Gorilla Protection

Category: Community, DRC, Year of the Gorilla | Date: Nov 12 2009 | By: tuver wundi

Local people in DR Congo are continuing to vote for the UN Year of the Gorilla project ‘Stoves for Survival’ as the deadline quickly approaches for the end of voting in the World Challenge international competition.

Voting closes on Friday 13 November.

Nobody knows how many votes have been cast, but here in Goma local people are expressing their support for the ‘Jiko Stoves’ project by coming to the Gorilla Organization resource centre to vote online.

People all over the world had the chance to learn more about the project by watching BBC World News last weekend, but sadly not many people in this area have access to satellite tv. However, we hope that the programme raised awareness among international viewers about the issues facing people in the Kivus.

The winner of the global World Challenge contest will be announced on 5 December, and we’ll let you know the result as soon as we know it.

Thank you to everyone who has voted for us so far. There is still time to vote here http://www.theworldchallenge.co.uk/2009-finalists-project04.php

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Category: Gorilla Range States, Threats, Year of the Gorilla, bushmeat, law enforcement | Date: Nov 11 2009 | By: Daniel

Based on an article by Paula Scheidt Manoel.

Year of Gorilla Ambassador Ian Redmond said during the World Forestry Congress, recently held in Buenos Aires, that protecting animals and stopping bushmeat trade are not a matter of choice, but are actually an essential part of forest preservation. He stated: “Forests don’t have biodiversity, they ARE biodiversity. If we take out the animals, we are removing a key element of the forest life cycle”.

Animals are crucial for seed dispersal, as many plants can’t germinate without first passing through the digestive tract of species such as gorillas, elephants or birds. According to Redmond, 75% of forest depends on animals to maintain species richness and the natural cycle. More biodiversity, Redmond emphasized, also means a bigger capacity of the forest to overcome with adverse situations, such as changes in rain patterns that can occur as a result of global warming.

Hunting for bushmeat contributes strongly to the extinction or significant reduction of some species, among them gorillas. At the same time, in a number of tropical countries bushmeat is also an important source of protein for people. “In at least 62 countries, wild animals and fish constitute a minimum of 20% of the animal protein in rural diets”, says a bushmeat study by the UN Biodiversity Convention. In Central Africa alone, 30% to 80% of the total protein ingested by farmers comes from hunting.

Redmond explained that in places where there is a market for this meat nearby, it stimulates hunting. “The trade in bushmeat is leaving the forests empty. My hope is that some explicit statement about it would be made by countries if they decide to include a payment for the carbon store in the forests in the new climate deal”.

A new agreement to control global warming will be discussed at a United Nations summit this December in Copenhagen. One of the key points being negotiated is a mechanism to reduce deforestation in developing countries through financial incentives for forest protection from developed nations, called REDD (Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation).

Deforestation is highlighted by a global community of scientists as responsible for about 20% of total CO2 emissions, which they say is the main cause of the increase of temperatures. It adds up to 5.86 billion tons of carbon dioxide, as much as is emitted by the United States or China per year.

To read this and other articles online, go to http://www.climatemediapartnership.org/reporting/stories/gorilla-ambassador-demands-bushmeat-controls/

For more about YoG, visit www.yog2009.org

Tags: bushmeat, climate change, Copenhagen, Ian Redmond, REDD, seed dispersal

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Category: Community, DRC, Year of the Gorilla | Date: Nov 05 2009 | By: tuver wundi

People all over the world will have the chance to see the full film all about our Jiko Stoves project this weekend when it is shown on BBC World News.

Our team here in DR Congo hosted the BBC film crew when they came to film our fuel-efficient stoves project for the international World Challenge competition for community conservation. The film-makers also went up to see the mountain gorillas who also star in the film.

Our story will be seen by people in DR Congo on Saturday 7^th November at 1630 and on Sunday 8^th November at 0430, 1130 and 1930 (all times are GMT + 2 hours).

