Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 114 Part 3.djvu/691

 PUBLIC LAW 106-411 —NOV. 1, 2000 114 STAT. 1789 Public Law 106-411 106th Congress An Act To assist in the conservation of great apes by supporting and providing financial Nov. 1, 2000 resources for the conservation programs of countries within the range of great [H.R. 4320] apes and projects of persons with demonstrated expertise in the conservation of great apes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of Great Ape the United States of America in Congress assembled, Conservation Act ' ^ ' of 2000. SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 16 USC 6301 This Act may be cited as the "Great Ape Conservation Act of 2000". SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 16 USC 6301. (a) FINDINGS.— Congress finds that— (1) great ape populations have decHned to the point that the long-term survival of the species in the wild is in serious jeopardy; (2) the chimpanzee, gorilla, bonobo, orangutan, and gibbon are listed as endangered species under section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533) and under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (27 UST 1087; TIAS 8249); (3) because the challenges facing the conservation of great apes are so immense, the resources available to date have not been sufficient to cope with the continued loss of habitat due to human encroachment and logging and the consequent diminution of great ape populations; (4) because great apes are flagship species for the conservation of the tropical forest habitats in which they are found, conservation of great apes provides benefits to numerous other species of wildlife, including many other endangered species; (5) among the threats to great apes, in addition to habitat loss, are population fragmentation, hunting for the bushmeat trade, live capture, and exposure to emerging or introduced diseases; (6) great apes are important components of the ecosystems they inhabit, and studies of their wild populations have provided important biological insights; (7) although subsistence hunting of tropical forest animals has occurred for hundreds of years at a sustainable level, the tremendous increase in the commercial trade of tropical forest species is detrimental to the future of these species; and (8) the reduction, removal, or other effective addressing of the threats to the long-term viability of populations of great

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