Associazione Primatologica Italiana:
Primatological Net News since 1997
APINN N.34 - - Novembre - Dicembre 2002 -
  • siamo nel 6' anno... - qui ci sono i 33 NUMERI PRECEDENTI
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    • 30-12-02: Africa Explorer Michael Fay  Plans More Epic Treks to Save Wilds: "The grand plan is for Gabon to become the Costa Rica of the East. The world should regard Gabon as the natural paradise of tropical forest Africa. We want people to think about Gabon as a place to see an unbelievable abundance of nature—elephants on the beach, gorillas basking in the sun—a real natural paradise. I think we can accomplish that because what we have there is just that. This national park system that we've set up encompasses all the biodiversity and all of the habitats.  We need to build infrastructure, train a huge number of people, and integrate these national parks into the landscape so that logging companies and traditional land owners have their say. We need to make sure that these people are heard and satisfied.  Then, at the same time, we need to start bringing people in from the outside. We need to develop ecotourism, bring in a lot of foreign aid for the development of these national parks. That's the job we have right now." 

    • 19-12-02: Interpol to Probe Gorilla Poaching. The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and its counterparts in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, have petitioned Interpol to investigate and arrest suspects engaged in poaching of the highly endangered mountain gorillas. In the last 6 months, there have been at least four poaching attacks on groups of mountain gorillas in the two forests that harbor the last remaining members of this endangered subspecies (Gorilla beringei beringei). During these attacks, six adult gorillas have been killed as poachers tried to capture their babies for sale abroad. One infant gorilla captured in the May incident from the Parc National des Volcans, Rwanda has disappeared without trace; the second infant was found huddled next to its dead mother the next morning and reintroduced. A third infant was rescued from poachers on October 4 in Rwanda and is currently being reintroduced after being in medical quarantine, and there is a possible fourth infant missing. This is a total of 10 mountain gorillas in the Virunga volcanoes, killed, missing, or confiscated for reintroduction this year. And while this number seems small, it is significant as it represents nearly 3% of the Virunga population of mountain gorillas.

    • 18-12-02: WMO (World Meteorological Organisation) says 2002 second hottest as global warming speeds: The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), a United Nations agency, said that 1998 remained the hottest year on record, with 2002 surpassing last year as the next warmest. The 10 warmest years had all occurred since 1987, nine since 1990. "Clearly for the past 25 or 26 years, the warming is accelerating. The rate of increase is unprecedented in the last 1,000 years," Kenneth Davidson, director of WMO's world climate programme told a news briefing. Global surface temperatures have risen 0.6°C since 1900, according to the Geneva-based body. 

      • Documento in PDF. Reuters.  Da qualche giorno il WMO offers authoritative weather forecasts for world cities on-line at  www.worldweather.org, E' di questi giorni anche la notizia che l'Arctic ice cap to vanish in 80 years, 
    • 17-12-02: Gorilla reintroduction fails. Orphaned female rejected by group in Rwandan park: An effort to reintroduce a recently rescued young mountain gorilla into the Rwandan wild failed last week, but further attempts will be made early next year. Rwandan police rescued the 2 ½-year-old female from poachers in October. Since then, the orphaned gorilla has been in the care of veterinarians from the Englewood-based Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project and two other organizations. Last week, the orphaned gorilla was introduced to a mountain gorilla group in Rwanda's Parc National des Volcans. "Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, she was not accepted by the group, and suffered injuries from bites inflicted by one of the gorillas," according to a statement issued by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International.

    • 16-12-02: Non solo i primati non umani vivono sugli alberi (e talvolta cadono): Tree-Sitting Becomes Increasingly Common Protest in US

    • 13-12-02: Sempre più interessante il sito web del Great Apes Survival Project (GRASP); è una struttura dell'UNEP chesi occupa appunto di 'survival' delle antropomorfe. Nel loro sito si trovano link a immagini da satellite dell'Africa Centrale (nel sito del  progetto CARPE che riguarda il bacino del Congo) e a mappe della distribuzione delle antropomorfe asiatiche ed africane aggiornate al 2001 (impressionante la frammentazione). Attraverso alcuni links si raggiungono anche i siti web del Global Observation of Forest Cover (GOFC), del Global Land Cover Facility (GLCF), del Deforestation Mapping Group. e del Global Forest Watch, che rende disponibili alcune immagini da satellite di zone in cui vivono i primati. 

