Conservation of Mountain Gorillas
Transcript of Conservation of Mountain Gorillas
Conservation of Mountain Gorillas
Land-use change,
intensive agriculture and zoonotic diseases
Mountain Biodiversity Day, 13 January 2021
James Byamukama, Pauliina Upla
• UNEP and UNESCO
• Convention secretariats: CBD, CITES,
CMS, WHC, Ramsar
• 23 great ape range states
• Over 50 NGOs, 4 private businesses
• Donors governments and foundations
• Mandate: to conserve great apes and
their habitats in Africa and Asia
Mountain ecosystems
are important for great
ape conservation,
including for Cross River
gorillas and mountain
gorillas
Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP)
Upcoming activities under Vanishing Treasures project:
- Analyse long-term research data to assess gorillas’ climate vulnerability
- Improve buffer zone management and community livelihoods
Increase climate resilience and adaptation of both gorillas and communities
Batwa guides. Photo credit: IGCP
Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP)
But still:
Extreme Mountain Gorilla Conservation Efforts
0
100
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1971-73 1976-78 1981 1986 1989 2000 2003 2010
Virunga Mt Gorillas Population: 1971 to 2010
Total Gorillas counted
Estimated population sizei. Vulnerable:
– population is very
small and their range
highly restricted.
– A limited dispersal
ability
ii. Susceptible to disease
iii. Climate stressors
89,386,7 86
94
84,7
68,7
8886,2
0
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RMNP QENP BINP MGNP SNP ViNP VoNP Overall
No. of
Hous
eho
lds
(%)
Agriculture is the main source of income for
households in GVL
Drivers - Anthropogenic / Land-Use Change
D
C
Mountain
Gorilla
connectivity
never again
Climate Change and Mountain Gorillas
• Variability of rainfall and rising temperatures
• Negative impact on agricultural production, soil degradation, and income
• Human populations are poor, have high growth rates, and will be experiencing increasing water stress (domestic and agriculture)
Result:
• No known direct impact on Mt gorillas
• Expansion of agriculture to boundaries of protected areas /encroachment
• Degradation around the edges
• Push for degazetting PAs
• Increased human wildlife conflicts-retaliatory killings
COVID-19 Impacts on Mountain Gorilla Conservation
kllCovid-19 Economic Impacts:
37773590
2126
15611689
3673
4052
4827
4064
3617 3675
1119
0 0 0 0 0 67
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
NO
OF
VIS
ITO
RS
MONTH
Datenreihen1
Datenreihen2
1. Loss in tourism/Revenue
Estimated loss of revenue from
Gorilla parks:
Direct loss to PAs : 47,000 *
700 = $ 32,000,000
Total Loss: 47,000*1,350 =
$ 63,450,000
2. Revenue sharing and Gorilla Levy
Gorilla Levy @ $10 per permit =
47,000*10 = 470,000
Gorilla Levy contribution to Park
communities is 50% = $ 235,000
BINP Visitors for Jan – September 2019/2020
Great apes are susceptible to infection with most human respiratory pathogens
(Kondgen et al 2010, Palacious et al 2011).
kll
Illegal activities
• Long time patrol data analysis shows that BINP illegal activities were tending towards zero (GVTC annual Conservation Status Report 2018)
• However, there was a spike when tourism was completely stopped dropping to normal by September
• Park authorities attribute it to the loss of tourism-based source of livelihood for some community-members
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March April may June July August Sept
BINP Illegal activities 2019 and 2020
2019 2020
Secondary Impacts of COVID-19: Increase in Illegal Activities
kll
Way Forward
• Promote basic sustainable land management practices
• Restore degraded ecosystems
• Enhance adaptive capacity of households – ecosystem services/tourism
• Manage increasing population pressure and demand for resources
• Up-scale research on climate change and mountains
• Zoom on gorilla
• Establish sustainable financing mechanisms