60% of 500 Primate Species Face Extinction Threat
Worldwide, around 60 per cent of the 500 known primate species are threatened with extinction. primates live in tropical and subtropical areas and are mainly found in regions of Africa, South America, Madagascar and Asia. However, the extinction of a species must be considered a global problem.
The new article co-authored by a group of internationally recognised experts on primate conservation, among them University of Amsterdam (UVA) professor Serge Wich, calls for urgent action to protect the world’s dwindling primate populations. This comes after the latest figures alarmingly reveal that 60% of the more than 500 currently recognized primate species are threatened with extinction, an increase of 20% since 1996.
In their paper, the authors draw attention to the dire situation faced by primates as a result of escalating and unsustainable pressures placed on their habitats through agriculture, logging, construction, resource extraction and other human activities. According to the authors, the accelerated growth of such pressures over the next 50 years predicts this situation will only worsen and result in numerous primate extinctions unless immediate global action is taken.
Credit: Andrew Walmsley
‘In 1996 around 40% of the then recognised primate taxa were threatened. The increase to 60% at present is extremely worrying and indicates that more conservation efforts are needed to halt this increase’, says Serge Wich, professor by special appointment of Conservation of the Great Apes at the University of Amsterdam.
Given that most primates live in regions characterised by high levels of human poverty and inequality, the authors argue that immediate actions should be aimed at improving health and access to education, developing sustainable land-use initiatives, and preserving traditional livelihoods that can contribute to food security and environmental conservation. These actions can help to reduce hunting and habitat loss.
P2_Skywalker-Gibbon (Hoolock tianxing), a new primate species from China and Myanmar described in 2017.
Wich: ‘If we are unable to reduce the impact of our activities on primates, it is difficult to foresee how we will maintain this fantastic diversity of our closest relatives in the near future. That will not only be a great loss from a scientific point of view, but will also have a negative influence on the ecosystems that we all rely so much upon. It is therefore important to drastically change from the business as usual scenarios to more sustainable ones.’
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, bonobos are hunted and sold at markets for human consumption.
Golden snub-nosed monkey, ring-tailed lemur, Javan slow loris, Azara’s night monkey – we still have a large diversity of primates. They are an essential part of tropical biodiversity, contribute to natural regeneration and thus to the functioning of tropical habitats and are an integral part of many cultures and religions. Worldwide, more than half of all primate species are threatened with extinction.
The natural habitat of primates is mostly found in regions with high levels of poverty and a lack of education. These conditions lead to the exploitation of natural resources. Deforestation for agricultural land-use has become widespread. Road networks are built for the transportation and the export of goods. Around 76 per cent of the species have lost large parts of their habitat because of agricultural expansion.
Large-scale deforestation and habitat fragmentation are major threats for many primate species.
The team of experts calls on government officials, academics, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, the business community and citizens to strengthen the awareness of the extinction events and the immediate consequences for humans. “Conservation is an ecological, cultural and social necessity. When our closest relatives, the non-human primates, become extinct, this will send a warning signal that the living conditions for humans will soon deteriorate dramatically,” says Heymann.
The article is published in the latest edition of the journal Science Advances.
Contacts and sources:
University of Amsterdam (UVA)
German Primate Center
Citation: A. Estrada, P. Garber, A. Rylands, C. Roos, E. Fernandez-Duque, A. Di Fiore, K. Nekaris, V. Nijman, E. Heymann, J. Lambert, F. Rovero, C. Barelli, J. Setchell, T. Gillespie, R. Mittermeier, L. V. Arregoitia, M. de Guinea, S. Gouveia, R. Dobrovolski, S. Shanee, N. Shanee, S. Boyle, A. Fuentes, K. MacKinnon, K. Amato, A. Meyer, S. Wich, R. Sussman, P. Ruliang, I. Kone and L. Baoguo: ‘Impending extinction crisis of the world’s primates: why primates matter’ in Science Advances (2017). DOI 10.1126/sciadv.1600946.
Source: http://www.ineffableisland.com/2017/01/500-primate-species-face-extinction.html
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