Mankind driving mountain gorillas to the brink of extinction The world may soon come to a point where there would be no more Mountain #Gorillas. The creatures are one of the four subspecies of gorillas and share over 90% of their DNA with humans. According to statistics from Endangered Species International, there are only roughly 782 mountain gorillas left in the world. Diseases, poaching and habitat destruction - through actions such as oil and gas exploration - are devastating the population of mountain gorillas. Taking note of their dwindling numbers, the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and UNESCO launched the Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP) in 2001. Since then, GRASP has raised over $10 million for conservation efforts from a range of donors, including a number of nations, international bodies, NGOs, individuals and private sector firms. Using this amount, it says that it has worked on a number of different levels, such as policy support to reduce greenhouse gases and preserve forests, launch of outreach and awareness initiatives, providing technical support and training to local communities to help in maintaining the creatures and so on. The global nature of the program is underscored by the fact that even a country like China, which is not a natural habitat for gorillas, is participating in saving the great beasts. According to GRASPs website, they are keen to reach out to Chinese audiences via Sina Weibo, China’s largest social media platform, and hope that China will play an active and constructive role in promoting biodiversity conservation.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 06:38:33 +0000
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