<p>The report, prepared jointly by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and Interpol, said main reasons for the threat to their existence is a greater demand for ape meat and illegal trade carried out by militias in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo that fetches millions of dollars. Outbreaks of Ebola hemorrhagic fever virus have also killed thousands of great apes including gorillas, it said.<br /><br />"This is a tragedy for the great apes and one also for countless other species being impacted by this intensifying and all too often illegal trade," said Achim Steiner, head of the UNEP. "In short it is environmental crime and theft by the few and the powerful at the expense of the poor and the vulnerable," Steiner said.<br /><br />The report titled "The Last Stand of the Gorilla - Environmental Crime and Conflict in the Congo Basin" was launched at a meeting of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in the Qatari capital Doha. In 2002, the UNEP had suggested that only 10 per cent of the original ranges would remain by 2030.<br /><br />"These estimates now appear too optimistic given the intensification of pressures including illegal logging, mining, charcoal production and increased demand for bush meat, of which an increasing proportion is ape meat," the report said.<br /><br />"The gorillas are yet another victim of the contempt shown by organised criminal gangs for national and international laws aimed at defending wildlife," said David Higgins, Manager of the Interpol Environmental Crime Programme.<br /><br />"The law enforcement response must be internationally co-coordinated, strong and united, and Interpol is uniquely placed to facilitate this," he added.</p>
<p>The report, prepared jointly by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and Interpol, said main reasons for the threat to their existence is a greater demand for ape meat and illegal trade carried out by militias in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo that fetches millions of dollars. Outbreaks of Ebola hemorrhagic fever virus have also killed thousands of great apes including gorillas, it said.<br /><br />"This is a tragedy for the great apes and one also for countless other species being impacted by this intensifying and all too often illegal trade," said Achim Steiner, head of the UNEP. "In short it is environmental crime and theft by the few and the powerful at the expense of the poor and the vulnerable," Steiner said.<br /><br />The report titled "The Last Stand of the Gorilla - Environmental Crime and Conflict in the Congo Basin" was launched at a meeting of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in the Qatari capital Doha. In 2002, the UNEP had suggested that only 10 per cent of the original ranges would remain by 2030.<br /><br />"These estimates now appear too optimistic given the intensification of pressures including illegal logging, mining, charcoal production and increased demand for bush meat, of which an increasing proportion is ape meat," the report said.<br /><br />"The gorillas are yet another victim of the contempt shown by organised criminal gangs for national and international laws aimed at defending wildlife," said David Higgins, Manager of the Interpol Environmental Crime Programme.<br /><br />"The law enforcement response must be internationally co-coordinated, strong and united, and Interpol is uniquely placed to facilitate this," he added.</p>
