The illegal trade in live apes, ape meat and body parts occurs across all ape range states and poses a significant and growing threat to the long-term survival of wild ape populations worldwide. What was once a purely subsistence and cultural activity, now encompasses a global multi-million-dollar trade run by sophisticated trans-boundary criminal networks.
Infrastructure development in Africa and Asia is expanding at breakneck speed, largely in biodiversity-rich developing nations. The trend reflects governments’ efforts to promote economic growth in response to increasing populations, rising consumption rates and persistent inequalities.
Social and economic systems worldwide are changing rapidly. These changes are accompanied by an increasing global demand for natural resources, including land, water, minerals, energy sources, food and timber.