On Friday, 15 April, ranger Paluku Dunia was shot dead by
rebels while out on patrol in the park. In another incident,
four rangers from the park’s Rwindi station were also
ambushed by rebels. Fortunately, they were let go after
their personal belongings and tools were stolen. Other
incidents have been reported in the park, which have led to
the deaths of locals living in the area, including men,
women and children.
“We are very saddened by the death of one of our
colleagues in the field,” said Marc Languy, Albertine Rift
Ecoregion Coordinator for WWF’s Eastern Africa Regional
Programme Office. “As a result of civil unrest in this
region, the park has suffered a very high, unprecedented
level of encroachment." |
 |
Since civil war and ethnic strife erupted in the Democratic
Republic of Congo in the early 1990s, poachers, refugees,
soldiers and rebels have ravaged the 8,000-square kilometer Virunga National Park, which straddles the borders of Uganda
and Rwanda in the country's north-east. The northern border
of the park is often invaded by Uganda rebels, and Rwandan
rebels have established bases in the southern part near Lake
Edward.
“High-level lobbying is needed against all those who are
arming these rebels and wreaking havoc in the park,” said
Déo Kajuga Binyeri, Provincial Director of the Congolese
Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN). “The
government must ensure that rebels using Virunga and the
surrounding area are removed so that the national park can
recover.”
The occupation of parts of the park by rebels has not only
prevented rangers from patrolling the area, but has been
responsible for serious ecological damage. It is estimated
that 1,700ha of forests are lost each year by those
plundering the park’s natural resources. In addition,
thousands of animals have been killed for food and trade,
including the endangered mountain gorilla.
The Virunga National Park is one of the most biologically
diverse regions of Africa, with over 700 species of birds
and 200 species of mammals. It holds a fifth of the
remaining 700 mountain gorillas in the world.
“Thanks to conservation efforts during the past decades,
mountain gorillas have survived civil unrest and war in the
region,” Languy said. “Eighty years on since the park’s
initiation, growing violence once again poses a serious
threat to both local communities and the future of the
mountain gorilla.”
Since 1987, WWF, in collaboration with ICCN, has
supported conservation initiatives including environmental
awareness and education, sustainable livelihoods,
reforestation, as well as equipping and paying salaries for
the park staff.
NOTES:
• Three hundred and eighty mountain gorillas occur on the
extinct volcanoes forming the Virunga Range, along the
borders of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC).
• Most of these gorillas range within the southern part
of Virunga National Park, DRC, and the Volcanoes National
Park (Parc National des Volcans) in northern Rwanda, while a
few use the Mgahinga National Park in southwestern Uganda.
• A separate population is found in the nearby Bwindi-Impenetrable
National Park in southwest Uganda, on the border with the
DRC, at elevations of 1,500 to 2,300m. A 2002 census
recorded 320 individuals, a number which suggests that the
population remains stable.
For further information:
Marc Languy, Albertine Rift Ecoregion Coordinator WWF-EARPO
Tel: +254 20 577 355
E-Mail: mlanguy@wwfearpo.org
PJ Stephenson, Great Apes Coordinator WWF International
Tel: +41 22 364 9327
E-Mail: pjstephenson@wwfint.org
Joanna Benn, Communications Manager WWF Global Species
Programme Tel: +44 22 364 9093
E-Mail: Jbenn@wwfint.org |
