News

The CMS is pleased to present the legal study "Legal Assessment of the implementation of the Convention on Migratory Species and the Gorilla Agreement in Cameroon and Nigeria" for two listed species, the Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) and the Nigerian-Cameroon Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti). This study was prepared by Legal Atlas and made possible through generous funding from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, obtained via the Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP).

The Republic of Angola has joined the Agreement on the Conservation of Gorillas and Their Habitats, also known as the Gorilla Agreement. Angola is the eighth of ten Range States in which gorillas occur to become a Party to the Agreement, joining the Central African Republic, Congo (Brazzaville), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa), Gabon, Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda. The accession of Angola to the Gorilla Agreement took effect on 1 January 2021.

The Central African Republic has ratified the Convention bringing the number of Parties to 131.

Experts have concluded that great apes may also be susceptible to COVID-19. Both the IUCN Wildlife Health Specialist Group and the IUCN Primate Specialist Group emphasize that, while there are no reported cases of great apes having been infected, it is safe to assume that they are susceptible to COVID-19. Previous studies have shown that great apes are susceptible to infection with human respiratory pathogens.  The Gorilla and the Chimpanzee are protected under the Convention on Migratory Species.

Today is World Gorilla Day! It is the day dedicated to the Gorilla, one of our closest relatives on Earth. World Gorilla Day is an opportunity for everyone to celebrate these amazing animals and to take actions to protect them.

The Third Meeting of the Parties of the Gorilla Agreement held from 18 to 20 June 2019 in Entebbe, Uganda highlighted the urgent need to conserve gorillas. Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu, Senior Minister for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Government of Uganda, said: “Conservation of gorillas is a moral, constitutional, cultural and economic imperative.”

The GRASP Executive Committee held its annual meeting at UNESCO headquarters in Paris from 2 to 3 May 2019, sponsored and co-chaired by the Government of France. As an Executive Committee member, the CMS Secretariat attended the meeting. The CMS Secretariat, together with the GRASP Secretariat, presented a proposal to strengthen cooperation between the Agreement on the Conservation of Gorillas and Their Habitats (Gorilla Agreement) and GRASP.

The African Ranger Award is presented annually, to a maximum of 50 recipients, who have been working in protected areas for the protection of African wildlife. This 10-year Award Programme was set up in July 2017 by Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba and co-chair of Paradise International Foundation to support 500 wildlife rangers in Africa.