    • 12-12-02: IUCN's response to the World Bank's recently approved new Forest Policy and Strategy. The World Bank approved (31/10/02) its new Forest Policy and Strategy after four years of world-wide consultations. However, the biggest issue has not been addressed: the unintended negative impact on forests of structural adjustment measures such as currency devaluations and government down-sizing. More positively, the new policy incorporates other IUCN recommendations such as an emphasis on protecting the rights of local communities, and a clear process for identifying critical ("no go") forest areas that involves key stakeholders and requires scientific peer review. In an open letter, Stewart Maginnis, Head of the IUCN Forest Conservation Programme, discusses the review process, what was achieved in the final version, and the way forward. IUCN has been actively involved in assessing the impact of the Bank on forests through regional input and work with its Members. 

      • Final version of the World Bank Strategy (PDF document ). 
      All other documents related to the Forestry Policy and Strategy are posted at the following web page, and can also be accessed through the Bank's Forest website: http://www.worldbank.org/forestry 
      In questi giorni si stanno raccogliendo proteste rivolte proprio alla World Bank per impedire che si realizzi il progetto (finanziato dalla WB) di una strada che attraverserebbe il Gunung Leuser Park, abitato anche dagli ultimi oranghi di Sumatra, frammentando ulteriormente l'habitat di una sottospecie di Orango in pericolo di estinzione. Nella raccolta delle firme all'appello sono impegnati l'IPPL e la Balikpapan Orangutan Society. Informazioni sul progetto si trovano qui in un sito web della Duke University. 
    • 11-12-02: Dal Brasile una buona notizia, prevedibile sulla base dei risultati delle ultime elezioni: Environmentalists were pleased today by the selection of Senator Marina Silva to head Brazil's Ministry of Environment in the Workers Party government of President-elect Luis Inacio Lula da Silva. Senator Silva, who represents the Workers' Party in the state of Acre, was born in the Brazilian Amazon, and spent her childhood making rubber, hunting and fishing to help support the family. After earning a university degree, she went on to found the independent trade union movement in Acre with rubber tapper leader Chico Mendes. In the 1980s, she and Mendes created the "empates," peaceful demonstrations by forest dwelling rubber tappers against deforestation and the expulsion of forest communities from their traditional holdings. This movement also led to the establishment of sustainable extractive reserves in the rainforest. Although Mendes was murdered in 1988, Silva continued to push for creation of the reserves. In 1996, Senator Silva won the Goldman Environmental Prize for Latin America for her environmental protection of the reserves as well as for social justice and sustainable development in the Amazon region. 

    • 11-12-02: Key actors in the palm oil business could save Indonesian forests, new WWF report says 

    • 11/12/02: To commemorate the life of Richard N. Wegner, a conference on primate craniofacial morphology (1st International Workshop on 

      • Evolutionary Changes in the Craniofacial Morphology of  Primates) will be held in the Institute of Anatomy he served for many years at the Ernst Moritz Arndt University Greifswald. September 18-20 2003 Researchers from around the world will converge on Greifswald, Germany, to present cutting edge work on many aspects of cranial evolution of primates, from development to function, with a special emphasis on primate skeletal collections. Participants will have the opportunity to utilize the extensive primate collection in the Institute, started by Prof. Wegner himself. If you are interested in attending or participating, please contact the organizer: Thomas Koppe, Institute of Anatomy, Ernst Moritz Arndt University, Friedrich Loeffler Strasse 23c, D-17489 Greifswald (Germany)
      Tel: +49 3834-865318, Fax.+49 3834-865302, Email:thokoppe@mail.uni-greifswald.de
    • 10-12-02: Announced by South African President Thabo Mbeki, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and Mozambique President Joaquim Chissano, the new Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park will span 35,000km2  over South Africa's Kruger National Park, Mozambique's Limpopo National Park and the Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe. Centered on the Limpopo River, this protected land is inhabited by more wildlife species than any other sanctuary in Africa, including 10,000 elephants. Savanna, dry woodland, rivers and floodplains support rare ungulates such as Lichenstein hartebeest, roan and sable antelope, hippopotamus, lions,  BBC. Reuters. Mappa. 11-12-02:South Africa's minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Mohammed Valli Moosa and Mozambican Minister of Tourism, Fernando Sumbana, dropped the fence on the Far Northern region of the Kruger National Park to open the largest cross-border conservation area in the world, larger than the country of Switzerland.

