1. Fantasy Proposal: Wildlife-TRAPS Project for Primates
Laura Emmerson
ANTH 410 Spring 2013
Scope and Significance:
Non-human primates are facing devastation as more and more as humans are expanding
into their habitats. Slow lorises, for example are exposed to dangers in the primate trade, their
numbers are lessoning at extreme rates. The Little Fire Face Project, which uses researchers to
learn about the ecology of the nocturnal primates and uses educators to inform the inhabitants
and law enforcement how to better conserve the species and treat them better. I propose that the
World Life Wildlife Fund (WWF) keep working with organizations like IUCN, but collaborate
more with the smaller projects like the Little Fire Face Project so that more can be done on a
localized level. The programs created would have different branches to fulfill all of the
collaborative needs. Because the WWF organization is directly involved with IUCN on the
Wildlife-Traps program, the projectwould expand to primates. Because local research and
communication is at the root of understanding the fundamental needs of every community, a plan
would be created to ensure that thelocal level is heard and accounted for. If WWF worked with
enough of the smaller, more specialized programs, they could provide a way to fund for the
conservation of less known species that lackthe same attention as the tigers, elephants, and
pandas.
Primate conservation is significant in our increasingly globalized contemporary world,
because it can be a way to remain educated, involved with people, animals, and other life forms.
Primate studies can contribute to the knowledge that humans have of themselves, in that people
are related to non-human primates, by the land that they live on, and the natural resources that
they use. If non-human primate populations continue to be decimated, biodiversity and the

2. potential for future academic understanding would be lost. A project that would link all of the
primate conservation efforts together would attract a lot of attention towards WWF, seeing as
how other primates are so related to humans.
Background
An issue that is prevalent in Asia and Africa is the trade of lorises and other primates for
various reasons including ornamental, medicinal, pet ownership, and consumptive (Nekaris et al
2010), which is a large obstaclefor conservation. Continued trade threatens these primates, in
fact, there are currently 127 primate species out of the 420 listed are in the “endangered” or
“critically endangered” category of theInternational Union for Conservation of NatureRed
List(IUCN 2012).Some of the main forces causing these endangerments are human expansion
into primate habitat, wars happening within countries that house the primates, and the bush meat
trade.There have beensuccessful outcomes with projects in which law enforcement in these
countries play their role, but this is not always the case.
An organization that is influential in facilitating discussion and momentous action in light
of the issues stated above is the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). They have been around since
1961, eventually developing the following mission statement:
The mission of World Wildlife Fund is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing
threats to the diversity of life on Earth. Our vision is to build a future in which people live
in harmony with nature.
The current project which expresses these ideals is the Wildlife Trafficking, Response,
Assessment, Priority Setting (Wildlife-TRAPS) initiative, a grant provided by USAID as “an
international, multi-stakeholder effort led by IUCN and TRAFFIC to inform, facilitate and
support efforts to reduce transregional wildlife trafficking,” (WWF 2013). Currently Wildlife-

3. TRAPs is looking for new management for the program, looking tomitigate rhinoceros and
elephant poaching in Africa, which then is traded mostly in Asia for the horn and ivory
industry.There have been issues in the past of the enforcement of anti-trafficking laws, but
through the work of multiple parties, proper conservation practices can be found, which can also
work to benefit the people that use the land. The current project for elephants and rhinoceroses
can be used as a model for what WWF can do with a primate emphasis in their organization,
essentially a Wildlife-TRAPS for primates would be created.
Methods:
It must be recognized that there are only so many ideas that can be placed to action,
soseparating the categories from broad to more specific can be seen in the chart below.
Timeline:
Steps to Take Description
First, call into action the
overarching problem at
hand
Recognize the increasing endangerment to hundreds of
primate species
Create goals in the spirit of
conservation and human
wellness through
cooperation
Ensure that the conservation of all primate species will take
place in cooperation with, not instead of, the livelihood of
the humans who use them.
Objectives to reach the
goals
-Use a coalition of partners, including ethnoprimatologists,
to discover the roots of the primate trade in a few core
regions.
-Work with numerous smaller organizations, especially
those run by local people
-Involve the primate conservation organizations with local
people’s needs and law enforcement in order to create
comprehensive conservation plans.
-With the collaboration, provide incentives to not
participate in the primate trade.
-Examples: Education that leads the local governments
to enforce the mitigation of the primate trade
-And the local people to take conservation matters into
their own hands

4. This job is a four-year commitment with the first phaselasting the first two years.“Phase
I” will focus on creating ties among stakeholders and establishing groups of research teams
focused in ethnoprimatology to discover the root of the primate trade. Moderate-size teams of
researchers will be sent to work at various locations of interest and work with organizations
focused in specific primates and conservation efforts. This team will be managed in part by the
Wildlife-TRAPS Project Leader. Meetings will be held with representatives of the stakeholders
(government groups, local people, and law enforcement, ethnoprimatologists) will take place
throughout all four years. The second phase will be the last two years. “Phase II” will use
education and collaboration among law enforcement and local peoples to promote an internal
shift towards the conservation of primates.
Possible harms that could come from the programs: Something that WWF does not
mention in their plans for conservation is how the local people will be affected by these policies.
Because of the strong influence that WWF has on the rest on conservation policy, people’s lives
could be vastly hindered if research and policy implementation is not done properly. Those
living in communities that depend on the usage of the non-human for their livelihoods
(i.e.hunting for bush meat as a primary food source) might not have access to other subsistence
means.This could be avoided by providing incentives to local peoples to not participate in the
trade, possibly by establishing sustainable agriculture that would be run and lead by the
community members themselves. It is important in conservation to not rely on law enforcement
to be the only answer. Humans are hunting and trading these animals for a reason, so these
reasons must be kept in mind.

5. Works Cited:
The IUCN Red List of Endangered Species.N.p., 2012. Web. 26 Apr. 2013.
<http://www.iucnredlist.org/search>.
Nekaris, K. A. I., Shepherd, C. R., Starr, C. R., &Nijman, V. (2010). Exploring cultural drivers for
wildlife trade via an ethnoprimatological approach: a case study of slender and slow lorises (Loris and
Nycticebus) in South and Southeast Asia. American Journal of Primatology, 72(10), 877-886.
"TRAFFIC - Wildlife Trade News - Slow Lorises the Focus of Wildlife Trafficking meeting." TRAFFIC.
N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2013. <http://www.traffic.org/home/2013/1/25/slow-lorises-the-focus-of-wildlife-
trafficking-meeting.html>.
"WWF - TRAFFIC, Wildlife-TRAPS Project Leader." WWF. N.p., 9 Apr. 2013. Web.
<http://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/jobs/?208202/Wildlife-TRAPS-Project-Leader>.