A Conservation Framework to Save the World’s Most Threatened Primate

Abstract

Gibbons are the world's most threatened primate family, declining rapidly due to habitat loss and hunting for the pet trade and traditional medicine. Drawing on a review of current conservation efforts, this paper proposes a two-tier framework: short-term strategies to urgently establish and manage protected areas in key gibbon strongholds, and long-term strategies—wildlife corridors, demand redirection campaigns, community livelihood development, and gibbon repatriation policies—to build population self-sustainability. The framework argues that effective conservation must be community-oriented, transnational, and science-based, given gibbons' range across 11 countries and their ecological role as Asia's top seed dispersers. Success is measured through population monitoring, deforestation tracking, and enforcement outcomes, with protected area management identified as the most urgent priority for preventing extinction.