    • 7-12-2002: Alla morte del responsabile, Ray L Wallace, il figlio ha confessato che il (purtroppo) noto filmato del 1967 che mostra un 'Bigfoot' in fuga nelle foreste della California era un falso: Mythic beast was `just my mum in an ape suit'(!).  La notizia anche nel sito web sui bigfoot

      • Non sembra sia invece (purtroppo) un falso l'odierna registrazione di una telefonata contenente un autorevole invito ai lavoratori FIAT messi in cassa integrazione ad infrangere la legge (che nessuno però propone di modificare adeguatamente) che proibisce (e sanziona con un licenziamento non protetto dall'art.18) il lavoro nero. 
    • 7-12-2002: La notizia comparsa nella lista ProMED-mail (=The global electronic reporting system for outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases & toxins) non è ancora confermata, ma stanno già indagando su quello che sembra un probabile ulteriore effetto della presenza del virus Ebola fra i primati: Gorilla and Wildlife deaths, Republic of Congo:  6 western lowland gorillas from one family group, numerous monkeys (species not indicated), and duikers (forest antelope) were found dead on Sun 01 Dec 2002. The gorillas were habituated (acclimatised) to human presence in the forest for ecotourism purposes as part of a European Union funded project managed by ECOFAC (Ecosystemes Forestiers d'Afrique Centrale). The Centre International de Recherches Medicales de Franceville (CIRMF) in Gabon has been notified and is sending a team to the area with the invitation of the government of the Republic of Congo. CIRMF previously provided the laboratory confirmation of Ebola virus in 3 gorillas sampled after they were found dead earlier in 2002 in the same region of  the Republic of Congo. (vedere anche la notizia in data 28/11) 
    • 6-12-2002: Volcanoes Park a heritage site? Kigali - Rwanda has asked the United Nations to class the Volcanoes Park, home to the world's only mountain gorillas, as a world heritage site, national radio said on Friday. The park straddles Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo and is the only place in the world where the highly endangered species survives. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) Director General Koiro Matsuura arrived in Kigali late on Thursday for a two-day visit. "We're asking for the park to be classed as a world heritage site because in that case Unesco would take care of its upkeep", the Secretary of State for Education, Eugene Munyakayanza, told Radio Rwanda. 
    • 5-12-2002: Sempre peggiore la situazione politica in Costa d'Avorio. Altre formazioni politico-militari hanno aperto addirittura un nuovo fronte contro il governo nell'Ovest del Paese e si combatte dal 28/11 a circa 100 km a nord della foresta di Tai, una zona protetta in cui vivono gli scimpanzè studiati da anni dal gruppo di ricerca diretto da Boesch (Wild Chimpanzee Foundation http://www.wildchimps.org); le truppe francesi presenti nel paese devono intervenire ripetutamente per evacuare gli stranieri mentre la nuova rivolta avanza; sembra che un prossimo obiettivo militare sia il porto di S.Pedro, a sud rispetto alla foresta di Tai .....  Falliscono intanto anche le trattative di pace fra il governo e i ribelli musulmani del nord. Uteriori informazioni (sulla situazione precedente l'inizio della guerra si trovano nelle APINN 33 in data 7/9/02)

    • 6-12-02: The Forest Liaison Bureau aims to optimize the effectiveness of the EC-Indonesia Forest Programme. Through adopting a programme approach, the Bureau enhances the transfer of knowledge and techniques from the individual projects to the Government of Indonesia to enable the implementation of new or revised policies and practices.  To support this process, the Bureau liaises between the Programme, Government agencies, Member States of the European Union , other donors and organizations, and supports the EC delegation in Jakarta on forestry issues.

