The Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP) is a UNEP and UNESCO-led World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) Type II Partnership, established in 2001, that aims to conserve the non-human great apes (chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans) and their habitats—primarily forested tropical ecosystems that provide important services to humanity, through pro-poor conservation and sustainable development strategies. Background GRASP involves all the principal institutional actors in great ape conservation—United Nations agencies, biodiversity-related multilateral environmental agreements, great ape range state and donor governments, non-governmental organizations, scientists, local communities and the private sector. Non-human great apes are found in 21 countries in Africa and in two countries in South East Asia. Great ape populations are declining worldwide. The continuing destruction of habitat, in combination with the growth in the commercial bushmeat trade in Africa, have led scientists to suggest that the majority of great ape populations may be extinct in our lifetime. Even if isolated populations were to survive, the long-term viability of these great apes is in doubt due to their limited numbers and the fragmentation of their habitat. The endangered great apes share their habitat with millions of humans, the majority of whom live below the poverty line. The need to link the welfare of humans and wildlife is a central objective of the GRASP Partnership. International commitment to the great apes was reaffirmed at an Intergovernmental Meeting on great apes and the first GRASP Council Meeting held in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in September 2005, where the Kinshasa Declaration on Great Apes was adopted by more than 70 signatories. Threats to great apes Habitat destruction Almost all non-human primate populations are impacted by anthropogenic activities in the form of habitat destruction. The main contributors to habitat loss are farming, urbanization, deforestation, and climate change. Suitable environmental conditions for great apes have been on the decline and many populations are on the brink of extinction. The growth of habitat destruction shows no signs of stopping, potentially leading to mass extinctions of all great apes. The first ever continent-wide assessment of suitable environmental conditions (SEC) for great apes predicted a loss of 207,927 km2 from the years 1995–2010. Loss of predicted SEC appeared highest for Cross River gorillas (59%), followed by eastern gorillas (52%), western gorillas (32%), bonobos (29%), central chimpanzees (17%) and western chimpanzees (11%). Bushmeat Bushmeat trade occurs all over tropical Africa, Asia and the Neotropics. Urbanization and improved