Securing a #Future4GreatApes Campaign Officially Set to Launch

NAIROBI, KENYA/// News Advisory/// (October 14, 2020) Following a successful campaign on zoonosis in Africa, the African CSOs Biodiversity Alliance (ACBA) is set to launch the ‘Securing a #Future4GreatApes Campaign’ on Friday October 16, 2020.  This two-week campaign is aimed at highlighting the conservation status of great apes in Africa, the important roles they play, the growing threats to their survival and the recommended actions that need to be taken to protect this iconic species.

The coalition, with over 50 organizations signed on, have been developing a series of policy briefs and case studies that will inform Africa’s biodiversity priorities for the next 10 years. This campaign is guided by a recently developed policy brief on ‘Great Ape Tourism in Africa’, written by the International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP) and Conservation through Public Health (CTPH).  

Africa is home to four great ape species – gorillas (eastern and western gorillas), bonobos and chimpanzees, distributed in over 20 African countries. Unfortunately, all of these species, and their various subspecies, are either endangered or critically endangered according to the IUCN red list of threatened species.

In the face of COVID-19, there is greater urgency for African governments to demonstrate commitment to protecting the endangered and critically endangered populations of Great Apes in Africa by enforcing the great ape tourism best practices.

The theme for the first of the two scheduled webinars seeks to answer the query ‘Why and How should we secure a future for Great Apes?’ The rich panel consists of two global leaders and experts in ape conservation; Dr. Gladys Kalema Zikusoka, CEO Conservation through Public Health (CTPH) based in Uganda and Anna Behm Masozera, Director International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP) based in Rwanda. To register for this webinar, click here.

Similar to the recently concluded ACBA #OurNatureOurHealth campaign, bi-lingual infographics and a short sensitization documentary will be released  in the lead up to the second webinar on October 23, 2020 aimed at providing  more insights and recommendations to tour operators and donors on best conservation practices post-COVID-19. 

About the African CSOs Biodiversity Alliance (ACBA)

Founded in February 2020, ACBA is a coalition of like-minded African organizations that have come together to engage with the post 2020 GBF to achieve the following vision “Africa's biodiversity thrives and underpins equitable, socially economically resilient livelihoods based on the rights of people to sustainably use their natural resources”

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