Tapanuli orangutan endangered by Sumatran hydropower scheme

The Tapanuli orangutan survives today in less than 1,200 km of rainforest in northern Sumatra, Indonesia, in an area known as Batang Toru, where it was scientifically discovered in 1997. Teeming with endangered fauna and flora, the Batang Toru forest has been partially felled and fragmented and parts of the remainder allocated to agriculture, mining, hydropower and geothermal-energy production. The Tapanuli orangutan is estimated to number just 767 individuals, divided among three subpopulations. Its total remaining habitat 10 is merely a tenth the size of Sydney, Australia

Revised Regional Action Plan for the Conservation of the Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) 2014–2019

This plan outlines measures that should ensure that Cross River gorilla numbers are able to increase at key core sites, allowing them to extend into areas where they have been absent for many years

Open-access platform to synthesize knowledge of ape conservation across sites

Despite the large body of literature on ape conservation, much of the data needed for evidence‐based conservation decision‐making is still not readily accessible and standardized, rendering cross‐site comparison difficult. To support knowledge synthesis and to complement the IUCN SSC Ape Populations, Environments and Surveys database, we created the A.P.E.S. Wiki (https://apeswiki.eva.mpg.de), an open‐access platform providing site‐level information on ape conservation status and context. The aim of this Wiki is to provide information and data about geographical ape locations, to curate information on individuals and organizations active in ape research and conservation, and to act as a tool to support collaboration between conservation practitioners, scientists, and other stakeholders. To illustrate the process and benefits of knowledge synthesis, we used the momentum of the update of the conservation action plan for western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) and began with this critically endangered taxon. First, we gathered information on 59 sites in West Africa from scientific publications, reports, and online sources. Information was compiled in a standardized format and can thus be summarized using a web scraping approach. We then asked experts working at those sites to review and complement the information (20 sites have been reviewed to date). We demonstrate the utility of the information available through the Wiki, for example, for studying species distribution. Importantly, as an open‐access platform and based on the well‐known wiki layout, the A.P.E.S. Wiki can contribute to direct and interactive information sharing and promote the efforts invested by the ape research and conservation community. The Section on Great Apes and the Section on Small Apes of the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group will guide and support the expansion of the platform to all small and great ape taxa. Similar collaborative efforts can contribute to extending knowledge synthesis to all nonhuman primate species.Additional co-authors: R. Adriana Hernandez‐Aguilar, Annika Hillers, Kimberley J. Hockings, Sorrel Jones, Michael Kaiser, Kathelijne Koops, Juan M. Lapuente, Julia Riedel, Emilien Terrade, Clement G. Tweh, Virginie Vergnes, Tina Vogt, Hjalmar S. Küh

Open-access platform to synthesize knowledge of ape conservation across sites

Despite the large body of literature on ape conservation, much of the data needed for evidence-based conservation decision-making is still not readily accessible and standardized, rendering cross-site comparison difficult. To support knowledge synthesis and to complement the IUCN SSC Ape Populations, Environments and Surveys database, we created the A.P.E.S. Wiki (https://apeswiki.eva.mpg.de), an open-access platform providing site-level information on ape conservation status and context. The aim of this Wiki is to provide information and data about geographical ape locations, to curate information on individuals and organizations active in ape research and conservation, and to act as a tool to support collaboration between conservation practitioners, scientists, and other stakeholders. To illustrate the process and benefits of knowledge synthesis, we used the momentum of the update of the conservation action plan for western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) and began with this critically endangered taxon. First, we gathered information on 59 sites in West Africa from scientific publications, reports, and online sources. Information was compiled in a standardized format and can thus be summarized using a web scraping approach. We then asked experts working at those sites to review and complement the information (20 sites have been reviewed to date). We demonstrate the utility of the information available through the Wiki, for example, for studying species distribution. Importantly, as an open-access platform and based on the well-known wiki layout, the A.P.E.S. Wiki can contribute to direct and interactive information sharing and promote the efforts invested by the ape research and conservation community. The Section on Great Apes and the Section on Small Apes of the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group will guide and support the expansion of the platform to all small and great ape taxa. Similar collaborative efforts can contribute to extending knowledge synthesis to all nonhuman primate species

Corrigendum: A Severe Lack of Evidence Limits Effective Conservation of the World's Primates

In the originally published version of this article, the author's name, Kathy Slater, was incorrectly spelt in the author list and within the “Author Biographical” section. This has now been corrected online.Additional co-authors: Fabiano R de MELO, P Fan, Cyril C Grueter, Diana C Guzmán-Caro, Eckhard W Heymann, Ilka Herbinger, Minh D Hoang, Robert H Horwich, Tatyana Humle, Rachel A Ikemeh, Inaoyom S Imong, Leandro Jerusalinsky, Steig E Johnson, Peter M Kappeler, Maria Cecília M Kierulff, Inza Koné, Rebecca Kormos, Khac Q LE, Baoguo Li, Andrew J Marshall, Erik Meijaard, Russel A Mittermeier, Yasuyuki Muroyama, Eleonora Neugebauer, Lisa Orth, Erwin Palacios, Sarah K Papworth, Andrew J Plumptre, Ben M Rawson, Johannes Refisch, Jonah Ratsimbazafy, Christian Roos, Joanna M Setchell, Rebecca K Smith, Tene Sop, Christoph Schwitzer, Kathy Slater, Shirley C Strum, William J Sutherland, Maurício Talebi, Janette Wallis, Serge Wich, Roman M Wittig, Hjalmar S Küh