      • The Bureau is maintaing a database of key information on Indonesian forestry and also increasing awareness among target groups, with particular reference to European Union involvement in the sector. The Bureau has a budget of EUR 5 million, financed by European Union grant, and an office supplied by the Ministry of Forestry. Activities started in mid - 1997 for a duration of 7 years.
    • 3-12-02: E' stato presentato oggi dall'UNFPA il report State of World Population 2002, consultabile on line: Nel 2050 sulla terra sarete/saranno in 9.200.000.000 circa, + 46%. Oggi siamo infatti solo 6.280.000.000. Buona fortuna, anche perchè c'è scritto che l'aumento non è per tutti del 46%: The least developed countries have the highest fertility and population growth, and their populations are expected to triple in the next 50 years, from 600 million to 1.8 billion, the UN agency predicts

    • 3-12-02: Inchiesta della rete televisiva KARE-11 TV del Minnesota su un animal trainer che gestisce anche uno scimpanzé di 9 anni, chiamato Tarzan. E' disponibile nel sito un video che mostra anche J.Goodall e  R.Fouts mentre commentano il filmato di uno spettacolo con Tarzan che imita noi umani.

    • 2-12-02: Un'intera pagina di Repubblica sull'allarme per la recente e preoccupante ("We've not see anything like this in the last 20 years," said gorilla researcher Amy Vedder of the Wildlife Conservation Society) ripresa del bracconaggio contro i gorilla di montagna, che ha portato negli ultimi mesi all'uccisione di 6 gorilla e alla scomparsa di due piccoli (uno dei quali recuperato e che si spera di poter reintrodurre in un altro gruppo). Meanwhile, authorities in Uganda and Rwanda are re-doubling anti-poaching patrols in the mountainous national parks. Some gorilla family groups are under 24-hour surveillance. Qui un articolo che illustra gli effetti positivi (anche per i gorilla di montagna) del turismo in Uganda. Vedi anche notizia dell'8/11e un articolo recente (30/11) della CNN

    • 1-12-02: West Kalimantan to become a desert, researchers warn: Indonesia's West Kalimantan province has lost an estimated 300,000 hectares to illegal logging over the past two years and will become a desert by 2040, reports said today. Research recently compiled by the University of Tanjungpura, in West Kalimantan, shows that the province has lost 165,631 hectares of forest per year in 2000 and 2001, said The Jakarta Post. If that rate of deforestation continued, the province's remaining 6.3 million hectares of forest would be completely wiped out within 38 years, the research concluded

    • 30-11-02: Sono disponibili anche in rete (in un formato ottimale per la stampa ma non per la rapida visualizzazione in rete) i pannelli della mostra GORILLA IN THE SOUP, The Eradication of African Wildlife through the Bushmeat Trade. This exhibition was funded by the Stuttgart Zoo, Germany and was shown in many German speaking zoos accompanying the bushmeat campaign launched by the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) in 2000/2001. For latest news see the EAZA website.

      • The website of the German exhibition was funded by Berggorilla & Regenwald Direkthilfe and the Association of German Zoodirectors (VDZ). You can download the 37 coloured information boards in PDF format from this website to save them on your computer and print them.
    • 29-11-02: CONGO TREK: For 15 months  Wildlife Conservation Society biologist J. Michael Fay hiked during year 2000 across central Africa (map)—1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers) through dense forests and remote villages—to Africa’s Atlantic coast. Along the way Fay and his team surveyed the land and wildlife of the Congo River Basin, recording animals and plants that may well become threatened as humans press into the wilds. Using digital cameras and a lightweight computer system, Fay documented his trek through frequent dispatches to this site. Mappa del percorso.

    • 28-11-02:  Un mese fa, il 2 novembre, è morta in Gabon in un incidente aereo Annelisa M. Kilbourn, a veterinarian and wildlife expert, who established that gorillas can die of the deadly Ebola virus; she was killed  when the light plane she was flying in crashed in the Lope Nature Preserve in the Central African nation of Gabon. She was 35. Working  for the Wildlife Conservation Society, which announced her death from its headquarters at the Bronx Zoo, Dr. Kilbourn was investigating last year's Ebola outbreak in that country and its relationship to the indigenous gorilla population. Earlier this year [2002], Dr. Kilbourn established for the first time that Ebola is a serious threat to wild gorillas as well as to humans when she found dead specimens in the jungle and found that the disease had killed them, the society said. Her findings had important implications for the preservation of Africa's primates as well as for the spread of the disease among humans. Scientists had already noted that an earlier outbreak of Ebola in the same area in 1996 had led to a sharp decline in the gorilla population and now they knew why. They also now knew that Ebola, as well as hunting by humans, is one of the reasons gorillas are fast disappearing from Africa's forests. Dr. Kilbourn's discovery also made it increasingly important to protect the major concentration of gorillas, believed to be the largest left in the world, living in the nearby Odzala National Park, about 100 kilometers away over the border in Congo, by controlling access to them by humans and animals that might be carrying the virus. Before her death Dr. Kilbourn had herself been in charge of protecting the health of these animals. 

