2009: 'Year of the Gorilla'

Dec. 1, 2008 -- Endangered gorilla species will be placed "on a higher pedestal" next year in efforts to raise awareness about their plight and threats to their habitat, a U.N. expert said Monday.

"The Year of the Gorilla 2009 will place gorillas on a higher pedestal," John Mshelbwala, U.N. Convention of Migratory Species expert, told a news conference.

Noting that the convention's conference in Rome this week is coinciding with a forum in Poland of the U.N. climate change convention, Mshelbwala stressed the benefits of tackling global warming and species conservation together.

"The Year of the Gorilla is not just about gorillas but about their habitat," said UN Environment Program (UNEP) expert Ian Redmond, noting that the apes serve "as guardians of the forest (by) gardening the forest, pruning the trees and distributing the seeds through their droppings."

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Renowned primatologist Jane Goodall, patron of the initiative, said in a statement: "It is time for us to pool all of our resources toward saving these magnificent creatures (and toward) ensuring a future for this close cousin of humankind."

The Year of the Gorilla, which follows similar initiatives for the turtle and the dolphin, brings together UNEP, the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

The initiative hopes to attract at least $630,000 dollars in donations, convention executive secretary Robert Hepworth told the news conference.

Many experts fear that the gorilla will become extinct in the next few decades, UNEP said in a news release.

The last decade has seen a steep drop, from 17,000 to 5,000, in the population of Eastern Lowland Gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo, while Mountain Gorillas in the Great Lakes region number only 700, UNEP said.

The main threats include hunting for "bushmeat," a prized delicacy in western Africa, as well as logging, slash-and-burn agriculture and armed conflict, notably in DR Congo.