8 - Case studies of national responses to the impacts of extractive industries on great apes

Summary

Introduction

There is increasing recognition in ape range states of the importance of ensuring that environmental considerations are emphasized in both national policies and legislation. While this demonstrates an evolving acknowledgment of the importance of the environment, this shift in focus has not always been driven from within countries. This chapter provides examples of how national governments in emerging economies are responding to the environmental impacts of economic development. It demonstrates how these responses were influenced by global processes, financial institutions and international organizations and thus the role of outside influences in catalyzing the response within three great ape range states: Guinea, Gabon, and Indonesia.

The first section presents details on an on-going process in the Republic of Guinea to develop a national strategy for biodiversity offsets. The strategy will be developed to offset the impact of extractive industries on critically endangered (CR) and endangered (EN) species. It will be supported by a conservation trust fund to provide resources to manage biodiversity offset projects in perpetuity. The second section presents detail on the evolution of Gabon's leading legislative and regulatory frameworks that prescribe industry behavior in relation to tropical forest conservation. The final section looks at Indonesia's recent decision to implement a national logging moratorium and places it within the context of the evolution of forest management in relation to orangutans.