Status of Grauer’s gorilla and chimpanzees in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo 1 STATUS OF GRAUER’S GORILLA AND CHIMPANZEES IN EASTERN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO Historical and Current Distribution and Abundance

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. WCS envisions a world where wildlife thrives in healthy lands and seas, valued by societies that embrace and benefit from the diversity and integrity of life on earth. Our goal is to conserve the world's largest wild places in 15 priority regions, home to more than 50% of the world's biodiversity. In the Albertine Rift region of Africa WCS has been supporting conservation since 1957 and is the oldest International Conservation NGO working here. Our focus has been on building the capacity of the protected area authorities in the region to be able to better manage their protected areas as well as providing results of scientific research to better understand the importance of the Albertine Rift and how best to conserve the incredibly rich biodiversity to be found here. Find more at: Established over a century ago, Fauna & Flora International (FFI) was the world's first international conservation organisation. It is renowned for its innovative, landmark programmes, many of which have come to be regarded as classic examples of conservation practice .The pioneering work of its founders in Africa led to the creation of numerous protected areas, including Kruger and Serengeti National Parks. Today Fauna & Flora International's work spans across the globe, with over 140 projects in over 40 countries, mostly in the developing world. FFI proudly stands up for biodiversity and aims to show just how relevant it is to all of those who share the planet. FFI has supported Great Ape conservation in DRC since 1991 with the creation of the collaborative International Gorilla Conservation Programme which helps protect the Critically Endangered mountain gorillas of DRC, Rwanda and Uganda. In 2009 FFI started community conservation programmes around the Maiko and Kahuzi-Biega national parks in support of ICCN, and since this time has worked with rural communities to reduce forest exploitation, conducted participatory biodiversity surveys throughout the landscape, provided capacity-building programmes for DRC nationals in ape monitoring techniques, and developed community-based ape monitoring programmes around the Maiko National Park. Find out more at: www.fauna-flora.org The Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) has a mission to assure the protection of the fauna and flora in the network of protected areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo, to encourage research and tourism and to manage …