Nigeria's GRASP Focal Point Fidelis Omeni (L) watches as Minister Dr Okopido & Ian Redmond see gorillas off to Cameroon.

The GRASP Partnership unites all the principal institutional actors in great ape conservation – UN agencies, biodiversity-related multilateral environmental agreements, great ape range state and donor governments, non-governmental organizations, scientists, local communities and the private sector – in an internationally concerted approach to a major extinction crisis. Due to its status as a World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) Type II Partnership and its position within the United Nations system, GRASP has a unique and vital role in great ape conservation, above and beyond the efforts of individual actors and organizations. The following are the special attributes of the United Nations-led GRASP Partnership and the added value that this dynamic alliance brings to the global great ape conservation effort.

1. High-level national and intergovernmental dialogue to generate political will and influence policy for great ape conservation globally.
   As a WSSD Type II Partnership, housed within the UN system, the GRASP initiative has the potential to engage governments and intergovernmental organizations in a systematic way that is beyond the reach of individual conservation organizations. The GRASP Partnership’s focus on great apes enables it to concentrate exclusively on the threats facing the four taxa, rather than addressing a broad range of conservation issues on a global scale. In this way, GRASP can help to raise great ape conservation up the political agenda in the range and donor states.
   
   

2. Planning and monitoring at the national, regional and international level to bring the decline of great ape populations to a halt.
   As a result of the engagement of all the major stakeholders in great ape conservation, both governmental and non-governmental, with the objectives of the Partnership, GRASP provides a unique framework wherein coherent plans for great ape conservation can be developed and implemented at international, regional, national and population levels. The GRASP Council, Executive Committee, Scientific Commission and Secretariat do not seek to coordinate such efforts, but rather to create an enabling framework within which relevant GRASP Partners can work together to ensure the coherence of their activities.
   
   

3. Development and promotion of best practices, cooperation and technical support between and among all stakeholders.
   The broad and inclusive GRASP Partnership contains a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the form of individuals and institutions. In order to ensure maximum efficiency and avoid the duplication of existing activities, the GRASP Secretariat has the potential to facilitate communication and promote synergies among current initiatives and cooperation between Partners. Greater involvement of range states and local communities in governance and priority setting, development and replication of best practices to address common threats such as deforestation, bushmeat and disease, increased capacities to manage natural and wildlife resources and national law enforcement, transboundary conservation and peace-building initiatives and integrated sustainable development and conservation activities are all areas where the collaborative potential of the GRASP Partnership is a strength to be harnessed.
   
   

4. Media, information and public awareness to mitigate the threats facing the great apes.
   Benefiting from the access to the international media that GRASP can call upon, the Partnership is able to increase both the profile and the scope of great ape conservation-related publicity and awareness raising messages. As the GRASP Partnership can speak for the great apes with a unified and well-recognized voice, it has the clout to provide the communication platform necessary to both inform key decision makers and create innovative and appropriate methods of awareness raising at all levels.
   
   

5. New and additional funding for great ape conservation.
   As an international coalition of organizations from both the private and public sectors, seated within the UN system, the GRASP Partnership is uniquely positioned to leverage previously untapped funds for great ape conservation. The non-partisan status of the GRASP Partnership, afforded by its position within the United Nations system, provides access to governmental and intergovernmental financial resources hitherto not available for great ape conservation. It is anticipated that the bulk of new and additional funding will flow through traditional channels such as the Global Environmental Facility, the World Bank Group, the European Commission, bilateral (governmental), United Nations and large corporate donors. The GRASP Partnership is not an attempt to create a major new funding mechanism or institution, nor will it compete with traditional GRASP Partner sources of conservation financing.

Mark Attwater Orangutan and baby

The added value of GRASP, a WSSD Type II Partnership, was clearly demonstrated during the Intergovernmental Meeting (IGM) on Great Apes and the first GRASP Council Meeting in Kinshasa . The IGM, which brough together over 200 international delegates, as well as more than 300 participants from the Democratic Republic of the Congo resulted in the adoption of four key documents: Global Strategy for the Survival of the Great Apes and their Habitat, Rules for the Organization and Management of the GRASP Partnership, the GRASP Partnership Outline Workplan 2003-2007 and the GRASP Partnership: A Distinctive Approach - Current Priorities. The most significant output of the IGM, however, was the adoption of the Kinshasa Declaration, a high-level political statement on the future of great apes. By signing this declaration, the 76 representatives - including 16 range states, 6 donor countries, 25 NGO Partners, 2 MEAs and 2 intergovernmental organizations - affirmed their will to protect the se charismatic species for the first time in the history of great apes. This historical event made the front page of The Independent.