Preface

The purpose of this symposium "Evolutionary neighbors" is to promote scientific understanding of the great apes, our evolutionary neighbors, and to promote wildlife conservation and welfare in captivity. The present symposium is fully open to the public. I express heartful thanks to Mr. Ken Hayashibara, the president of Hayashibara group, for his full support to the symposium. The program is a joint initiative of Hayashibara Forum 2001 and the fourth annual international symposium of SAGA (Support for African/Asian Great Apes). SAGA is a spiritual descendant of the Four C`s (CCCC : the Committee for Care and Conservation of Chimpanzees) founded during a gathering of chimpanzee researchers in Chicago in 1986.
The great apes, chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans, are the evolutionary neighbors of humans. Evidence that has emerged over the past decades from a variety of disciplines has shown that the distance separating the living great apes from humans is smaller than ever before envisaged. Long-term studies of wild populations have irreversibly reduced the man-made gap between apes and ourselves. As a result, most of the observed differences now appear quantitative rather than qualitative in nature.
The present symposium is the gathering of both laboratory and field-based scientists, care-takers in zoos, people working in NGO/NPO for conservation and animal welfare, and others, with the common concern of understanding humans and great apes from an evolutionary perspective. In addition to the opportunity to exchange information among participants, we believe that this meeting also makes it possible for us to promote an important agenda.
Human activity in the recent past has forced all great ape species to the brink of extinction in the wild. We must bear in mind that all the great ape species are listed as "endangered" in CITES: numbers in the wild are decreasing. In captivity, we should attempt to and succeed in improving the situation under which our closest relatives exist. In some worst cases, individuals are subjected to experiments at biomedical and other research facilities, often involving invasive treatments, for example, in the study of viral diseases and gene therapy. We believe that there need to be serious constraints on the use of great apes in invasive studies. We therefore proposed the following SAGA agenda in 1998 and have made continuous efforts to improve the situations.

First, we shall undertake action for the conservation of the great apes and their natural habitat.
Second, we shall endeavor to enhance the quality of life of the great apes in captivity.
Third, we shall not use the great apes as subjects in invasive studies, but promote our scientific understanding through non-invasive techniques.

For our purposes, the word non-invasive refers to treatment that causes irreversible deficits of normal function. In short, illegal or non-ethical treatment prohibited in the case of human subjects is to be likewise prohibited in the great apes. Based on this agenda, we hope to halt current trends of habitat destruction in the wild and invasive use of great apes in captivity worldwide. People from various backgrounds need to work together to support wildlife conservation programs and to develop suitable conditions for the life of the great apes in captivity. We hope that this meeting will be a step for creating a better life for the great apes in the 21st century.

Tetsuro Matsuzawa
chair, Hayashibara Forum 2001/SAGA4

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ABSTRACTS

Hayashibara Forum 2001 / The 4th International SAGA symposium "Evolutionary Neighbors"

Preface

Hayashibara Forum 2001 / The 4th International SAGA symposium
"Evolutionary Neighbors"