Gorilla agreement

The Agreement on the Conservation of Gorillas and Their Habitats is an international treaty that binds the Parties to conserve gorillas in their territories. It was concluded 2007 under the auspices of the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), also known as “Bonn Convention”. The Agreement presently covers 10 range states.

The Agreement came into effect on 1 June 2008.

Aim of the Agreement

The overall goal of the Agreement is to provide a framework for the conservation of gorillas and their habitats for the member states and those that have not yet joined. According to the Agreement Text, member states
- accord strict conservation measures in the agreement range;
- identify habitats for gorillas and ensure the protection, management, rehabilitation and restoration of those sites;
- coordinate their efforts to ensure that a network of suitable habitats is maintained;
- coordinate their efforts to eradicate activities related to poaching, and to take concerted, energetic measures to control and monitor them, particularly in transboundary habitats.
(Source: Article III of the Agreement on Gorillas and Habitats; link below).

Bodies of the Agreement

Meeting of the Parties

The Meeting of the Parties is the highest decision-making body of the Agreement and adopts Resolutions. Every Party has one vote. Non-Party range states as well as gorilla conservation organizations may be represented as observers at the meetings.

The First Meeting of the Parties will take place in Rome, Italy, on 29 November 2008.

Secretariat

The Secretariat is the executive body of the Agreement. It coordinates and organizes the activities of the Meeting of the Parties and undertakes initiatives for implementing the aspired aims, attracting more member states and exchanging information.
At the request of the Gorilla Range States Negotiation Meeting (Paris, France, October 2007), the Standing Committee of the Convention on Migratory Species mandated the CMS Secretariat to act as the Secretariat to the Agreement on Gorillas and Habitats at its 32nd meeting (November 2007).
The CMS Secretariat will co-operate closely with the GRASP Secretariat Great_Apes_Survival_Project in servicing the Agreement on Gorillas and Their Habitats.

Agreement Area

The geographical scope indicated in the Annex to the Agreement is all the Range States of all species and sub-species of gorillas, namely:
Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda.

Member States

There are 6 Parties to the Agreement:

Signature without reservation:
* (26 October 2007)
* Republic of the Congo (26 October 2007)
* (5 March 2008)
* (25 April 2008)
* (25 April 2008)

Accession:
* (Accession, 1 November 2008)

External links

* [http://www.cms.int/species/gorillas Agreement Homepage]
* [http://www.cms.int Official CMS Website] - wikipedia page Bonn Convention
* [http://www.unep.org/grasp Official GRASP Homepage] - wikipedia page Great_Apes_Survival_Project
* [http://www.unep.org Official UNEP Homepage] - wikipedia page UNEP