreement
provides the framework for an innovative
and highly promising conservation approach
involving local communities."
News of the projects
comes as skaters, volunteers of all ages
drawn from rinks across London, today take
to the ice dressed as gorillas in order
to raise awareness of the YOG.
The unique and potentially
surreal event is taking place between 10.00am
and noon at the Natural History Museum who
have donated two hours worth of free time
for the event. The skaters, whose presence
is being supported by the travel company
Abercrombie & Kent, are drawn from London
rinks including Alexandra Palace, Romford
and Streatham.
Various wildlife groups
including Flora and Fauna International,
the Zoological Society of London and the
Born Free Foundation who are also inviting
Donal Macintyre, the acclaimed TV investigative
reporter as well as government representatives.
Mr Macintyre is currently
competing in the Independent Television
(ITV) 1 extravaganza 'Dancing on Ice'.
Notes to Editors
"Gorillas on Thin
Ice" will take place at the 900 square-metre
ice rink in the gardens of the Natural History
Museum, South Kensington, London.
The Year of the Gorilla
(YoG) is a joint initiative of the UNEP-CMS,
the UNEP/UN Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization's Great Ape Survival
Partnership (GRASP) and the World Association
of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA). CMS has 110
governments supporting as Parties.
Experts meeting in November
2008 under the new Gorilla Agreement, coordinated
by UNEP-CMS adopted comprehensive national
action plans to support the upcoming Year.
Several projects to promote gorilla conservation
align to tailored regional action plans
and have been supported by the CMS Scientific
Council. They focus on better protection
of the Cross River Gorilla by strengthening
the role of community-based conservation
initiatives, the development of a broad-based
outreach program and relevant research.
Numbering less than 300 remaining individuals,
the Cross River Gorilla is Africa's most
endangered ape. It occurs across a 12,000km2
landscape along the Nigerian-Cameroon border.
While most of the forest sites fall within
the boundaries of Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries
or Forest Reserves, affording them some
level of protection, community-based protection
is being promoted in the remaining sites.
Therefore, a community Wildlife Sanctuary
is currently being establishment in Nigeria
and a gorilla guardian network is being
implemented in Cameroon.
The survival prospects
of Cross River Gorillas will be achieved
through the creation of Nigeria's first
community managed Wildlife Sanctuary and
support a gorilla guardian monitoring network.
A combined conservation and rural development
approach will be promoted in the most vulnerable
Cross River Gorilla sites in Cameroon.
Another project, which
will be overseen by the Wildlife Conservation
Society aims to promote education and conservation
awareness among schools and communities
in Cross River National Park in Nigeria
and the contiguous Takamanda National Park
in Cameroon. The main objective results
in changed behaviour related to key threats
faced by the Cross River gorillas such as
habitat loss and hunting. Given the large
number of people living around and also
within Okwangwo-Takamanda, raising awareness
about the value of conservation and the
uniqueness of these gorillas will be a major
component of a long-term conservation program.
Education and awareness efforts in recent
years have already contributed to a significant
reduction of gorilla hunting. Under the
action plan these efforts will be strengthened
and expanded in the heart of the gorillas
range.
A broad-based outreach
program envisages the development of local
radio programs, thematic conservation films
and a transboundary education campaign targeted
at local hunters. These media will target
major conservation challenges such as river
poisoning, over-hunting, lack of understanding
of wildlife laws and bush burning.
A third project supports
relevant research on the Cross River Gorillas,
which remain one of the least well-known
ape populations. A better understanding
of the gorillas' range, population structure
and habitat preferences and the collection/generation
of new data will allow for more effective
management of the Cross River Gorilla and
its habitat. Conducting population and distribution
surveys will help to better map the extent
of the species' range and identity suitable
new gorilla habitat. A feasibility study
will determine whether carbon credit projects
are suitable to fund Cross River Gorilla
conservation and could have major implications
for future conservation strategies.
Nuttall, UK Based UNEP-CMS Fund Raiser
For More Information on the Year of the
Gorilla Please Contact Ms. Veronika Lenarz,
UNEP/CMS Secretariat
Ian Redmond, YOG Ambassador,
Robert Hepworth, CMS Executive Secretary,
and Justin Wateridge of A&K, will be
among those available for interview.