Impact and Lessons Learned from A Half-Century of Primate Conservation Action Planning

Over the last half-century, the world’s human population has doubled, impacting almost all ocean and land areas. The threats facing primates in the wild have never been greater or more complex. Primatologists have long been aware of these threats and, since the 1970s, have coordinated efforts to safeguard these threatened species, through the International Union for Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission (IUCN SSC) Primate Specialist Group (PSG). In an effort to stem the threat of extinction to primates, this group of now 700 experts+ has published 17 conservation action plans since 1977. As we look toward the next half-century, we take stock of the history of primate action planning to better understand the costs and benefits of these plans as a conservation tool. Here, we reviewed all plans published by the IUCN SSC PSG. In total, they described USD 246 million in planned primate conservation programming and were cited 1657 times by others. We found that half of the plans had been assessed in regard to their implementation, although these assessments were not standardized. Those that had been assessed, showed evidence of positive impacts on awareness raising, collaboration, fundraising, project implementation and policy, although the impact varied by plan. For example, three of the plans directly resulted in USD 15.92 million in funds raised; four plans quantified implementation rates, which ranged from 38% to 74% of actions partially or completely achieved 5 years after plan publication; and four plans attributed the gazettement of 19 protected areas across 11 countries as indirect successes following the publication of plans. Considered together, we reflect on the ‘return-on-investment’ for developing these plans and consider a range of ‘lessons learned’ for future primate action planning efforts.Forestry, Faculty ofNon UBCReviewedFacultyResearcherOthe

Open‐access platform to synthesize knowledge of ape conservation across sites

Despite the large body of literature on ape conservation, much of the data needed for evidence‐based conservation decision‐making is still not readily accessible and standardized, rendering cross‐site comparison difficult. To support knowledge synthesis and to complement the IUCN SSC Ape Populations, Environments and Surveys database, we created the A.P.E.S. Wiki (https://apeswiki.eva.mpg.de), an open‐access platform providing site‐level information on ape conservation status and context. The aim of this Wiki is to provide information and data about geographical ape locations, to curate information on individuals and organizations active in ape research and conservation, and to act as a tool to support collaboration between conservation practitioners, scientists, and other stakeholders. To illustrate the process and benefits of knowledge synthesis, we used the momentum of the update of the conservation action plan for western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) and began with this critically endangered taxon. First, we gathered information on 59 sites in West Africa from scientific publications, reports, and online sources. Information was compiled in a standardized format and can thus be summarized using a web scraping approach. We then asked experts working at those sites to review and complement the information (20 sites have been reviewed to date). We demonstrate the utility of the information available through the Wiki, for example, for studying species distribution. Importantly, as an open‐access platform and based on the well‐known wiki layout, the A.P.E.S. Wiki can contribute to direct and interactive information sharing and promote the efforts invested by the ape research and conservation community. The Section on Great Apes and the Section on Small Apes of the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group will guide and support the expansion of the platform to all small and great ape taxa. Similar collaborative efforts can contribute to extending knowledge synthesis to all nonhuman primate species

Ten Ways Remote Sensing Can Contribute to Conservation

In an effort to increase conservation effectiveness through the use of Earth observation technologies, a group of remote sensing scientists affiliated with government and academic institutions and conservation organizations identified 10 questions in conservation for which the potential to be answered would be greatly increased by use of remotely sensed data and analyses of those data. Our goals were to increase conservation practitioners’ use of remote sensing to support their work, increase collaboration between the conservation science and remote sensing communities, identify and develop new and innovative uses of remote sensing for advancing conservation science, provide guidance to space agencies on how future satellite missions can support conservation science, and generate support from the public and private sector in the use of remote sensing data to address the 10 conservation questions. We identified a broad initial list of questions on the basis of an email chain-referral survey. We then used a workshop-based iterative and collaborative approach to whittle the list down to these final questions (which represent 10 major themes in conservation): How can global Earth observation data be used to model species distributions and abundances? How can remote sensing improve the understanding of animal movements? How can remotely sensed ecosystem variables be used to understand, monitor, and predict ecosystem response and resilience to multiple stressors? How can remote sensing be used to monitor the effects of climate on ecosystems? How can near real-time ecosystem monitoring catalyze threat reduction, governance and regulation compliance, and resource management decisions? How can remote sensing inform configuration of protected area networks at spatial extents relevant to populations of target species and ecosystem services? How can remote sensing-derived products be used to value and monitor changes in ecosystem services? How can remote sensing be used to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of conservation efforts? How does the expansion and intensification of agriculture and aquaculture alter ecosystems and the services they provide? How can remote sensing be used to determine the degree to which ecosystems are being disturbed or degraded and the effects of these changes on species and ecosystem functions