This partnership was launched as one of the outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable Development concluded in Johannesburg in August 2002.

GRASP now involves:

• 23 range states
• several donor nations
• over 30 NGOs
• four biodiversity-related conventions: Convention on Biological Diversity, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, Convention on Migratory Species, and World Heritage Convention

GRASP has four patrons, namely, Jane Goodall, Russ Mittermeier, Toshisada Nishida and Richard Leakey.

Impacting on the survival of great apes via a multi-level strategy
GRASP has made a strong case for the value it adds to great ape conservation efforts, through:

• high level technical visits
• field projects and National Great Ape Survival Plan (NGASP)
• policy making workshops in African and Southeast Asian great ape range states
• political lobbying and awareness-raising in donor countries

The prospects of this project are defined in a Work plan (2003-2007), describing how targets, outputs and key activities may be coordinated by GRASP, the great ape range states and other partners.

• Long-term goal: to conserve viable populations of all species and subspecies of great apes in their natural habitats and across their range.
• Programme Goal (5 years): to improve the conservation status of viable populations of each subspecies of great apes (at least four populations of each subspecies, where these exist).

Indicators for achievements and success include:

• Ape population levels (e.g.: selected populations in 2007 show no decline, or increase from initial levels measured in 2003-2004.)
• Area of habitat protected (e.g.: area of ape habitat under formal protection in 2007 greater than in 2003)
• Number of local communities involved in ape conservation projects (e.g.: by 2007, at least 10 communities newly involved in ape conservation).

Step tones towards survival
Since it was launched, GRASP has seen a majority of great ape range states apply new conservation measures specifically designed for these species.

Over 10 national policy making workshops and two regional workshops (West Africa, Central Africa) have been organized, bringing together stakeholders from government, academia and private industry as well as non-governmental organizations and the United Nations.

These have lead to the drafting of national plans that show exactly how the necessary funds can be applied to make a real difference to ape numbers on the ground.

Yet law enforcement is an essential but single element in any conservation effort. To better understand great apes, studies are underway in several UNESCO biosphere reserves that are home to chimpanzee, gorilla and orangutan.

Finally GRASP's work has included getting key actors together on a regular basis to prepare a global strategy. An approach which culminated with the 2005 Kinshasa Declaration.

Generating a high level international instrument: the Kinshasa Declaration
The 1st Intergovernmental Meeting on great apes survival and conservation was held in Kinshasa, Congo DR, 5-9 September 2005. UNESCO and UNEP contributed to gather 200 delegates who 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

Read more

• UNEP-GRASP web site
• GRASP national committees:
  • Australia
  • Japan