Apes: Refocussing Resources

The 2nd Council Meeting of the Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP) is convening at UNESCO Headquarters from 6-8 November. Participants are expected to develop a long-term strategy to meet the demands of conserving great apes and their habitat in a rapidly changing world. Discussions will focus on three advanced themes: great apes and green economy; great apes and illegal trade; and great apes and technology. Proposals from the recent GRASP Strategic Review will be considered in order to make the Partnership more effective, while considering reaching out to areas of government, industry, science and research that could increase the scope and scale of work.

Documents

UNEP: Forests and Orangutans

UNEP has released a report under the Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP), titled “The Orangutan and Economics of Forest Conservation in Sumatra.” It makes recommendations for conserving orangutan populations in Sumatra, including: - designating new forested areas in Sumatra for REDD+ ;
- further resource development, including palm oil plantations, should be concentrated on land with low current use value; and
- establishing income-generating alternatives for areas that are important for biodiversity, such as sustainable tourism.

CITES/SC-61

Meeting from 15-19 August, the 61st session of the CITES Standing Committee considered a complex agenda. While underlying issues of transparency, accountability, and funding came to the fore, delegates agreed to recommendations on several topics, including trade and conservation issues in great apes, elephants, tigers, rhinoceroses, sturgeons, ramin, bigleaf mahogany and other species.

Furthermore, the SC also took decisions on, inter alia:
- the relationship between CITES and UNEP;
- conducting a study on the rationale and history of the rules applying to votes by secret ballot within CITES’ COPs;
- the adoption of national laws for the implementation of the Convention;
- review of significant trade (RST);
- enforcement matters;
- other issues on interpretation and implementation of the Convention;
- the withdrawal of the recommendation to suspend trade with Nigeria, following the decision by the 61st meeting of the Standing Committee (SC 61) to lift the suspension;
- Peru's efforts to establish restrictive mahogany export quotas and reliable verification systems to ensure that harvest is sustainable and trade legal; and
- lifting a recommendation to suspend trade in Himalayan yew (Taxus wallichiana) from India, a tree with important pharmaceutical uses.
IISD-RS Coverage
CITES Press Release on Elephants
CITES Press Release on Financing
CITES Website