Nearly half of the world’s 634 types of primates are in danger of becoming extinct because of human activity, a scientific review presented yesterday showed.
Scientists meeting at the International Primatological Society Congress in Edinburgh, Scotland, for a six-day conference that opened on Sunday, hope the report — which counts species and subspecies of primates across the world — will help spur global action to defend humankind’s nearest relatives from deforestation and hunting.
In the most comprehensive review of the world’s apes, monkeys and lemurs in 12 years, primatologists warned that species ranging from the giant mountain gorillas of central Africa to the tiny mouse lemurs of Madagascar are on the “red list” for threatened species maintained by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The review was funded by Conservation International, the Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation, Disney’s Animal Kingdom and the IUCN.
It is part of an examination of the state of the world’s mammals that will be released at the 4th IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona, Spain, in October.
In Asia, more than 70 percent of primates are classified as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered — meaning they could disappear soon.
“What is happening in Southeast Asia is terrifying,” said Jean-Christophe Vie, deputy chief of the IUCN Species Program. “To have a group of animals under such a high level of threat is, quite frankly, unlike anything we have recorded among any other group of species to date.”
In Africa, 11 of the 13 kinds of Red Colobus monkey assessed were listed as critically endangered or endangered. Some types of the small rust-colored monkey have not been seen in 25 or 30 years.
“It is not too late for our close cousins the primates, and what we have now is a challenge to turn this around,” said Russell Mittermeier, president of Conservation International and the chairman of the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s primate specialist group.
“The review paints a bleak picture. Some primates are quite literally being eaten to extinction. But it is by no means a doomsday scenario,” he said. “There is a lot of will here among these scientists in Edinburgh and in the countries where primates live.”
Mittermeier pointed to recent successes in turning around populations such as the Black Lion Tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysopygus) in Brazil, which was downgraded to endangered from critically endangered in 2003 thanks to three decades of conservation efforts.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was