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Great Apes Survival Partnership IMSA FUSION STEM Webinar - 2012. What is GRASP?. Only species-specific conservation programme within United Nations (U.N.) Unique alliance of member nations, U.N. agencies, conservation NGOs, and private supporters
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Great Apes Survival Partnership IMSA FUSION STEM Webinar - 2012
What is GRASP? • Only species-specific conservation programme within United Nations (U.N.) • Unique alliance of member nations, U.N. agencies, conservation NGOs, and private supporters • Mandate: Conserve great apes and habitat in Africa and Asia
What Are Great Apes? • Primate taxa family • Physical characteristics fingers / toes / no tails / large brain • Intelligence Extremely smart • DNA 98.6 % of same genes as humans
Great Apes Species: Africa • Gorilla • Chimpanzee • Bonobo
Great Ape Species: Asia • Orangutan
Why Focus on Great Apes? • Flagship Species Charismatic & highly intelligent • Broad Distribution Asia & Africa • ExtinctionThreat Critically endangered
Why Focus on Great Apes? • Human Connection
Who Am I? • Doug Cress: Journalist
Who am I? • Doug Cress: Make-Up Artist
Who Am I? • Doug Cress: Badminton Referee • 1996 Olympic Games • Men’s Gold Medal Match
Great Ape Odyssey • Visited sanctuary in Zambia in 1999 • Immediate connection • Began to volunteer • Raise funds
Great Ape Odyssey • Managed Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA) • 2002-2011 • 22 sites / 12 countries • 3,000 orphaned primates
Great Ape Threats • Habitat loss & deforestation
Great Ape Threats • Human encroachment & disease
Great Ape Threats • Bushmeat & illegal trade
Great Ape Threats • Mining & palm oil
Photo credits Background stadium Thomas Faivre-Duboz, forest taken from H.-D. Viktor Boehm globalcarbonproject, labled free for illustrative purposes, Photo montage by Alan Belward, Joint Research Centre
Photo credits Background stadium Thomas Faivre-Duboz, forest taken from H.-D. Viktor Boehm globalcarbonproject, labled free for illustrative purposes, post-harvest brash taken from CIFOR • Photo montage by Alan Belward, Joint Research Centre
Photo credit Thomas Faivre-Duboz, modified by Alan Belward • Photo credit championsportsradio.com/, JRC • 5.8 mha/yr humid tropics Achard et al. (2002), Science 297, 999-1002 • 13 mha/yr globally FAO (2010) Global Forest Resource Assessment Key Findings • http://www.fao.org/forestry/fra/fra2010/en/ • Emissions; van der Werf et al, 2009, Nature BiogeoSciences
Photo credit Thomas Faivre-Duboz, modified by Alan Belward • 5.8 mha/yr humid tropics Achard et al. (2002), Science 297, 999-1002 • 13 mha/yr globally FAO (2010) Global Forest Resource Assessment Key Findings • http://www.fao.org/forestry/fra/fra2010/en/ • Emissions; van der Werf et al, 2009, Nature BiogeoSciences
Palm Oil • Make-Up • Paint • Cookies • Pet Food • Soap
What Does GRASP Do? • Leverages funding • Scientific publications • Policy & outreach • Trans-boundary collaboration
Kinshasa Declaration signed by 22 great ape range states Over 30 fieldprojects / $3.9 million Last Stand of the Orangutanimpacted policy in UK, Indonesia; enhanced global consumer awareness. “Act Now for Orangutans” campaign reached more than 12 million on-line What Does GRASP Do?
Asking United Nations to declare World Great Ape Day September 9 – Kinshasa Declaration signed International day of recognition What Does GRASP Do?
What Does GRASP Do? • Commitment from UN military to support great ape transfers in East & Central Africa • Military flights • Chimpanzees & gorillas to sanctuaries
Mobile phone application (“APP”) in development with i-Site design in USA Allow public to track specific populations of great apes Weekly updates 4 great apes for pilot NGO partners / donations Launch: Late-2012 What Does GRASP Do?
Buy orangutan-friendly Halloween candy (http://www.cmzoo.org/docs/halloweenGuide2012.pdf) Recycle cell phones, ipods, computers Do not buy greeting cards / goods that portray great apes as “human” Do not support the use of great apes in entertainment What Can You Do?
Thank You www.un-grasp.org