Dear Friends,

This Gorilla Protection Blog is a collaboration between WildilfeDirect, the Gorilla Organisation, WCS, the GTZ (German Development), GRASP, CMS, WAZA, PASA and Born Free Foundation, as well as other organizations involved in gorilla conservation. The goal uniting these various organisations is to raise as many funds as possible for a selection of important gorilla field-conservation projects.

Gorillas and the forests they live in are under pressure from all sides. Most of the threats are manmade – hunting, habitat loss, mining and war – and some are natural – such as diseases like Ebola. A combination of these threats, if left unmitigated, is a recipe for extinction and will lead to the disappearance of any viable gorilla populations from the wild within only a few decades – less than a gorilla lifetime.

Time is not on our side. This is why the UNEP Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), the UNEP/UNESCO Great Ape Survival Partnership (GRASP) and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) have jointly declared 2009 the Year of the Gorilla. This global campaign raises awareness and educates the public about gorillas and their threatened status, while at the same time raising funds for tangible on-the-ground conservation work. The projects featured here with the kind support of Wildlife Direct have been approved by experts and are of high conservation value. By donating, you can help us ensure that our grandchildren still have the chance to see these awe-inspiring beings in the wild.

The Year of the Gorilla 2009 also supports the decision by the gorilla range states to give the gorillas better protection through a legally binding agreement concluded under CMS. What is needed now is swift and effective implementation of this promising new instrument, and the Year of the Gorilla is a first big step in this direction.

Please go to www.yog2009.org to find out more. And don’t forget to tell a friend!!

As part of the of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (UNEP/CMS), also known as the Bonn Convention, will declare 2009 the Year of the Gorilla (YoG) on 1 December at its ninth Conference of Parties in Rome.

Partners in this campaign will be the Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP), in cooperation with UNEP and UNESCO, and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA).

The CMS convention brokered the CMS Gorilla Agreement on the conservation of gorillas and their habitats in the ten African gorilla range states. This legal agreement  aims to secure the survival of gorilla populations in the wild.

The YoG campaign will work for the implementation of the CMS Gorilla Agreement by supporting conservation action in gorilla habitat. Other aspects will be the funding and training of rangers, support for scientific research, development of alternative sources of income, e.g. ecotourism, as well as education and awareness raising. Interested parties will be given the possibility of supporting specific projects presented on the website (www.yog2009.org).

WildlifeDirect is seeking your ideas on how to celebrate the Year of the Gorilla