VIDEO - George Schaller's message to the Year of the Gorilla
Thursday, 25 June 2009 12:48
World renowned conservationist George Schaller, one of the first to look at gorillas from a modern, scientific perspective, gives a recount of his experiences and an outlook on the future and obstacles of gorilla conservation. A must-see!
YoG Patron Dr. Jane Goodall (DBE) kindly supplied us with this video message of support to be shown at the Frankfurt Gorilla Symposium in Frankfurt, Germany, which took place from 9-11 June. We thank her for lending her voice to this main YoG event, whose attendees collectively produced a 'Frankfurt Gorilla Declaration', find out more here.
In support of the global Year of the Gorilla 2009 (YoG) campaign, a national YoG awareness campaign was launched at Mombasa’s Haller Park on Saturday, 20th June 2009. The goal was to create awareness of the extremely precarious status of gorillas, which face continued threats, e.g. from commercial bush meat trade and the destruction of their habitat. Pollmans Tours & Safaris Ltd. in partnership with TUI, Friends of Tsavo and in collaboration with Lafarge Ecosystems organized this event.
Ian Redmond, Ambassador for the UN Year of the Gorilla, participated in the International Conference on Gorilla Conservation in Rwanda which preceded the annual Kwita Izina gorilla naming Ceremony. As well as being YoG Ambassador in 2009, he is also Chief Consultant for GRASP, the UNEP/UNESCO Great Ape Survival Partnership, aiming to conserve gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and orangutans - all of them endangered species.
During his visit, The New Times' Fred Oluoch-Ojiwah caught up with Ian Ambassador during the 5th Kwita Izina celebrations. This is a shortened version of the interview.
FOO: Ambassador Ian Redmond, kindly share with readers the key focus areas of your ambassadorial duties.
IR: It is 33 years this year since I first came to Rwanda to work with Nyiramatchabelli – the late Dr Dian Fossey – and I have spent much of my time since then talking about gorillas, writing about gorillas, studying and filming gorillas. Thus, my ambassadorial position has simply given more impetus to the work I already do, but on a higher level. The YoG is an international campaign in support of the new CMS Gorilla Agreement, a legally binding treaty agreed on by the 10 gorilla range states (most people don’t realise that out of nearly 200 countries in the world, only 10 have gorillas, and all of them are in Africa). It is fantastic how many people and organisations have joined in to make YoG2009 a success. All over the world governments, conservation organisations and zoos are organising conferences, fund-raising events, public lectures, gorilla film shows, etc.
Successful reintroduction project in the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville)
Wednesday, 24 June 2009 08:39
For over a decade, UK wildlife conservation charity The Aspinall Foundation has been operating a Western Lowland Gorilla rehabilitation and reintroduction program across two sites in the Batéké Plateau region of the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) and neighbouring Gabon. Both projects are funded by the Aspinall Foundation and are managed in cooperation with the governments of the respective countries.
In support of the global Year of the Gorilla 2009 (YoG) campaign, a national YoG awareness campaign was launched at Mombasa’s Haller Park on Saturday, 20th June 2009. The goal was to create awareness of the extremely precarious status of gorillas, which face continued threats, e.g. from commercial bush meat trade and the destruction of their habitat. Pollmans Tours & Safaris Ltd. in partnership with TUI, Friends of Tsavo and in collaboration with Lafarge Ecosystems organized this event.
Ian Redmond, Ambassador for the UN Year of the Gorilla, participated in the International Conference on Gorilla Conservation in Rwanda which preceded the annual Kwita Izina gorilla naming Ceremony. As well as being YoG Ambassador in 2009, he is also Chief Consultant for GRASP, the UNEP/UNESCO Great Ape Survival Partnership, aiming to conserve gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and orangutans - all of them endangered species.