The Kinshasa meeting, held under the patronage of His Excellency President Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, consisted of:

• the Intergovernmental meeting on great apes (IGM)
• the GRASP Council.

Two Heads of State and many Ministers attended this key event, to adopt the Global Strategy for the Survival of Great Apes and the Kinshasa declaration.

At its conclusion, 200 delegates from 76 states, NGOs, donor nations, regional commissions, individuals and institutions committed to the historic Kinshasa Declaration. They notably resolved to:

• significantly reduce the rate of loss of great ape populations and their habitats by 2010;
• secure the future of all species and subspecies of great apes in the wild, by 2015.

Signatories included:

• 16 of the 23 range states
• over 30 NGOs
• six donor nations as well as the European Union (EU), the Commission des Forêts d'Afrique Centrale (COMIFAC), UNEP, UNESCO
• two multilateral biodiversity conventions (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora - CITES, and Convention on Migratory Species - CMS)
• well-known primatologists such as Toshisada Nishida of Kyoto University and Richard Wrangham of Harvard University (both patrons of GRASP)

Other range states, donor nations and NGOs are expected to commit to the Kinshasa declaration in the near future.

International partners reinforce ties
The GRASP Council also had its 1st meeting in Kinshasa, chaired by Moses Mapesa Wafula, Executive Director of the Ugandan Wildlife Authority. The Council adopted the rules for the organization and the management of the GRASP partnership and the work plan for 2003-2007.

Partners of the GRASP:

• exchanged information
• discussed and adopted key documents
• decided and presented action-oriented commitments to ensure the long-term survival of great apes and their habitat.

An Executive Committee and a Scientific Commission were established to guide the work of the GRASP Secretariat and Partnership. The Executive Committee is to prepare, before the end of 2005, a programme of work for 2006-2007, in consultation with GRASP partners.

Elected for the next 2 years, the Executive Committee comprises:

• range state members: Indonesia, Uganda, Congo DR, Guinea
• donor state members: France, United Kingdom
• Secretariat: UNEP, UNESCO
• Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
• Orangutan Foundation, Wildlife Conservation Society
• Chair of the Council: Cameroon (2-year period)

The Scientific Committee, represented by M. Leighton and C. Boesch, will also participate.

Monitoring the situation of critical populations of great apes
The Scientific Committee presented the results of its global consultations to identify the most critical populations for great apes conservation.
More than 100 such populations have been identified and each of the 23 range states has at least one such critical population.
The Scientific Committee will continue to collect data to further refine knowledge on the status of these populations, to facilitate targeting conservation investments and efforts.

Read more:

• Kinshasa Declaration official text (PDF format)
  The official document, with the complete list of signatories
• Get involved
  Read more about great apes, UNESCO's action related to their survival and conservation, and find out how to donate and volunteer.
• UNEP
  Institutional and thematic information about the United Nations Environment Programme's action regarding the Great Apes Survival Project