Conflict could see greatest ape extinct within decades

The gorilla is threatened with extinction by the middle of this century if poaching and destruction of its habitat continue at the current rate, the United Nations has warned.

Within a decade, three of the four sub-species of the great ape could be wiped out, it says.

"Many populations are faced with imminent extinction," said Matthew Woods of the UN-run Great Apes Survival Project. "It is incredibly serious."

Conservationists have added a new danger to the ever-present threats from hunting, logging and mining: the fallout from elections to be held at the end of this month in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the vast central African nation which is probably home to more gorillas than any other country.

One sub-species, the eastern lowland, or Grauer's gorilla, lives entirely within its borders.

Two others, the mountain gorilla - famous from Dian Fossey's studies and David Attenborough's filmed encounter with them - and the western lowland gorilla, are also found in the DRC.

War has raged within eastern Congo for more than a decade, killing more than four million people.

Even now, three years after peace deals were signed, 1200 people die each day from the continuing violence and war-related diseases.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by the fighting as militia groups rampage through the countryside, raping and pillaging in towns and villages.

Side-effects of human warfare

One side-effect of the conflict has been the devastating impact on the region's gorillas. Refugees unable to grow enough crops to feed themselves have been forced to kill gorillas and other large mammals in order to survive.

Conservationists have not only been powerless to protect the animals, with surveys of the remaining gorilla population and other preservation work proving impossible, but several workers have been killed after they were caught up in militia fighting.

One result is that the number of the Grauer's sub-species is believed to have plummeted by 90 per cent over the past 10 years, to just 2000.

Some conservationists believe the situation is even worse, but violence has prevented them confirming their suspicions.

The most threatened sub-species of all is the Cross River gorilla, which inhabits a tiny forested area of west Africa, but the key to the survival of the rest is thought to be the DRC election, the first in the war-torn country for more than 40 years.

Conservationists believe that only a successful outcome to the election can curb the violence and instability, particularly in the country's eastern districts of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu, which have decimated gorilla populations.

"The insecurity threatens the animals and the conservation workers, and it prevents tourism, which is seen by many as the salvation of the apes in this area," said Ian Redmond, chief consultant at the Great Apes Survival Project.

Although there are some fears that an end to the fighting could bring an increase in logging, which would further eat away at the gorillas' natural habitat, the risks of continued anarchy are considered to be greater.

In a region where vast swathes of the population live on less than $3 a day, great apes have proved to be an enormous economic asset.

In Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni has claimed that more than half of the country's foreign exchange earnings are from tourism, in which mountain gorillas are the star attraction.

A recent United Nations Environment Programme report on the state of Africa's environment estimated that gorilla tourism brings in roughly $32 million a year to Uganda and Rwanda, where Western tourists are being lured back with some success after the horrors of the 1994 genocide.

There is no immediate prospect, however, of persuading tourists to visit the Democratic Republic of Congo, despite the spectacular scenery of its eastern border country, which is home to mountain and Grauer's gorillas.

But Mr Redmond added that the election at least offered some prospect of stability "and the return to those days of gorilla tourism".

People who had lived through the crisis in DRC remembered what it was like when there were queues of tourists, the conservationist added. "There is a lot of potential ... It all depends on political stability. Hopefully there will be enough great apes left."


BIG EATERS

* Mountain gorillas eat up to 30kg of celery, nettles, bamboo and thistles a day. They also eat ants, worms and grubs.

* They range up to 40km a day, spending much of the time eating.

* Big silverbacks stand less than 2m tall but weigh more than 200kg.


- INDEPENDENT