Industrial Agriculture and Ape Conservation

Social and economic systems worldwide are changing rapidly, accompanied by an increasing global demand for natural resources, including land, water, minerals, energy sources, food, and timber. Today’s foremost challenge lies in finding the tools not only to understand the complexity of these interrelated trends, but also to implement strategies to balance environmental needs with socioeconomic requirements. This volume of State of the Apes contributes to this search by presenting original research and analysis, topical case studies, and emerging best practices from among key stakeholders to examine the interface between ape conservation and industrial agriculture. In assessing the drivers behind agricultural expansion, it sheds light on governance challenges and legal frameworks that shape land use.

Aimed at policymakers, industry experts, academics, researchers, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), this edition is designed to inform debate, practice, and policy in ways that will help to reconcile the goals of industrial agriculture with those of ape conservation.

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About the Book

Intended for a broad range of policymakers, industry experts, decision makers, academics, researchers, and NGOs, this publication aims to influence debate, practice, and policy, seeking to reconcile ape conservation and welfare with economic and social development, through objective and rigorous analysis.

Executive Summary

This volume of State of the Apes examines the evolving interaction between industrial agriculture and the conservation of apes and their habitats. It explores the drivers behind agricultural expansion and ways to minimize and mitigate its impact on biodiversity.

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Introduction

This chapter provides a brief overview of the context in which industrial agriculture operates and the broader linkages to ape conservation globally.

Full Text: Volume 2

This volume of State of the Apes examines the evolving interaction between industrial agriculture and the conservation of apes and their habitats. It explores the drivers behind agricultural expansion and ways to minimize and mitigate its impact on biodiversity.

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Ch 1: Economic Development and Conservation of Biodiversity: Understanding the Interface of Ape Conservation and Industrial Agriculture

Human population growth is accompanied by the expansion of industrial agriculture, which is having a detrimental effect on ecosystems that sustain some of the world’s most exceptional biodiversity. Improving our understanding of how primates can coexist with humans and industrial-scale agricultural activity is crucial to their long-term survival.

Ch 2: Encroaching on Ape Habitat: Deforestation and Industrial Agriculture in Cameroon, Liberia, and Borneo

To date, the expansion of industrial agriculture into ape habitats has been more destructive in Asia than elsewhere. In view of the large agricultural concessions in the Congo Basin and West Africa, however, ape habitats in sub-Saharan Africa may soon experience similar pressures.

Ch 3: From Habitat to Plantation: Causes of Conversion in sub-Saharan Africa

Agriculture is Africa’s engine for growth. There is a pressing need to assess how current and planned agricultural projects in sub-Saharan Africa may affect ape populations and habitats. Efforts should also be made to integrate ape conservation and wider environmental concerns into planning for agricultural development.

Ch 4: Legal Frameworks at the Interface of Industrial Agriculture and Ape Conservation

Robust regional and international laws and agreements are in place to ensure environmental protection, but they cannot be effective unless individual states ratify them and establish the institutional systems required for their implementation. This chapter provides a trend analysis of national laws in eight ape range states.

Ch 5: From Process to Impact of a Voluntary Standard: The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil

A number of voluntary standards and certification processes exist to minimize adverse social and environmental impacts of agricultural production. From a conservation perspective, the most important is the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. This chapter provides a critical assessment of this evolving standard.

Ch 6: Impacts of Industrial Agriculture on Ape Ecology

Forest clearance and degradation have a direct impact on apes through habitat destruction and fragmentation, depriving them of food and access to other groups, which is necessary for maintaining genetic diversity. Beyond this, the impact of agricultural expansion varies significantly across species.

Ch 7: Ape Populations over Time: Case Studies from Gombe, Mount Halimun Salak, Sabangau, and Wamba

To be effective, conservation interventions in critical ape habitats must be informed by evidence and lessons drawn from long-term engagement. They must also reflect geographical scale and political and economic contexts. Using case studies, this chapter looks at the threats to, and opportunities for, ape conservation.

Ch 8: The Status of Captive Apes

The number of apes admitted to rescue centers and sanctuaries in range states is increasing. In non-range states, captive apes tend to be kept in research laboratories, by the entertainment industry, as pets, and in zoos. Variations in legal protections within and between countries can leave apes vulnerable.

Abundance Annex: Ape Population Abundance Estimates

In this 2015 online-only annex, ape abundance estimates are presented at site level.

Policy Summary

The second volume of State of the Apes details the forces driving industrial agriculture, its myriad repercussions for ape populations, and alternatives to destructive practices. The policymaker summary presents a policy-relevant discussion of the impacts on apes and their habitat and recommendations of ways to protect them as industrial agriculture expands.

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