Source:
The GuardianWorld's great apes face disaster, says LeakeyHunting, disease, logging and demand for biofuels
cited among prime threats
David Adam, environment correspondent
Thursday May 31, 2007
The GuardianOne of the world's most prominent conservation experts yesterday issued
a rallying cry to save the great apes, man's closest biological cousins,
which are under serious threat of extinction.
Richard Leakey, former head of the Kenya wildlife service and now chair
of Wildlife Direct, said apes across the world faced unprecedented threats
from the combined effects of hunting, disease and logging. And he said
efforts to tackle global warming through the use of biofuels could cause
more damage to ape populations because of pressure to chop down their
tropical forest homes.
About 80% of orang-utan habitat in south-east Asia has been destroyed in
the past 20 years because of soaring demand for land to produce palm oil
for western markets. Experts warn that increased uptake of alternative
fuels could mean the disappearance of the remaining 50,000 animals there
within a generation.
Dr Leakey, who will outline his concerns in a public lecture tonight at the
Royal Geographical Society in London, said human activity was directly
to blame for the deaths of millions of gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos
across the world. He urged politicians working on a new international
treaty to regulate greenhouse gas emissions to focus more on incentives
to conserve forests across south-east Asia, Africa and central and south
America.
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http://environment.guardian.co.uk/conservation/story/0,,2091822,00.html