Introduction
In the face of global climate change, increasing habitat degradation, deforestation, air, soil and water pollution, and an impending worldwide animal and plant extinction crisis, a group of concerned scientists and conservationists have come together to create the International Centre for Biodiversity and Primate Conservation (ICBPC). The ICBPC is housed at Dali University, Yunnan Province, China and run through Dali University and Northwest University, two highly distinguished educational institutions in China. All conservation-related projects and actions, and financial management of the Centre require approval and discussion by the Executive Committee, which consists of a highly respected board of international conservation scientists and experts, donors, environmental journalists, entrepreneurs and political leaders dedicated to protecting the world’s environment.
Goals
The Centre aims to share its expertise in conservation biology, genetics, animal behavior, community ecology, disease, and ecosystem health and environmental sustainability. It also investigates the relationship between human activities and animal distribution alteration and extinction. The Centre collaborates with scientists, conservation organizations, governmental officials, educators, and the public to preserve natural habitats and threatened wild animals and plants. To achieve this, the Centre compiles regional and national archives of environmental information that serve as an integrated data repository for data management, analysis, modeling, and implementation of sustainable conservation policies and actions. The Centre intends to share these data sets with with a broad range of stakeholder, as presented in Fig.1.
Unique location
This centre is located in southwestern China, a region bearing high animal and plant biodiversity, covering Yunnan and Tibet and is home to more than 26 human cultural and ethnic groups and more than 15 nonhuman primate species. In particular, several World Heritage Sites are present in this region, most notably the Three Parallel Rivers (Yangtze, Mekong, and Salween). This region is considered a global ‘hotspot’ that includes high plateaus, tropical and subtropical forests, evergreen and deciduous broad-leafed forests, coniferous forests, and alpine shrubs and meadows. The three major rivers make unique contributions to the biological diversity of 15,000 plant species, 250 species of mammals, and 780 species of birds. Fifteen of China’s 25 species of nonhuman primates inhabit Yunnan and Tibet Provinces, including two Vulnerable, lorises (Nycticebus), four Vulnerable or Near Threatened macaques (Macaca), one Least Concern macaque, three Endangered leaf monkeys (Trachypithecus), two species of Endangered or Critically Endangered snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus), and three Critically Endangered species of gibbons (Nomascus and Hoolock)
Primary focus
ICBPC promotes conservation, environmental protection, and sustainable land-use practices. It is a non-profit educational and research organization and a consortium of international scholars and conservation experts from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Kenya, Mexico, Nepal, Myanmar, and the USA. Our Center's primary focus is establishing a network of transboundary conservation projects across China, Myanmar, Laos, Bhutan, Vietnam, Nepal, and India. These transboundary areas are characterized by high endemic biodiversity, human-animal conflict, deforestation, habitat conversion, and the poaching of threatened species, resulting in marked species and ecosystem decline. Although we prioritize studying and protecting biodiversity, we currently focus on nonhuman primates facing an extinction crisis. There are approximately 131 primate species in Asia. Unfortunately, 89.9% of species are hunted and trapped, 88.4% are threatened (Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable), and 95.3% have declining populations. The ICBPC prioritizes research projects that monitor, evaluate, and promote effective conservation and educational programs, take direct conservation action, and coordinate with local community-based conservation programs that already exist in their study area.
Extended focus
Over the next 5 years, our Centre plans to compete for research funds and develop public-private partnerships with conservation organizations, NGOs, international and national businesses, donors, and government agencies in order to expand our conservation and educational missions to other primate-habitat countries and environmentally degraded hotspots.