Apes Face a Catastrophic Future International Effort Can Still Save Our Nearest Relatives

Summary

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ENCROACH on the territory. Destroy the habitat. Increase the risk of a deadly virus wreaking a terrible toll. It is no way to treat humankind's closest relative, yet that is precisely how we are behaving towards the world's great apes - chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and bonobos. According to the World Atlas of Great Apes and their Conservation, published yesterday, some species could be extinct within a generation unless urgent action is taken to reverse current trends. The report shows that population growth, logging, increased activity in the commercial bushmeat trade, disease and illness are combining to threaten the survival of the great ape species where they live in the wild.

It is an unfortunate coincidence that the study should appear in the week when publication of the chimpanzee genome demonstrated that humans and chimps share 99% of their active genetic material. Humankind's behaviour towards the species over the years shows that it is a relationship we are disinclined to celebrate, far less being anxious to perpetuate. If we continue to power on in the name of progress, we risk destroying an important part of our genetic heritage as well as eradicating an iconic species.

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Apes Face a Catastrophic Future International Effort Can Still Save Our Nearest Relatives

As Kofi Annan, general secretary of the UN, put it yesterday: "The great a...

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