Great Apes - COVID-19 Guidance

Great Apes – COVID-19 Guidance

As the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, scientists and conservation managers began questioning how it would impact their research, conservation efforts, and the wellbeing of global wildlife. Primates are susceptible to the same diseases as humans, and the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group had previously created guidance on best practices for great apes’ protection from other respiratory diseases due to the presence of human tourists and field workers. The group began collecting questions about how COVID-19 would impact great apes from protected area managers, zookeepers, field researchers, and other individuals whose work is directly linked with the animals. A working group was put together and guidelines for how to approach great ape conservation in the face of this new and deadly pandemic were drafted and shared. These guidelines were aimed at researchers and conservationists, but have since grown and been reworked for other audiences including extractive industries, governments, and site-specific teams.

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Climate Action using the Climate Vulnerability Index (CVI) and restoration efforts to address climate impacts at Songo Mnara and Kilwa Kisiwani

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