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 Following a recent airlift of orphaned gorillas to a regional sanctuary, UN Peacekeepers in DR Congo are planning a new gorilla rescue airlift next month. The operation, planned for mid July, is part of a wider effort to combat the illegal cross-border trade in baby gorillas, which has intensified in recent years with the proliferation of armed groups in the region. The first rescue mission was conducted on 27 May, when four Eastern Lowland baby gorillas, seized from poachers, were flown to safety by UN helicopters to a sanctuary in Kasughu in North Kivu, DRC. The second airlift will involve another six babies. Together, the orphaned gorillas are hoped to form a new "family" of ten. The ultimate objective is to rehabilitate the gorillas and to reintroduce them back into their natural environment.
A recent publication by UNEP and INTERPOL, supported by a series of scientists, highlighted that perhaps less than 5,000 Grauer’s gorillas may remain in the wild, down from over 17,000 in the mid 1990s. The gorillas are at great risk due to the conflict in Eastern DRC, illegal logging, mining and habitat destruction, as well as threats from diseases or direct killing by militias as a result of park rangers attempting to halt the illegal burning and cutting for charcoal in gorilla habitats (UNEP, 2010). The project is co-coordinated by MONUC, the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, the Pan-African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA), the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project (MGVP) and other partners, using strict protocols to reduce disease transmission and stress. The UNEP Great Ape Survival Partnership GRASP played a catalytic role in making this cooperation possible. To read the full article, please click here (link to UNEP website). Further good news for gorillas and local communities emerged at last Saturday's 2010 World Environment Day, hosted by Rwanda. Schoolchildren and villagers across Rwanda will receive solar power and more than $85,000 will go to gorilla conservation as part of the event's lasting legacy. Rwanda organized a vivid celebration in the Volcanoes National Park that brought together Hollywood star Don Cheadle, the Rwandan President Paul Kagame, environmentalists and businesses alongside 30,000 people. The former YoG Ambassador and newly appointed Ambassador for the UN Convention on Migratory Species, Ian Redmond, was also present, as he had been for last year's Kwita Izina. For a SLIDESHOW with imprssions of this colorful event, click here (link to Treehugger.com) WED 2010 was inspired by UNEP's recent report, 'The Last Stand of the Gorilla', which estimated that if current trends continue, gorillas could be lost from 90% of their present range in The Greater Congo Basin in 10 to 15 years. As a result of the thousands of activities organized around the world by individuals, communities, NGOs, businesses and governments, UNEP's WED Legacy fund drive has raised a total of US$50,000, with all the funds going to the Volcanoes National Park. In addition, more than US$35,000 was generously contributed to the WED Legacy Project by UNEP partners inspired by the initiative. To read the full article, click here (link to UNEP website). |
The Year of the Gorilla benefited very much from a contribution of €100,000 by the Government of France, which was received by YoG Partner GRASP (UNEP Great Ape Survival Partnership) and used to implement several YoG activities, including the Rapid Response Assessment 
“Catastrophic decline, precipitous loss, decimation”— these are the words used to describe the current situation for apes in the wild. Illegal hunting, habitat loss to mining, logging and agricultural conversion, disease and the pet trade all threaten the fragile existence of apes and their habitats. It is estimated that if current trends continue unabated, some species or sub-species of apes will be extinct in as little as one human generation (20 years). Some gorilla populations are among the hardest hit.
Ian Redmond is a tropical field-biologist. He's renowned for over 30 years of work with great apes, elephants and other species. He calls himself a 'reluctant conservationist' – he would rather study his subjects in peace than document their continued decline. 
