Large primates, and especially the largest of all, the Gorilla, have always generated inspiration and fascination for the people of all continents. Many national and international, governmental and non-governmental organisations, are working to multiply conservation actions and efforts to attempt to remedy this critical situation. Through 2007 the UNEP/CMS Secretariat worked with the Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences, in partnership with the UNEP/UNESCO GRASP Secretariat, and in consultation with the gorilla Range States and the other partners of GRASP, to prepare, draft and negotiate this Agreement, and initiate its implementation via a regional, transborder Action Plan. The first meeting of the Range States for the negotiation of an Agreement on the conservation of Gorillas and their habitats,under the auspices of the UN Convention on Migratory Species, took place in Paris between 22-26 October 2007. The Agreement text itself was finalized and agreed upon by the Ranges States during the meeting. Nine out of the 10 Range States were present at the meeting. A Final Act concluded the negotiation meeting and was signed on the 24 October 2007.
The CMS Gorilla Agreement was open for signature Friday the 26 of October 2007, at the Congo Basin Forests Partnership Meeting. It was signed by the Ministers of the Environment of the Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic. The Agreement came into force in 2008. The Gorilla Agreement, as well as the projects which will result from it, will contribute to promoting the long term survival of gorillas, their forest habitat and dependent human populations. This should in turn make a tangible contribution to Central African forests biodiversity, and allow the States concerned to combine conservation and long lasting economic development.
2006, the UNEP/CMS Secretariat requested the Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences, in partnership with the GRASP UNEP/UNESCO Secretariat, and in consultation with the gorilla range states and the other partners of GRASP, to develop this Agreement, and initiate its implementation via a regional, transborder Action Plan.

CMS and its partners have engaged themselves to develop and implement this Agreement, and to provide the gorilla range states, as well as the other governments and organisations involved, with a legal framework that will reinforce and integrate conservation efforts. This website, dedicated to development of this Agreement, was created in 2006.

Through the IRSNB Gorilla website, the following documents can be downloaded or consulted: the text of the CMS Gorilla Agreement, maps, reports on the status of populations of gorillas. These documents can be viewed and downloaded for each of the 4 taxa. Under the CMS Gorilla Agreement, under the provisions of Article VIII, the CMS Secretariat and IRSNB, in collaboration with the range and international experts, have developed Action Plans during the year 2008. These Action Plans(one for each of the four taxa) were adopted by the first meeting of range States, held in Rome in December 2008. These action plans can also be consulted on the website.