Future for Gorillas in Africa Getting Bleaker |
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UNEP/GRID-Arendal - Press releases
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.
The report is available in PDF format
and as interactive e-book.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.
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http://www.grida.no/news/press/4187.aspx
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.
The report is available in PDF format
and as interactive e-book.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.
...
http://www.grida.no/news/press/4187.aspx
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