39% of world’s primates found to be at risk of extinction

 
Nearly half of all primate species are threatened with extinction, according to an evaluation by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The study — the most comprehensive analysis for more than 10 years and drawing on work by hundreds of scientists — found that the conservation outlook for monkeys, apes and other primates has dramatically worsened. In some regions, the thriving bushmeat trade means the animals are being "eaten to extinction." The 2007 IUCN Red List has 39 per cent of primate species and subspecies in the three highest threat categories: vulnerable, endangered and critically endangered. In the revised list, 303 of the 634 species and subspecies are in the most threatened categories. The two biggest threats to primates are habitat destruction through logging, and hunting for bushmeat and the illegal wildlife trade. "We've raised concerns for years about primates being in peril, but now we have solid data to show the situation is far more severe than we imagined," said Russell Mittermeier, chairman of the union's primate specialist group and the president of Conservation International. He added: "Tropical forest destruction has always been the main cause, but now it appears that hunting is just as serious a threat in some areas, even where the habitat is still quite intact. In many places, primates are literally being eaten to extinction." The picture is particularly bleak in South-East Asia. More than 70 per cent of all Asian primates are threatened, while in Vietnam and Cambodia 90 per cent are considered at risk. Populations of gibbons, leaf monkeys and langurs have fallen due to rapid habitat loss and hunting to satisfy the Chinese medicine and pet trade. "What is happening in South-East Asia is terrifying," said Jean-Christophe Vie, deputy head of the union's species programme. "To have a group of animals under such a high level of threat is, quite frankly, unlike anything we have recorded among any other group of species to date." In Africa, 11 of 13 kinds of red colobus monkey have been listed as critically endangered or endangered. Two — the Bouvier's red colobus and Miss Waldron's red colobus — may already be extinct. Species and subspecies (11 per cent of the total) seen as critically endangered include the mountain gorilla in central Africa, Tonkin snub-nosed monkey in Vietnam and grey-shanked douc langur from Asia. In the endangered category (22 per cent) are species and subspecies such as the Javan gibbon from Indonesia, golden lion tamarin from Brazil and Berthe's mouse lemur from Madagascar. Species are placed in these categories if they have a small population size, are suffering rapid depopulation and have a limited geographic range. The apparent jump in numbers of threatened primates from 39 per cent to 48 per cent has not happened in the course of one year. The new analysis has filled in missing data that was not available previously, said Michael Hoffman, at Conservation International. The last major assessment was carried out in 1996. "The situation could well have been as bad as this, say, five years ago — we just didn't know. But now we have a much better indication of the state of the world's primates, and the news is not good." The review, funded by Conservation International, the Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation, Disney's Animal Kingdom and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, is part of an unprecedented examination of the world's mammals to be released at the IUCN world conservation congress in Barcelona in October. There was some good news among the bad. In Brazil, the black lion tamarin has been brought back from the brink of extinction and shifted from the critically endangered to endangered category. This is the result of a concerted conservation effort which has also benefited the golden lion tamarin; it was downlisted to endangered in 2003. "The work with lion tamarins shows that conserving forest fragments and reforesting to create corridors that connect them is not only vital for primates, but offers the multiple benefits of maintaining healthy ecosystems and water supplies, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change," said Anthony Rylands, the deputy chairman of the union's primate Nearly half of all primate species are threatened with extinction, according to an evaluation by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The study — the most comprehensive analysis for more than 10 years and drawing on work by hundreds of scientists — found that the conservation outlook for monkeys, apes and other primates has dramatically worsened. In some regions, the thriving bushmeat trade means the animals are being "eaten to extinction." The 2007 IUCN Red List has 39 per cent of primate species and subspecies in the three highest threat categories: vulnerable, endangered and critically endangered. In the revised list, 303 of the 634 species and subspecies are in the most threatened categories. The two biggest threats to primates are habitat destruction through logging, and hunting for bushmeat and the illegal wildlife trade. "We've raised concerns for years about primates being in peril, but now we have solid data to show the situation is far more severe than we imagined," said Russell Mittermeier, chairman of the union's primate specialist group and the president of Conservation International. He added: "Tropical forest destruction has always been the main cause, but now it appears that hunting is just as serious a threat in some areas, even where the habitat is still quite intact. In many places, primates are literally being eaten to extinction." The picture is particularly bleak in South-East Asia. More than 70 per cent of all Asian primates are threatened, while in Vietnam and Cambodia 90 per cent are considered at risk. Populations of gibbons, leaf monkeys and langurs have fallen due to rapid habitat loss and hunting to satisfy the Chinese medicine and pet trade. "What is happening in South-East Asia is terrifying," said Jean-Christophe Vie, deputy head of the union's species programme. "To have a group of animals under such a high level of threat is, quite frankly, unlike anything we have recorded among any other group of species to date." In Africa, 11 of 13 kinds of red colobus monkey have been listed as critically endangered or endangered. Two — the Bouvier's red colobus and Miss Waldron's red colobus — may already be extinct. Species and subspecies (11 per cent of the total) seen as critically endangered include the mountain gorilla in central Africa, Tonkin snub-nosed monkey in Vietnam and grey-shanked douc langur from Asia. In the endangered category (22 per cent) are species and subspecies such as the Javan gibbon from Indonesia, golden lion tamarin from Brazil and Berthe's mouse lemur from Madagascar. Species are placed in these categories if they have a small population size, are suffering rapid depopulation and have a limited geographic range. The apparent jump in numbers of threatened primates from 39 per cent to 48 per cent has not happened in the course of one year. The new analysis has filled in missing data that was not available previously, said Michael Hoffman, at Conservation International. The last major assessment was carried out in 1996. "The situation could well have been as bad as this, say, five years ago — we just didn't know. But now we have a much better indication of the state of the world's primates, and the news is not good." The review, funded by Conservation International, the Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation, Disney's Animal Kingdom and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, is part of an unprecedented examination of the world's mammals to be released at the IUCN world conservation congress in Barcelona in October. There was some good news among the bad. In Brazil, the black lion tamarin has been brought back from the brink of extinction and shifted from the critically endangered to endangered category. This is the result of a concerted conservation effort which has also benefited the golden lion tamarin; it was downlisted to endangered in 2003. "The work with lion tamarins shows that conserving forest fragments and reforesting to create corridors that connect them is not only vital for primates, but offers the multiple benefits of maintaining healthy ecosystems and water supplies, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change," said Anthony Rylands, the deputy chairman of the union's primate specialist group

The Hindu, 6th August 2008