Relevant Biodiversity and conservation-related Multilateral Environmental Agreements

GRASP is working with five biodiversity-related conventions to further the cause of the great apes protection within the jurisdiction of each convention.

These include:

• The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
  
  
• The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
  
  
• The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS)
  
  
• World Heritage Convention (WHC)
  
  
• The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
  
  

CITES

At the XIIIth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES CoP13), Thailand, October 2-14, 2004, a Resolution Conf. 13.4 “Conservation of and trade in great apes” was adopted with specific reference to GRASP, further strengthening the mandate of the GRASP Partnership.

A series of joint technical missions are being undertaken to great ape range and consumer states of Africa and Southeast Asia as part of the implementation of this resolution. Mission reports can be found below.

Report of the Technical Mission to Indonesia

Report of the Technical Mission to Thailand and Cambodia

Related Correspondence from the Indonesian Government

A CITES Great Ape Enforcement task force was designed to bring together key enforcement officials from range states and trading countries to tackle the specific problem of illegal trade in great apes following the resolution on trade in and Conservation of great apes passed in Bangkok.In the bid to create awareness on the illegal trade, the task force released posters and information cards found below:

CITES GAETF Africa Poster

CITES GAETF Asia Poster

Great Apes Information Card

Task Force Contact Information Card

CBD

Aims at conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. The Convention's program of work on protected areas, which seeks to establish effective networks of protected areas, and its expanded program of work on forest biological diversity, which promotes sustainable harvesting of timber and non-timber forest resources and forest law enforcement, are of particular relevance to the conservation of great apes. All individual ape range states are Parties to the CBD.

CMS

CMS is interested in the conservation of the mountain gorilla, which crosses the mountainous border areas between Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.The CMS secretariat together with the International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP) and the GRASP secretariat are developing a CMS Article IV agreement between Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda for the conservation and management of the transboundary mountain gorilla and its habitat.

The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

Aims at the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local, regional and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world" (Ramsar COP8, 2002).The Ramsar and GRASP secretariats are cooperating to provide assistance for the elaboration of management plans in Ramsar sites with great apes. This was reinforced by an exchange of letters with the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

WHC

Defines and conserves the world's heritage through such mechanisms as World Heritage Sites. Many of these sites are critical for the survival of great apes.