60% of the World's 504 species of primates are threatened with extinction. Africa is home to a third of the World's primate species yet 'home-grown' conservation and activism remains very limited. The African Primatological Society (APS) Conference will ensure that native Africans working in the primate field across the continent - who are at the forefront of conserving Africa's biodiversity - are able to actively engage in the international arena in order to protect our remaining primates.
Despite being home to a third of the World's remaining primate species, African participation in the Global primate arena remains disappointingly - and disproportionately - low. In mainland Africa, 37% of primate species are threatened with extinction and, in Madagascar, 87% of primates face the threat of extinction. In order to better protect man's closest living relatives, we must promote greater African involvement in primate research, conservation and protection.
The African Primatological Society (APS) was established in 2016 to improve coordination between African primatologists and promote better primate conservation. In September 2019, Conservation Through Public Health, a conservation leader in Africa, will host the second APS Conference, bringing together primatologists from across the continent to discuss primate conservation issues and place African primatology firmly on the map! The survival of Africa's primates depends on greater visibility.
The APS Conference will ensure that African primate conservation issues are known about and addressed at both the regional and international level, helping to protect our threatened primates before it is too late. Without improved coordination and collaboration between current primate conservation actors - to scale up efforts to protect our primates and their habitats, and ensure their continued survival - many primate species across Africa will quietly become extinct.