[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 96 (Friday, July 21, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1289-E1290]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      THE PLIGHT OF THE GREAT APES

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 20, 2000

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, last month, scientists 
from 12 nations sounded the warning alarm that the world's great apes--
the chimpanzee, the gorilla, the bonobo, and the orangutan--are 
hurtling toward extinction at an alarming rate.
  These animals are humankind's closest living relatives in the animal 
kingdom, yet they face the very real possibility of disappearing from 
the wild within the near future due to habitat destruction and illegal 
hunting. While many species are currently facing imminent declines due 
to these anthropogenic pressures, the great apes are especially 
susceptible because of their slow reproduction and demanding habitat 
requirements. If action is not taken immediately, these animals will 
most likely cease to exist within our children's lifetime. We cannot 
stand by and let this tragedy come to pass.
  The threats to the great apes stem largely from increased commercial 
logging that facilitates both habitat loss and a growing and largely 
unregulated commercial trade in bushmeat. These factors are further 
exacerbated by civil war in many areas that are home to great ape 
populations.
  In Indonesia, it is estimated that less than 2 percent of the 
orangutan's original forest habitat remains. The most recent population 
estimates of these apes in Bomeo and Sumatra, the only two remaining 
areas that support orangutans in the wild, are less than 25,000 
individuals. This figure represents a decline of 30 to 50 percent in 
the last decade and 10 to 20 percent annually. At this rate, if nothing 
is done, the orangutan will be extinct within 50 years.
  Although rates of forest loss are lower in most parts of Africa than 
in Indonesia, the irrevocable conversion of forested ape habitat to 
farmland and plantations poses a similar threat to populations of 
chimpanzees, gorillas, and bonobos. In fact, Africa is the third 
largest timber exporter in the world. Experts predict that in Zaire, 
Equatorial Guinea, and Cameroon, forests could disappear within 70 
years if current trends continue. When this is considered along with 
the large habitat requirements of great apes and the need for 
protecting large enough populations to maintain long-term viability, 
the loss of tropical rainforest habitat poses a dire threat to global 
ape populations.
  Another growing problem threatening ape populations, particularly in 
Africa, is the dramatic rise in bushmeat trade. Bushmeat, the term used 
to describe wildlife used for meat consumption, includes gorillas, 
chimpanzees, and a variety of other species. Once only used as a 
sustainable subsistence food source, the largely illegal commercial 
trade has skyrocketed in recent years with devastating impacts on ape 
populations. This dramatic rise has occurred for a number of reasons, 
but primarily because of increased hunting to feed local people who 
have been forced to rely on cash economies rather than traditional ways 
of life and the influx of commercial logging companies who use bushmeat 
to feed their employees.
  In addition, as timber concessions continue to open up once remote 
forests with the construction of roads, logging trucks are hauling out 
hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds of bushmeat each week. Moreover, 
the increased prevalence of bushmeat has caused markets to move beyond 
local centers to urban areas and even international trade. According to 
the most recent reports, in the Congo Basin 4,500 gorillas per year and 
3,000 chimps per year are killed solely for the bushmeat market. Even 
in the absence of habitat loss, the bushmeat trade in the Congo Basin 
is likely to lead to extinction of chimpanzees and gorillas there 
within the next century.
  Perhaps most staggering are the results of a just-completed Harvard 
survey of great ape research sites. This survey found that great ape 
populations are known, or suspected, to be declining in 96% of 
protected areas. It is these sites where the prospect for ape survival 
is best. In these protected areas, great apes are increasingly 
threatened by hunting, logging, war, and increased human population 
pressure in surrounding communities.
  We are only now beginning to understand and appreciate the complex 
role of great apes in maintaining the ecological health and 
blodiversity of tropical and subtropical forest habitats. Biologists 
fear that the loss of all great apes could irrevocably alter forest 
structure and the composition of species which could intensify other 
environmental threats caused by deforestation and agricultural 
development.
  A broad range of actions is needed if there is to be any hope of 
saving great ape populations. Laws on logging and poaching must

[[Page E1290]]

be enforced and developed to stem the unregulated and uncontrolled 
destruction of forest habitat and flow of bushmeat into the commercial 
marketplace. Long term support for protected areas, national parks, and 
buffer zones must be secured to protect habitat and wildlife. And, 
finally, conservation education and intervention programs must be 
expanded and funded, to involve more local people and scientists in the 
protection of great ape populations.
  The challenges facing the conservation of great apes is immense. As a 
first step in the effort to address this problem I have introduced H.R. 
4320, the Great Ape Conservation Act. The Act is modeled after the 
highly successful African and Asian Elephant and Rhino Conservation 
Acts, and would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to assist in 
the conservation and protection of great apes by providing grants to 
local wildlife management authorities and other organizations and 
individuals involved in the conservation, management, protection, and 
restoration of great ape populations and their habitats. The Great Ape 
Conservation Act will put money on the ground quickly, to start to halt 
the destruction of these animals.
  At the CITES meeting I attended in April, delegates and NGOs from 
many of the African nations expressed great concern over the growing 
demand for bushmeat and how this demand is contributing to the rapid 
decline of wild animal populations. Support for an effort to halt the 
flow of bushmeat is coming from not only the U.S., but also from the 
range states and many other countries who want to see this problem 
addressed. Clearly, the time for action is now. Just as clear is the 
fact that mere urging on the part of the U.S. to save these species 
will not be enough, even with the support of other nations.
  Whether its elephants or apes, rhinos or tigers, it's not enough to 
dictate to third world nations about the need to conserve their 
endangered biological diversity. We also must be willing to make the 
financial investment and provide them with the resources they will need 
to do the job. Only by incorporating the participation of the local 
residents will we be able to address the many social and economic 
factors preventing the long-term conservation and protection of great 
apes or any other species we think needs protection.
  This was the goal of the African and Asian Elephant Conservation Acts 
as well as the Rhino, Tiger Conservation Act, and this is the goal of 
the Great Ape Protection Act. This bill will only be the first step, 
however, and we must quickly determine what more we can do.
  It is critical that action be taken now, if we are to preserve the 
world's populations of great apes the chimpanzee, the gorilla, the 
bonobo, and the orangutan--for us and future generations.
  The cost of delaying is too large to accept.

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