The WildLife: Gorillas & Bushmeat Trade, Pierre Fidenci

Pierre Fidenci, president of Endangered Species International (ESI), talks about gorillas and the bushmeat trade. He tells “The WildLife” host Laurel Neme about how ESI went undercover in Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) to monitor the bushmeat trade in key markets and found over 300 western lowland gorillas were butchered each year, with 95 percent of the illegal bushmeat originating from the Kouilou region, an area that is one of the last reservoirs of biodiversity and endangered animals in the area. Pierre Fidenci was born in Southern France, and at an early age was already involved in discovering, studying, and protecting nature. At the age of only 20, Pierre started Las Baulas National Marine Park in Costa Rica. At that young age, he also had already won multiple environmental awards including from Paul Sabatier University, the Nicolat Hulot Foundation, the French Government (Défit Jeune), and the Zellidja Foundation. More recently, he has received conservation awards from the Bp Conservation Programme, the Turtle Conservation Fund, and the Sophie Danforth Conservation Biology Fund. He has developed and directed conservation projects in South-, Central-, and North America, as well as in south East Asia, and Europe. His areas of expertise include amphibians and reptiles, applied conservation, biological surveys, and community based projects. Pierre is also a member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC). This episode of “The WildLife” aired on The Radiator, WOMM-LP, 105.9 FM in Burlington, Vermont on July 19, 2010.