      • Qui un suo articolo del 1998: Wild Primate Populations in Emerging Infectious Disease Research:  The Missing Link?
    • 27-11-03: Il Primate Taxon Advisory Group dell'Australasian Species Management Program ha messo in rete le Guidelines for the Housing and Management of Orang utans (Pongo pygmaeus and Pongo abeli). Nello stesso sito web c'è anche un articolo Husbandry and Management of the Proboscis Monkey (Nasalis larvatus) in the Singapore Zoological Gardens. 

    • 26-11-02: Based on two workshops convened by IUCN to develop some pragmatic assistance for Scientific Authorities, the new publication "Guidance for CITES Scientific Authorities: Checklist to assist in making non-detriment findings for Appendix II exports" presents the background to the development of the non-detriment finding checklist and explains how the checklist itself is designed to work, in the hope that Scientific Authority staff will take and develop the parts of the approach that they find useful. The publication is an Occasional Paper by IUCN's Species Survival Commission and was compiled by A. Rosser and M. Haywood

    • 22-11-02: New Population of Orangutans Discovered - The known number of orangutans in the world has increased by about 10 percent, thanks to a remarkable discovery by a team of researchers surveying a remote forest on the southeast Asian island of Borneo. The discovery by the team from The Nature Conservancy offers a rare opportunity for conservationists working to save the endangered primate.

    • 20-11-02: Da FOREST CONSERVATION NEWS: The credibility of the Forest Stewardship Council's green timber labels continues to justifiably be questioned.  A new report entitled "Trading in Credibility, The myth and reality of the Forest Stewardship Council" by the Rainforest Foundation-UKclaims that consumers are being misled by FSC's green labels, which supposedly guarantee timber has come from environmentally-friendly sources.  It finds that "green" certificates are "being given to companies responsible for illegal logging and human rights abuses in countries including Brazil and Indonesia."  The report found that FSC has "for years been knowingly misleading the public in the UK and across the globe."

    • 18-11-02: Allarme sull'eccessivo e incontrollato sfruttamento economico della foresta di Budongo, in Uganda, dove vivono circa 600 scimpanzè (Budongo Forest Project). 

      • A new report released by a British researcher, Benjamin Singer, on Budongo forest is a bombshell. "Some of the foresters are collaborators in these illegal activities and it is done right from Forestry Department headquarters, not here in Masindi," the report says. Singer's report on the 800 square kilometre rain-forest, the largest in the country, was published in September. It comes after the Forestry authorities refuted The New Vision special report, which said forest rangers in Masindi were conniving with the illegal loggers. "They come here and spend time with pitsawyers with whom they are intimate. I don't want to single out one person or two, but it has been happening and it has been encouraging illegal pitsawing," adds the report. But the forestry commissioner, D.N Byarugaba, in an interview with The New Vision rubbished the claims in the report, saying they were mere allegations. Singer's report entitled, "The road to sustainable Mahogany trade in Uganda," was compiled after a two-month study in several villages around Budongo. It quotes authoritative sources within the Forest Department and Masindi Pitsawyers and Wood Users Association who preferred to remain anonymous.
      Why is Budongo a big deal? Birdlife International recently declared it an important bird area and the World Wide Fund for Nature classified it among one of the 200 most valuable ecological regions worldwide, says Singer. It also harbours over 300 bird species, 600 chimpanzees and 866 plant species, 419 butterflies and moths. But illegal logging, charcoal burning and encroachment threaten it.
      E' possibile che abbia un effetto positivo la recente decisione della CITES di inserire anche il mogano fra le specie vegetali protette. er ulteriori informazioni sul commercio del mogano (estratto prevalentemente dall'Amazzonia per il mercato USA ed europeo), qui un articolo e quiun opuscolo di Greenpace (ottobre 2001) che riguarda però solo la situazione del Brasile: Partners in mahogany crime
    • 16-11-02: Intervista a J.Goodall sul  ruolo da lei svolto come UN Ambassador of Peace e al World Summit for Sustainable Development di Johannesburg.