It will be shown everywhere in the world on BBC World News. You can check your local timings here http://www.bbcworldnews.com/Pages/Schedules.aspx

We are so happy that people from all over the world will be able to see the difference that our project is making to the local communities here. Families with fuel-efficient stoves are now using on average just 1.5 sacks of charcoal a month compared to four sacks per month before. This not only helps the villagers, but is also helping to conserve the precious forests for our gorilla cousins, and helps in the fight against climate change.

Voting closes in the competition on Friday 13^th November so if you haven’t voted yet, there is still time. If we win, the money would fund the project for a whole year. Vote here: www.theworldchallenge.co.uk/2009-finalists-project04.php

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Category: Community, DRC, Press, Year of the Gorilla | Date: Oct 20 2009 | By: tuver wundi

Every day, the residents of Goma come to the Gorilla Organization Resource Centre to cast their online vote for the local Jiko Stoves project, which has been chosen as one of only twelve finalists in The World Challenge 2009.

Local people are backing the UN Year of the Gorilla fuel-efficient stoves project, which is funded by GO in partnership with Aide-Kivu.

Residents have heard about the project from word-of-mouth, and also from Radio Congolese National television (RTNC), which partners the Gorilla Organization for the weekly edition of the programme ‘Cosmos, Our World’.

Many people have been coming to the Resource Centre in Goma to make use of the internet and vote, and lots more people have been voting elsewhere at other internet points. This is a positive demonstration of how this project is very much appreciated by local people, and how they support the fight to save the gorillas from habitat destruction caused by deforestation of the natural habitat of this close cousin.

People are voting for JIKO Stoves here: www.theworldchallenge.co.uk/2009-finalists-project04.php

Every voice counts.

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Category: Videos, Year of the Gorilla | Date: Oct 19 2009 | By: Daniel

Hi there,

Have a look at this YoG song by US musician James Leo Oliver at the United Methodist Church’s Sing for Gorilla fundraiser, which took place in Marshall, Michigan, on August 14th. Bamm Bamm recordings helped with the recording, David Begg (who also was main organizer of the UMC’s series of YoG events this summer) provided video material and Glen Cole helped with the video production. Thanks, guys!

Tags: fun, music, Year of the Gorilla

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Category: Gorilla Range States, Outreach & Awareness, Press, Threats, Year of the Gorilla | Date: Oct 16 2009 | By: Daniel

Ian Redmond, Year of the Gorilla Ambassador, has concluded his US lecture and fundraising tour. He started out on the West Coast, speaking in San Francisco, San Diego and the LA area and finished with a press event at the German Embassy in Washington DC.

Redmond’s talk is built around the fact that large mammals like gorillas and elephants are keystone species in habitats that provide ecosystem services like fresh water and clean air for the whole planet. Gorillas fertilize and disperse seeds through their dung, which regenerates the forests. Saving the gorillas will help preserve these ecosystems that directly determine human survival.

He also talked about his own experiences working with gorillas in Africa, showing videos of gorillas in the wild and describing his recent fact-finding mission to the gorilla range states.

According to Redmond, by 2030, only 10 percent of gorilla habitat will remain free of human impacts. Gorilla populations have had some recovery successes, but their numbers continue to drastically decrease. As YoG Ambassador, Redmond travels the world, talking to politicians, NGOs and addressing the public to promote the conservation of gorillas and to gather funds for projects.

We thank all organisations and individuals who helped to make this tour happen, in LA (see below) and elsewhere!!

Tags: education, fundraising, gorillas, Ian Redmond, lecture tour, seed dispersal, USA, Year of the Gorilla

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Category: Outreach & Awareness, Press, Threats, Videos, Year of the Gorilla | Date: Oct 08 2009 | By: Daniel

Ian Redmond, a tropical field biologist and conservationist, spoke about the dangers of decreasing ape populations at a presentation hosted by the Department of Anthropology on Thursday. Several hundred students attended to hear Redmond speak about the importance of ape conservation and their impact on the world. Redmond’s presentation was titled, “Save the Gorillas to Save the World.”

