Date: 3/15/2018

To: Action Coordinator, Ape Conservation Effort

From: Casey Brown, Head of Conservation Planning
Subject: Reducing ape deaths caused by human activities
Reference: N/A
Action Required: Response on decided course of action by 4/1/2018
Distribution List: Ape Conservation Task Force

This memo serves to discuss a number of problems in which human activities are
causing deaths in primate species, and propose possible solutions limit the number of
future deaths. Included will be detailed descriptions of the most serious problems,
statistics as evidence that the problems exist, and some recommended solutions as well
as they impact they can have.

Summary
According to the Species Survival Commission, approximately 48% of all 695
primate species are currently considered threatened, while all great ape species are
either endangered or critically endangered. Not all ape deaths are caused by humans or
are even preventable; however, regarding those that are preventable, action must
quickly be taken before this primate crisis escalates any further. The human activities
that have been identified as the most harmful to primate populations are corporate
logging and poaching.

Problems
Logging
While logging operations are not carried out with the intention of bringing harm to
primates, the current practices exercised can be massively destructive to ape
populations and habitats. Most ape species live in forests as food is typically plentiful
and many species have evolved to become adept at traversing through forest or jungle
environments. However, in many of the countries where both apes and corporate
logging operations exist, these habitats are destroyed without regulation and without
regard for any animal species present. After a forest is cleared of all its resources, the
land is often set ablaze to clear foliage so that the area may then be converted to a
plantation. These fires can easily burn out of control, spreading quickly to farther areas
where forests are still present, leaving apes residing to try to escape from an inferno. As
it stands, any regulations that do exist commonly go unenforced by local governments,
either due to corruption or a simple lack of concern over native species.
Poaching
Historically, primates have not been hunted for meat. Due to their similarity to humans,
many cultures considered eating ape meat to be a form of cannibalism. Despite this, the
rate at which apes have been killed for their body parts to be sold on the black market
has increased rapidly in recent years. This can be attributed to acts of desperation
carried out by those living in impoverished communities, as well as occasionally
superstitions. There are some cultures in African and Asian countries where it is
believed that the body parts of primates have magical healing abilities. For example, the
Hoonlock gibbon in India is hunted as it is believed that its extremities have the power to
cure infertility in women.

Recommendations
Logging
In order to combat primate endangerment caused by logging operations, the
Conservation Planning Committee recommends two main courses of action which
involve putting pressure on governments to:
A. Further regulations regarding logging and its effects on wild species and habitats
B. Increase enforcement of regulations

Further regulations could include requiring specific documentation from corporations

outlining their methods of logging and the specific area to be affected. The corporations
would then have to wait for approval from government environmental ethics committees
before being able to commence their operations. This would hold the corporations
accountable for their actions if, for example, a clearing fire burned out of control and
spread to unintended areas. For this to be an effective solution, it would also require
pressure on local governments to increase enforcement in corporations sticking to their
documented plans and penalizing them accordingly if they deviate, regardless if harm
was caused.
Poaching
Concerning the problem of poaching primates for their body parts, we have devised a
two-step plan to dispute the reasons the poaching is taking place. The first step would
be to bring education to communities with beliefs about the mystical abilities of primate
parts. This would require concrete evidence proving that utilizing apes in this way is not
an effective solution for health conditions. Additionally, they could be taught the true
medical causes of the most common conditions and what changes they can make in
their lifestyle to help them. The second step would be to bring modern medicine to these
communities. They are relying on superstition for their health because that is the best
option they have available. By bringing medicinal treatments to them, their cause for
poaching would be eliminated, and it would show them that scientific medicine is more
effective than superstitious beliefs
References
Estrada, Alejandro, et al. “Impending Extinction Crisis of the World’s Primates: Why
Primates Matter.” ScienceAdvances, American Associations for the Advancement of
Science, 18 Jan. 2017, http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/1/e1600946.
“Primates-SG - Who Ares The Primates?” Primate-SG, Species Survival Commission,
www.primate-sg.org/who_ares_the_primates/.
“Primates-SG - Red List.” Primate-SG, Species Survival Commission, www.primate-
sg.org/red_list_threat_status/.
Rodríguez, Lucía. “63% Of Primates Species Are Endangered.” Lemur Conservation
Network, 19 Feb. 2017, lemurconservationnetwork.org/63-of-primates-species-are-
endangered/.
Sorenson, John. Ape. Reaktion Books, 2009.