STRENGTHENING THE CONSERVATION EVIDENCE BASE FOR GREAT APES

THE OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT ARE TO (1) MAINTAIN A COMPREHENSIVE, CENTRALIZED, AND REGULARLY UPDATED DATABASE ON RELEVANT METRICS OF GREAT APE POPULATIONS, WHICH IS AVAILABLE TO A BROAD RANGE OF STAKEHOLDERS (2) INCREASE CAPACITY TO INFORM EFFECTIVENESS OF GREAT APE CONSERVATION INTERVENTIONS THROUGH ACCESSIBLE AND EVIDENCE-DRIVEN TOOLS AND (3) PRODUCE A BI-ANNUAL PUBLICATION TO COMMUNICATE THE DISTRIBUTION, STATUS, AND TRENDS IMPACTING GREAT APES, COUPLED WITH AN ISSUE-ORIENTED POLICY BRIEF TO PROVIDE TARGETED RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVED EVIDENCE-BASED CONSERVATION AIMED AT RELEVANT AUDIENCES.

ACTIVITIES INCLUDE: 1) CONTINUING OPERATION AND GROWTH OF THE DATABASE THROUGH IDENTIFICATION, ACQUISITION, PROCESSING, STANDARDIZATION, QUALITY-CHECKING, AND ARCHIVING OF DATA 2) INCORPORATING NEW DATA TYPES (E.G., CAMERA TRAP, AERIAL SURVEILLANCE) 3) INCORPORATING GIBBON SURVEY DATA 4) INCORPORATING APE HEALTH AND DISEASE DATA 5) PROVIDING DATA SERVICES TO THE GREAT APE CONSERVATION COMMUNITY 6) SUPPORTING UPDATES TO THE IUCN RED LIST 7) EXPANDING THE A.P.E.S.

WIKI TO INCLUDE THE MAJORITY OF GREAT APE SITES 8) DEVELOPING A PILOT DECISION SUPPORT TOOL TO MEASURE CONSERVATION EFFECTIVENESS AND INFORM EFFECTIVE ALLOCATION OF CONSERVATION FUNDS 9) DEVELOPING A RETURN ON INVESTMENT TOOL TO ASSIST IN SITE PRIORITIZATION