UNEP-WCMC, in collaboration with a network of ape specialists, has coordinated the compilation of the World Atlas of Great Apes and their Conservation. The atlas is a contribution to the Great Apes Survival Project (GRASP).

This atlas is the first comprehensive review of what is currently known about great apes, including a description of their ecology, distribution and the key threats that they face. It also includes an assessment of the great apes species in each of the countries where they are found, together with an overview of current conservation action and priorities - all illustrated with maps and photographs.

The 'Great Apes - The Road Ahead' (2002) provides a preliminary assessment of the impacts of infrastructural development on the Great Apes, using the GLOBIO model.

UNEP-WCMC has compiled an providing interactive access to spatial information on the locations of great apes, together with basic supporting information, including protected area boundaries. Please note that further information and details of data sources are available. Advice and information on how to use IMapS is available here.

We have worked to ensure that the most complete and reliable information on the occurrence of great ape species is presented in the atlas. This website has allowed us to exchange information in order to meet this goal. We would like to thank all those who have already contributed to the compilation of this dataset, and to encourage primatologists and conservation activists working in the field to review the information relating to the species and areas they are familiar with, and to send comments or additional data to us at . Spatial data in GIS format is particularly welcome.

An online bibliography on great apes is being developed. We list books and articles in categories such as gender, genetics, Gorilla gorilla gorilla and Guinea. A list of all sources referenced in the World Atlas of Great Apes and their Conservation is also available.

The Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust

Preparation of this website, and other elements of the World Atlas of Great Apes, has been supported by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust as well as UNEP-WCMC. The Atlas is published in support of the Great Apes Survival Project.