Redmond detailed the impact of gorillas, both currently and if they become extinct, on the world. According to Redmond, by 2030, only 10 percent of great ape habitats will remain free of the impacts of human development in Africa. Only 1 percent of orangutans will avoid the same impacts in Southeast Asia. Gorilla populations have had some recovery successes, but their numbers continue to decrease.

Redmond explained that gorillas are essential to the survival of ecosystems in their home countries, as they fertilize and disperse seeds through their dung, which regenerates the forests.

Tags: climate change, gorillas, Ian Redmond, outreach, Year of the Gorilla

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Category: Outreach & Awareness, Press, Year of the Gorilla | Date: Oct 05 2009 | By: Daniel

Sharp-eyed followers of the YoG Blog  will have noticed that there are a few gaps in the record of my State of the Gorilla Safari across Africa… My apologies for keeping you in suspense but I promise they will be filled a.s.a.p.  In the meantime, after a week packed with UK activities - a succesful YoG lecture at Bristol Zoo, writing some articles and email interviews, thanking all who  sponsored my Great Gorilla Run knuckle-walk, a Born Free Conservation Team meeting and some extreme lawn-mowing (our garden is on a steep hill!) - I got up at 3:00am on Friday to get to Heathrow for a 6.35 Lufthansa flight to SF via Frankfurt (an odd route I know, but Lufthansa kindly donated the flights that made the YoG US lecture tour possible).

San Francisco is on the coast, with only a couple of sand dunes to break the wind that sweeps in from the Pacific. Looking West, there’s nothing but waves all the way to Japan!  The SF zoo staff made me feel very welcome and showed me round the gorilla facility,  where they had recently successfully hand-reared a baby - Hasani, rejected by his inexperienced mother  -  for his first few months, then adopted him out to an un-related female with better mothering skills than his own mother, who now seems quite happy with the arrangement and occasionally plays with him. Sitting by the prison-like steel cages of their indoor quarters, I admitted how hard I find it seeing gorillas (and other animals) in captivity.  We discussed whether wild gorillas ever rejected their young — it has never been observed, but not only do wild infants benefit from their own mother’s undivided attention for the first four years or so of their childhood, they then get to watch their mother and other females with their babies and to practice their parenting skills by borrowing babies once they are old enough to venture out of their mother’s protective embrace.

It was amazing to see how Hasani’s adopted mother cared for him, and kept him clear of the silverback’s displays - he was stressed by my presence so we adjourned to the public viewing area outside, but he knew we were there and strutted across the grass and rocks blowing raspberries, which was his habit when tense I gathered.  The question of the ethics of keeping such intelligent animals in captivity will be debated passionately for many years to come, but the one thing that both sides of this debate recognise is that we don’t have the luxury of that many years to halt the decline in most wild gorilla populations. 

This is why the YoG focuses on conservation of gorillas in their natural habitat, and why more than 100 zoos around the world are through WAZA holding YoG events to raise funds for priority projects. These projects all aid in the implementation of an  Action Plan under the CMS Gorilla Agreement, a new legally binding treaty between the governments of countries with natural gorilla populations.

The SF Zoo event was a lecture and about 50 gorilla enthusiasts ignored the glorious Autumn sunshine to gather in the education centre to hear about the SoG Safari and how trees that grew from seeds dispersed in gorilla poo (the kids always love this bit!) pump water into the atmosphere and create weather systems that travel round the globe and water the crops here in California . 

Across town at exactly the same time, YoG Patron Jane Goodall was telling two packed halls (one video-linked to the other) of the importance of chimpanzees as well as gorillas and environmental stewardship in general, at the annual Wildlife Conservation Network.  I caught up with her later that afternoon, perched on a stool in the sunshine with a long queue of fans clutching copies of her new book  and graciously chatting to each in turn while a photographer recorded each encounter, providing an inspirational momento that will likely become a family heirloom for every recipient.  Jane asked about last Saturday’s Great Gorilla Run and  I thanked her for sponsoring me and showed her my healing knuckle-blisters (she hadn’t realised I did most of the 7km on all fours).  

