Climate change, sustainable palm oil and illegal trade will be on the agenda when the United Nations’ Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP) gathers for the 3rd GRASP Council that will be held 21-24 November in Jakarta, Indonesia.

GRASP’s 105 partners – which include national governments, research institutions, conservation organizations, United Nations agencies, and private companies – will set conservation priorities to protect chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and bonobos and their habitat going forward.

GRASP will also vote whether to add gibbons to its mandate, thereby  increasing the partnership’s focus in Asia.

“GRASP has grown dramatically in recent years, and it now plays an important role in global conservation,” said GRASP coordinator Doug Cress. “The partners now need to decide how best to capitalize on GRASP’s capacity, and what our priorities should be in the next quadrennial.”

The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) Gorilla Agreement will hold its 3rd Meeting of the Parties (MoP) in parallel with the GRASP Council on 20 and 24 November in Jakarta, part of an effort to streamline GRASP and CMS efforts to protect gorillas across 10 African range States.

Indonesia is a charter partner of GRASP and is home to over 80 percent of the world’s remaining orangutans, making it a fitting host for the 3rd GRASP Council.

The GRASP Council meets every four years to determine the partnership’s direction and programme of work. The 1st GRASP Council was held in Kinshasa, DR Congo, and the 2nd GRASP Council was held in Paris, France.

GRASP was founded 15 years ago to ensure the long-term survival of great apes, all of which are either endangered or critically endangered.

For more information, please visit:  HERE