Concerned that the great apes could face extinction within 20 years, leaders from nearly three dozen countries met at UNESCO headquarters in Paris late last month, aiming to launch a rescue mission under the aegis of the United Nations' Great Apes Survival Programme (GRASP).
The chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas of Africa, as well as the orangutans of Southeast Asia, are under threat from civil wars, poaching for meat, and destruction of their forest habitats. "The world has been guilty of collective negligence," Ian Redmond, head of GRASP's technical support team, said at a press conference. The meeting adopted a proposed $25 million "global strategy" that includes money for research, monitoring, and conservation. Next, the plan goes before an intergovernmental meeting of ministers in late 2004.