News

Apes Seizure Database launched by GRASP and UNEP-WCMC

A new database, the Apes Seizure Database, that will help tackle the illegal trade of great apes was launched today (29 September 2016) at the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (CoP17) in Johannesburg.

The illegal trafficking of great apes – chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and bonobos – has often gone undetected or unreported for over a decade, and is a sustained threat to the survival of these species.

The Apes Seizure Database, developed by UNEP-WCMC in collaboration with the Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP), will become the home for records of great apes seized around the world.

For the first time global records will be consolidated into one central, secure and up-to-date database of standardized records, with new reports able to be added quickly and easily directly into the system as soon as they happen.

New records will then be validated by a panel of great ape experts to ensure the high quality of data being added into the system.

As well as storing historical data, the Apes Seizure Database has been designed for the needs and challenges of the people providing new data.

The system is a fully responsive, allowing providers to upload records direct from the field via smart phones, and caters for users with poor and unstable internet connections.

Doug Cress, programme coordinator of GRASP said:

“For too long, the illegal trade in great apes was anecdotal, and therefore difficult to judge in terms of scale and scope. But with the Apes Seizure Database, the numbers are plain to see. It doesn’t take long to identify areas of concern in Africa or Asia, or recognize that critically endangered species are being pushed to the brink.”

The Apes Seizure Database was a recommendation of the 2013 UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report, Stolen Apes, the first study to assess the global traffic in great apes. GRASP worked closely with dozens of partners to build the database over a two-year period, and will continue to improve the database going forward.

Information gathered through the Apes Seizure Database will be used to support monitoring and law enforcement efforts against environmental crime, a $23 billion USD industry that threatens elephants, rhinoceroses, pangolins, trees and other endangered species.

GRASP is the unique alliance of 105 national governments, conservation organizations, research institutions, UN agencies and private companies committed to ensuring the long-term survival of great apes and their habitats in Africa and Asia.

Have a query?