    • 15-11-02: Dal 3 al 15 novembre si è svolto a Santiago il Twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties della CITES. Oltre al discusso permesso di vendita (controllata e una tantum) di avorio accumulato nel tempo da 3 paesi africani, this CITES conference has brought good news for forests. The listing of timber species is always a hot issue at CITES and this meeting was no exception. CITES is currently the only legal mechanism available for importing countries to seize shipments of illegally sourced timber, and EIA and Telapak presented a briefing in Santiago on illegal timber trade which strongly argued for the further use of CITES to tackle the issues. In the face of industry opposition, this message got through to the Parties, which showed new resolve through an historic listing of big leaf mahogany on Appendix II of CITES ("Today is a victory not only for bigleaf mahogany, but for tropical forests in general," said Dr Darron Collins, WWF Forestry Coordinator for Latin America. "The listing was also vital in order to support range states' efforts to implement effective and sustainable management of the species.") and by agreeing to work on proposals to list new tree species on the Appendices. Here the daily coverage by ENB

      • Per ulteriori informazioni sul commercio del mogano (estratto soprattutto dall'Amazzonia e soprattutto per il mercato USA ed europeo), qui un articolo e qui un opuscolo (ottobre 2001) di Greenpace che riguarda soprattutto la situazione del Brasile: Partners in mahogany crime
    • 14-11-02: 14 > 16 November, Cini Foundation, Venice: Tomorrow, the UNESCO World Heritage Convention (WHC) will turn thirty. In celebration, events are going off throughout this week in Venice, Italy. Press information. L'iniziativa è stata preceduta da una serie di workshops e da un congresso virtuale che è in corso da ottobre:

      • VIRTUAL CONGRESS - WORLD HERITAGE IN THE DIGITAL AGE: Technology and New Media for Documentation, Preservation, Management, Sustainable Tourism and Education 
      Building on rich progress in computer graphics, multimedia, the internet, imaging and sensing technology, and virtual and augmented reality in the last decade, the 30th Anniversary VIRTUAL CONGRESS will bridge the six global CONFERENCES, investigating and showcasing the possibilities digital technologies offer our World Heritage. From multimedia to the Internet, 3D graphics to wireless networks, GIS to satellite imaging, and real-time global positioning to 3D reality capture systems, technology offers new hope for heritage documentation, preservation, management, education, and sustainable tourism.
      The VIRTUAL CONGRESS seeks to showcase the most innovative work in the field, including:
      • new documentation and preservation tools and techniques (image-based modeling, 3D scanning & data capture, remote sensing and satellite imaging, …), 
      • the state of the art in data management and modeling (networked cultural databases, image-based rendering, large scale terrain modeling, geo-temporal 3D databases, 3D GIS for cultural and natural sites, object and image restoration and modeling, game engines, …), and 
      • the latest in presentation and dissemination (virtual and immersive reality for museums, kiosks and sites; projection technologies; multimedia delivery and exemplary web, DVD and other media presentations; …). 
    • 13-11-02: LEGAL TOOLS FOR WORLD HERITAGE REVIEWED IN SIENA 

      • Leading international and environmental lawyers from across the globe gathered in Siena, Italy from 11-12 November to workshop the scope and effectiveness of the World Heritage Convention (WHC) and to identify opportunities for its future strengthening. Topics addressed included an analysis of the tools for the implementation of the WHC, its relationship to other conventions, enforcement of the WHC (both internationally and domestically), its relationship to the body of international law and opportunities and challenges for the WHC arising from the World Summit on Sustainable Development.
      Find the Workshop programme here and the Workshop abstracts here. Link to the WHC here
      Interessante in proposito la recente apertura di un Environmental Law Programme web site da parte dell'IUCN. 
    • 12-11-02: Nell'interessante archivio di libri che si possono leggere gratuitamente (anche se non troppo comodamente) on line nel sito del NAP, ogni tanto si trova qualcosa di interesse primatologico. Recentemente si è reso disponibile The Emergence of Zoonotic Diseases: Understanding the Impact on Animal and Human Health - Workshop Summary (2002, 176 pp.) by Tom Burroughs, Stacey Knobler, and Joshua Lederberg, Editors, Forum on Emerging Infections.

