Impending extinction of the world’s primates due to human activities; immediate global attention is needed to reverse the trend.

We studied the impact of hunting on monkey species in the Taï National Park and adjacent forests in Côte d'Ivoire. The average wild meat consumption per capita per year was assessed from market surveys and interviews. We determined that the amount of primate wild meat being extracted in the Taï National Park and surrounding forests was 249 t in 1999. Hunting pressure was the highest on the larger primate species such as red colobus, Procolobus badius, black and white colobus, Colobus polykomos, and the sooty mangabey, Cercocebus torquatus atys. Estimates of population densities were based on line transect surveys. The maximum annual production of each species was calculated using the Robinson and Redford model (1991) and assuming unhunted conditions. Comparing current harvest levels with the maximum sustainable yield suggests that harvest of red colobus monkeys (Procolobus badius) is sustainable, whereas current off-take of the black and white colobus (Colobus polykomos), the sooty mangabey (Cercocebus atys), diana monkeys (Cercopithecus diana), and Campbell's monkeys (Cercopithecus campbelli) exceeds sustainability by up to three times. RÉSUMÉNous avonsétudié l'impact de la chasse sur les espèces de singes dans le Parc National de Taï et ses principales forêts périphériques en Côte d'Ivoire. La consommation moyenne de viande de brousse par capita et par an aété estiméeà partir d'études de marchés et d'interviews. Nous avons estimé la quantité de viande de gibier d'origine simienne extraite du Parc National de Taï en 1999à 249 t. La pression de la chasseétait plus forte sur les espèces de singes de plus grande taille telles que le colobe bai, Procolobus badius, le colobe noir et blanc, Colobus polykomos, et le cercocèbe enfumé, Cercocebus torquatus atys. Les estimations de densité de populations ontété faites par la méthode des transects. La production annuelle maximale de chaque espèce aété calculée en utilisant le modèle de Robinson et Redford (1991) en supposant des conditions sans chasse. La comparaison des prélèvements avec la production maximale soutenable suggère que le prélèvement en cours des colobes bais (Procolobus badius) est soutenable alors que celui de colobes noirs et blancs (Colobus polykomos), des cercocèbes enfumés (Cercocebus torqatus atys), des cercopithèques dianes (Cercopithecus diana) et des mones de Campbell (Cercopithecus campbelli) excède le seuil de durabilité de jusqu'à trois fois.

Primates, represented by 521 species, are distributed across 91 countries primarily in the Neotropic, Afrotropic, and Indo-Malayan realms. Primates inhabit a wide range of habitats and play critical roles in sustaining healthy ecosystems that benefit human and nonhuman communities. Approximately 68% of primate species are threatened with extinction because of global pressures to convert their habitats for agricultural production and the extraction of natural resources. Here, we review the scientific literature and conduct a spatial analysis to assess the significance of Indigenous Peoples’ lands in safeguarding primate biodiversity. We found that Indigenous Peoples’ lands account for 30% of the primate range, and 71% of primate species inhabit these lands. As their range on these lands increases, primate species are less likely to be classified as threatened or have declining populations. Safeguarding Indigenous Peoples’ lands, languages, and cultures represents our greatest chance to prevent the extinction of the world’s primates.