Climate Change Not so Great for Apes
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 05.31.07
Already under pressure from a combination of poaching, logging and disease, the great apes are increasingly feeling the threat posed by further habitat destruction as a consequence of the push to switch from fossil fuels to biofuels. Richard Leakey, the chair of WildlifeDirect and a leading conservationist, has warned that the apes, which include chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans and gorillas, are facing an "inevitable crisis" and that measures such as financial incentives should be considered to encourage the protection of forests and other vulnerable habitats.
Speaking to a group of journalists, the former director of the Kenyan Wildlife Service said, "I am concerned about the pressures on the land as a result of changes to the climate, but also the pressures on the land in terms of people's reaction to climate change and the shift away from fossil fuels to biofuels."
Orangutans, which only number 50,000, have been particularly hard hit by the boom in palm oil plantations in poorer countries. In addition to being used in vegetable oil, soaps and shampoos, palm oil has been suggested as an alternative biofuel. "People shrug their shoulders and say what are poor countries to do if they cannot exploit their natural resources, and I can understand this, but it is not sustainable the way it is going," he said.
Leaky proposed starting a "biodiversity credit" program to reward those who choose not to cut down forests.
"Being paid for not cutting down indigenous forests and getting credit for that is a further step that builds on the idea of getting paid for planting new forests," he explained. "It does seem that we cannot stop development, but it does also seem that perhaps we can stop development where critical species are threatened, and perhaps there could be a price added to that."
He added, however, that there could be other creative ways to tackle this problem and that all ideas should be on the table. The overarching message he wanted to convey was that immediate action, no matter its form, should be taken. "Could the great apes go because of climate change? Yes. Possibly not within our lifetime, but what about in 100 or 200 years?
::Great apes 'facing climate peril'
See also: ::Arctic Predators Hit Hard by Climate Change, ::National Wildlife Federation, Gardener's Guide To Climate Change, ::Two Views on the Effects of Global Warming, ::Children Already Bearing Brunt of Global Warming
Lookin' good, Willy Bio.
stop humanizing apes and you wont get a backlash of hate like ape killa and all the other anti ape sentiment. apes are only animals not human yet you apelovers treat animals above people. there is the true horror human treating animals better than people. There needs to be a balance restored. if all you fools jane goodall the late dian fossey(god rest her) rachel hogan, birute gldakis, sheri speede etc. had left the apes alone they would have been fine. but nooooo you acclimatized them to human contact they lost fear of humans and now, the result is slaughter. apes in some parts are food, will you bring africa to your home to feed them? No you hypocrites just tell them how to live what to eat hunt etc. Just who are you huh to dictate to a continent? Piss off and look at your own community. man rules.
Apes are endangered? Ask an ordinary person on the street and you will find if ape was a staple of their diets for time immemorial, they would not give it up! Why do you try to dictate to others what to eat, bushmeat has been around for ages. so if you want to save the sooooocuuuuuutttte orphan gorilla chimp orangutan, have it sent to your home and you save it you contend with the screaming the destruction when the tiny shit gets mobile will you get it down from the cieling without hurting the cute thing as it screams and hurls shit at you. Or would you do what I would do? i would get my pitchfork and skewer the hairy destructive thing down and pitch it out the window! bye bye ape!
What! human rights for apes? Are you kidding me? I have heard of this growing phenomenon to humanize apes, and I am stunned to see no viable resistance to counter this madness. Did this abberation originate with Goodall and her kind, Galdakis, Speede