technology provide greater access to remote areas, increasing the bushmeat trade market. Bushmeat has become an important factor of the economy. The majority of hunting in Central and West African villages is for cash rather than consumption. The industry is estimated to contribute $24M – $42M USD annually to the African economy. The hunting of apes and the sale of their meat for human consumption has been reported from many countries including Nigeria, Central African Republic, Congo-Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea. It is estimated that 0.02 chimpanzees and 0.01 gorillas per square kilometre are hunted per year. This accounts for 5–7% of their populations directly lost due to the bushmeat trade. Infectious diseases An undermined threat to great ape populations is the transmission of pathogens from humans. There has been a total of 33 recorded occurrences of probably or confirmed pathogen transmission from humans to great apes between the years 1964–2012. The spread of infectious diseases poses a severe threat to already endangered great ape populations. Despite the severe risk of pathogen transmission, disease monitoring is only conducted for a small percentage of the world’s great apes. This lack of monitoring is the greatest limiting factor in our ability to detect outbreaks and reduce the loss of great ape life. Conservation and poverty Most countries involved in the Great Apes Survival partnership fall close or below the poverty line. Rather than viewing poverty and ape conservation as different issues, GRASP emphasizes the need to link the two together. People living in developing countries are often highly dependent on biodiversity to meet their livelihood needs. However, most threats faced by great apes are intensified by the poverty of people living in proximity. The reliance of poor, rural communities on forest resources may result in threats due to hunting practices that directly and indirectly target great apes for food or international trade; agricultural conversion or destructive gathering practices that directly degrade great ape habitats and by virtue of their vicinity, facilitate the transmission of human pathogens to the apes. To mitigate the threats poverty poses on ape populations, conservation approaches must involve all relevant stakeholders. This includes: industry, government, financial institutions, wildlife, ecosystems, local and indigenous communities. References External links GRASP website Organizations established in 2001 Conservation projects UNESCO United Nations Environment Programme Primate conservation