We compared schedules (I am always awed by Jane’s energy in the face of an itinerary that would exhaust someone half her age) and found that our paths are next likely to cross at the UN Climate Convention in Copenhagen, where we will both be speaking up for the Gardeners of the Forest and hoping that the next climate treaty that will follow the Kyoto Protocol (which runs out in 2012) will include the carbon in tropical forests.
 
The WCN also brought many other leading conservationists to SF, including Iain Douglas-Hamilton, fighting to Save the Elephants, Claudio Sillero, fighting to save the Ethiopian wolf, John Hare, fighting to save the Bactrian camel, Isobel Lackman fighting for the orangutans of Borneo, and Gladys Kalema, flying the YoG  flag and seeking support for Conservation through Public Health.  Mingling with this stellar display of heroes of the planet were hundreds of generous donors ranging from those contributing by buying crafts made by communities in conservation hotspots to major donors - all brought together by a determination to engage with the problem rather than hope that someone else will do something.

This was my first experience of WCN but I was beginning to see why so many consider it one of the most inspiring and important events in the conservation calendar.

Today I was surprised to find I had a few hours to  myself, so enjoyed a walk along the dark sands of SF beach paddling in the bracing Pacific surf (in the English sense of wading up to your knees, not in the canoe sense) and watching an assortment of avian waders racing the waves and probing for food with their long beaks.  A friend then took me to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass,  the free festival in Golden Gate Park, where the Chieftons had the crowd dancing to Celtic rhythmns, Earl Scruggs the father of Bluegrass celebrated his 85th birthday on stage in a stomping set, and Marianne Faithful sang to an adoring crowd as the sun sank behind the trees. 

Tens of thousands of people politely crammed into the park - we really are the most gregarious primate on the planet - and a great time was had by all.  I wished that some of these musical icons had known about YoG and told the crowd about it, but maybe next year we can persuade the organisers to incorporate the theme of wildlife for the 2010 UN Year of Biodiversity - afterall, bluegrass stems from communities living close to nature, and what better way to celebrate Nature than a free folk festival in the park?   Watch this space…

Tags: fundraising, Ian Redmond, Jane Goodall, Year of the Gorilla

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Category: DRC, Eastern Lowland Gorilla, Gorilla Range States, Grauer's Gorillas, Political situation, Videos, Year of the Gorilla, bushmeat | Date: Oct 02 2009 | By: Daniel

Here’s another of Ian Redmond’s YoG interviews, this time with John Kahekwa at the Kahuzi Biega National Park. The park has lost most of its gorillas and elephants to poaching related to coltan mining and the war which started in 1994, and the absence of their ‘gardening’ activities has led to profound changes in vegetation cover and other ecosystem features.

Go to www.yog2009.org to find out more about the campaign and how to support.

Tags: Elephants, gorillas, kahuzi-biega, mining, poaching, vegetation cover, war, Year of the Gorilla

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Category: DRC, Eastern Lowland Gorilla, Gorilla Range States, Gorilla tourism, Outreach & Awareness, Patrols, Political situation, Rangers, Threats, Videos, Year of the Gorilla, bushmeat, militias | Date: Oct 01 2009 | By: Daniel

Ian is back in the UK, catching up with himself and preparing for his next journey, this time to the concrete jungles of LA, San Diego etc. to fundraise for YoG through a lecture tour.

As the regular reader of this blog will remember, Ian did numerous video interviews and collected other video material. Unfortunately, the files were too large to upload as he went, but we are now receiving them.

One of Ian’s first visits in the Dem. Rep. of Congo was to the Kahuzi Biega National Park, where he interviewed Head Ranger Radar Nishuli on the ever-volatile situation there and on what he thinks of the YoG. Enjoy!

Tags: conservation, DRC, gorillas, Ian Redmond, Kahuzi Biega National Park, range states, Rangers, Year of the Gorilla

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