Samy Mankoto, Secretary General of 1st IGM, stressed the enormity of the challenge faced in ensuring the survival of the Great Apes. Dr Richard Leakey, GRASP Patron, said the 1st IGM was addressing the future of man’s family, highlighting the nature of man’s relationship with the Great Apes and saying man should have been classified as the 6th Great Ape. He said the greatest pressure for the survival of the Great Apes is the loss of habitat caused by climate change, highlighting also the similar pressure being placed on the people living around the great ape habitats, stressing the urgent need for unifying policy to address these issues. While recognizing the existence of the political goodwill to achieve this, he stressed the limitation of the range states’ financial resources and suggested the Great Apes conservation projects be considered as part of the solution for poverty.

Speaking on behalf of Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of UNEP, Veerle Vandeweerd, UNEP, noted the launch of the World Atlas of Great Apes and their Conservation on 1st September and hoped that this initiative, together with the the 1st IGM would convince other major players to join the GRASP partnership and bring the decline of the Great Apes to an end. She emphasized, inter alia, the promotion of high-level national and international dialogue; the facilitation of cooperation and technical support among stakeholders; awareness raising about the threats facing the Great Apes; and the soliciting of new and additional funding.

Natarajan Ishwaran, UNESCO, called GRASP a unique alliance between UNEP, UNESCO, the Range States, NGOs and government partners, joined to promote and strengthen Great Apes conservation. He outlined UNESCO’s initiatives in species conservation through its biosphere reserves and World Heritage sites, highlighting the setting aside of funds for research grants through its MAB Young Scientists Research Grants Scheme for Least Developed Countries (LDCs). He said UNESCO looks forward to greater operational success as a result of this meeting.

Aselme Enerunga, DRC Minister of Environment, Conservation, Water and Forests pointed out that the DRC is home to 3 of the 4 Great Ape species and six of the sub-species and that this meeting is being held out of concern that human unsustainable use of biodiversity threatens their survival. He called for permanent recommendations and the adoption of a Kinshasa Declaration, which will only be effective if common actions are based on accepted standards.

Natarajan Ishwaran, UNESCO, called GRASP a unique alliance between UNEP, UNESCO, the Range States, NGOs and government partners, joined to promote and strengthen Great Apes conservation. He outlined UNESCO’s initiatives in species conservation through its biosphere reserves and World Heritage sites, highlighting the setting aside of funds for research grants through its MAB Young Scientists Research Grants Scheme for LDCs. He said UNESCO looks forward to greater operational success as a result of this meeting.

Aselme Enerunga, DRC Minister of Environment, Conservation, Water and Forests pointed out that the DRC is home to 3 of the 4 Great Ape species and six of the sub-species and that this meeting is being held out of concern that human unsustainable use of biodiversity threatens their survival. He called for permanent recommendations and the adoption of a Kinshasa Declaration, which will only be effective if common actions are based on accepted standards.

AbdoulayeYerodia Ndombasi, DRC Vice President, highlighted the DRC’s great ape strategy and action plan established in 2005, confirming his country’s commitment to protection of the great apes. He concluded by declaring the Intergovernmental Conference officially open.

In the afternoon, the IGM met in plenary, chaired by Prof. Dieudonné Mosibono, DRC. Opening the session, GRASP Secretary General, Samy Mankoto, said a working group, chaired by Eric Blencowe, (UK-DEFRA), would be set up tomorrow to finalize the draft Kinshasa Declaration for adoption on Friday. Chair Mosibono echoed Dr Richard Leakey’s words, emphasizing that the plight of the Great Apes is a warning sign that needs to be taken seriously, since when one part of our ecosystem is under threat, the whole is in danger. He urged concrete action and invited delegates to make statements to the session. Range States outlined their national and regional strategies, underscoring their awareness of the danger of extinction of the Great Apes. They supported the strengthening of these initiatives through the GRASP and highlighted the importance of collective action. Many emphasized that solutions should take into account poverty alleviation in the communities living alongside the Great Apes, others emphasized the need for improved law enforcement and capacity building. The Central African Forest Commission underscored their role in working towards the conservation and sustainable management of the forest systems and called for a harmonizing framework. Donor States, including Belgium, the UK, US and Japan, also welcomed the GRASP initiative and indicated their awareness of the urgency of the plight of the Great Apes. They outlined their funding activities, with the European Union's pledge of 2.4million Euros earmarked for the GRASP initiative being greeted by applause. CITES, representing the multilateral biodiversity conventions, urged the GRAP Partnership to draw on its Secretariat’s vast experience and law enforcement networks.

The Lusaka Agreement Working Group welcomed the GRASP initiative, saying this is an opportunity to create a regional cooperative approach, strengthening legislation and taking into account the transboundary nature of the traffic in Great Apes.

In a joint statement, a consortium of 17 NGOs, urged the GRASP partnership to capitalize on the international and multi-sectoral nature of GRASP to mobilize new resources and urged result-oriented action to avoid the indicators of our own state of danger. Volcanoes Safaris, a private sector organization, underscored that conservation and development can be mutually reinforcing and that conservation efforts can be a source of development resources, and said the future of Africa lies in private sector sustainable development.

Chair Mosibono summarized the statements and again urged concrete action. He said statements would continue the next day and declared the meeting closed.