    • 11-11-02: Illegal Congolese Resource Exploitation to be Punished: New York UN: The Security Council could put financial and travel restrictions on 29 companies and 54 persons that an expert panel says have illegally exploited the natural resources of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). 

      • The Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo focused its fact finding on diamonds, gold, coltan, copper, cobalt, timber, wildlife reserves, fiscal resources and trade in general. 
      Conservationists have been particularly concerned about the damaging impacts of coltan mining on the natural values of two universally important World Heritage sites: Kahuzi-Biega National Park (hosts gorilla!)and Okapi Wildlife Reserve located in the eastern part of the DRC. Coltan is a mineral that is used in the manufacture of cellular telephones. 
    • 8/11/02: Fossey Fund Builds Camp to Deter Gorilla Poachers : The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International has announced an action plan to halt a recent poaching spree that has left six mountain gorillas dead, one infant in temporary captivity and several others missing in Rwanda. 

      • Rutgers anthropology Professor H. Dieter Steklis, chief scientist and vice president of the fund said Thursday that immediate preparations are being made to re-establish patrols based at Karisoke, near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, an area that once was the location of a camp founded by Dian Fossey in the late 1960s and where recent poaching incidents have occurred. 
      The area has not been protected or monitored by the fund or the Rwandan national park authorities since the fund's facilities were destroyed during civil unrest in the 1990s. The new permanent camp, organized by the fund and Rwandan and Congolese national park authorities, should be set up within the next couple of weeks, Steklis said. As many as 15 to 20 rangers and security forces are expected to be stationed at the camp, which will include sleeping and cooking facilities. 
    • 5-11-02: Dal 12 al 14 novembre a Torino: Seminari di Michael Tomasello, condirettore del Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig Germany, a Torino: Martedì 12 novembre dalle ore 16:00 alle 18:00: Primate Cognition; Mercoledì 13 novembre dalle ore 11:00 alle ore 13:00: The Human Social-Cognition Development: Giovedì 14 novembre dalle ore 10:00 alle ore 12:00: Language Acquisition: Word Grammatical Development. Tutti gli incontri dei rispettivi seminari si terranno a Palazzo Badini, via Verdi 10, Torino Aula Seminari. Per informazioni contattare: dott.ssa Francesca Bosco bosco@psich.unito.it

    • 4/11/02: WORKSHOP  EVOLUTIONARY   BIOLOGY OF LEARNING a Friburgo (CH) il  21-22 February 2003. This workshop brings together those invited speakers and young researchers from various fields related to animal learning (psychology, behaviour, ecology, neurobiology, genetics, artificial intelligence), who are interested in evolutionary questions about learning. The meeting will include a day and a half of talks; followed by group discussions around issues raised by the meeting, and by a final round table discussion. Deadline for applications: December 1, 2002. If you want to participate without giving a talk, also send an email to Tadeusz.Kawecki@unifr.ch. Organisers: Tadeusz Kawecki (Univ. Fribourg) Frederic Mery (Univ. Fribourg) Victoria Braithwaite (Univ. Edinburgh) Dieter Ebert (Univ. Fribourg)

    • 1/11/02: WASHINGTON, October 31, 2002  -  World Bank Approves New Forest Policy and Strategy  Increasing livelihoods for poor people while better protecting forests. The Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank today unanimously approved a new forest policy and strategy aimed at increasing the livelihoods of some 500 million people  living in extreme poverty, who depend on forests, while improving the environmental protection of  forests in the developing world. 

      • Bank Management and Board members emphasized the crucial importance of achieving a balance between environmental protection, and efforts to help poor people manage resources.  The Executive Directors commended the policy for moving strongly in this direction. 
      The decision follows a broad consultation process over the last four years, which has involved governments, NGOs, private sector, and other relevant stakeholders to discuss the best way forward. Implementation of the new strategy will be closely monitored and will be reviewed by an independent panel in three years. 
      The revised Forest Strategy covers all forest types and has been built on three equally important interdependent pillars:
      ·         Protecting vital local and global environmental services and values provided by forests
      ·         Harnessing the potential of forests to reduce poverty 
      ·         Integrating forests in sustainable economic development