Agreement On The Conservation of Gorillas and Their Habitats - Action Plans

Action Plans

Article VIII of the Gorilla Agreement states that the Parties shall adopt Action Plans for all species and sub-species of gorillas. These Plans specify the actions that will be undertaken consistent with the general conservation measures specified in Article III. At each ordinary session of the MoP the Action Plans will be reviewed and can be amended. Four Action Plans (one for each of the sub-species) were adopted at the first MoP in 2008. They were drafted by the Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences and were based on existing plans from the IUCN/SSC. The Plans contain a list of most important sites; reveal the main threats and identify priority actions needed per country.

Such actions can include:

• Enforcement of existing legislation
• Protection of gorilla habitat by rebuilding and mitigating damage caused as a result of war and conflict and stopping illegal activities
• Improve monitoring and research
• Raise public awareness through e.g. making documentaries on the preservation of gorillas
• Community development, such as reducing local populations’ poverty near the sanctuaries and reserves and encourage local communities to take part in reserve and sanctuary management
• Putting in place a long-term financing system, allowing to support national and local NGOs involved in the preservation of gorilla populations and their habitats

At the 2nd MoP in 2011 the Parties had the duty to review the Action Plans. However, the IUCN and others have the intention to update the current plans for the four subspecies. Therefore the Parties decided, on the proposal of the Interim Secretariat, to take part in these processes and the updated Action Plans may be adopted by the next MoP.