A consortium of global conservation bodies has announced a new campaign to conserve gorillas in Rwanda and elsewhere in Africa. The campaign to start next year, is being spearheaded by five organisations; Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), World Conservation Society (WCS) and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA). These organisations reached the decision last week, at the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals in Rome, Italy. According to a statement from the WCS, the new campaign “Year of the Gorilla activities” is aimed at alerting the world on the need for partnership to boost protection of the world’s endangered species. “The Year of the Gorilla campaign is anticipated to support conservation action in protecting gorilla habitat,” the statement reads in part. The broad campaign, according to the statement, will involve training of game rangers, support for scientific research, development of ecotourism, as well as education and public awareness campaigns. “The WCS is working to protect all four gorilla subspecies,” the WCS President and CEO Dr. Steven E. Sanderson, was quoted in the statement as saying. “We are enthusiastic with the world’s interest in gorillas and know that it will take an effort by many partners to ultimately save this species from extinction,” the statement added. The Year of the Gorilla campaign is said to be part of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. The director of wildlife, at the Rwanda Office of Tourism and National Parks (ORTPN) Fedeli Rusigandekwe, Tuesday welcomed the move, saying it is a great push for the Rwanda’s continuous global call for gorilla safety. “What we have been pushing for has now been globally recognised,” said Ruzigandekwe, in a phone interview, adding that the essence of gorilla naming in the country has yielded good results. He explained that Rwanda is using gorillas as an umbrella species for conservation of other wildlife like those in the Akagera and Nyungwe National Parks, and beyond. Next year, it will mark 50 years since WCS senior conservationist George Schaller began his landmark study of the mountain gorilla, subsequently publishing two books. Before that time, little was known about the life of the mountain gorilla before his research, which described its social organisation, life history, and ecology. The main threats to gorillas include the destruction of their habitat through production of charcoal, the effects of armed conflicts, and minor cases of diseases like Ebola. Ends
