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Great Ape Conservation Act | Carpa Verde | Shade-grown Coffee
Great Apes Get Support from Capitol Hill
Testimony from CI and other leading conservation groups played a key role in the passage of the Great Ape Conservation Act, landmark federal legislation aimed at safeguarding primates severely threatened by the bushmeat trade. The Act, which was passed by Congress and signed into law November 1, 2000, authorizes $5 million annually to support conservation programs that protect wild populations of gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, bonobos and gibbons. The American Zoo and Aquarium Association, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the World Wildlife Fund all testified in support of the bill. Also playing an important support role was the Bushmeat Crisis Task Force, a consortium of conservation organizations and scientists, including CI. The task force acted as a critical source of information for decisionmakers deliberating the merits of the legislation. CI plans to explore funding opportunities offered by the Act to study and protect chimpanzees in West and Central Africa. The money would be used to research how chimpanzee populations have been affected by the bushmeat trade and other environmental threats and to establish and strengthen protected areas in the region. For more information on the Great Ape Conservation Act and the Bushmeat Crisis Task Force, visit www.bushmeat.org.
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