Virunga National Park

Virunga National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Bukima Camp in the foothills of Mikeno Mountain, home of the Congolese Mountain Gorillas
Map showing the location of Virunga National Park
Location	Democratic Republic of the Congo
Nearest city	Goma
Coordinates
Area	7,800 km2 (1,900,000 acres)
Established	1925
Governing body	Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Type	Natural
Criteria	vii, viii, x
Designated	1979 (3rd session)
Reference no.	63
State Party	Democratic Republic of the Congo
Region	Africa
Endangered	1994–present

The Virunga National Park (French: Parc National des Virunga), formerly named Albert National Park, is a 7,800-square-kilometre (3,000 sq mi) National Park that stretches from the Virunga Mountains in the South, to the Rwenzori Mountains in the North, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, bordering Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Rwenzori Mountains National Park and Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda.

The park was established in 1925 as Africa's first national park and is a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site since 1979. In recent years poaching and the Congo Civil War have seriously damaged its wildlife population. The park is managed by the Congolese National Park Authorities, the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) and its partner the Virunga Foundation, formerly known as the Africa Conservation Fund (UK).

History

The park was created in 1925 by King Albert I of Belgium as the first national park on the continent of Africa. It was founded primarily to protect the mountain gorillas living in the forests of the Virunga Mountains controlled by the Belgian Congo, but later expanded north to include the Rwindi Plains, Lake Edward and the Rwenzori Mountains in the far north.

Juvenile mountain gorilla

Kob

Children in Virunga National Park

The Lava Lake of the Nyiragongo Volcano, one of the spectacular sights of Virunga NP

In the first 35 years, the boundary of the park took shape, poaching was kept to a minimum and sustainable tourism thrived due to the work of a large body of hand-picked Congolese rangers and dedicated wardens. Land remuneration and the use of park resources such as fishing and hunting by the local population became an on-going problem and attempts were made to solve these issues.

When the Belgians granted Congo independence in 1960 the new state deteriorated rapidly, and so did the park. It was only in 1969 when President Mobutu began to take a personal interest in conservation, that the park was revived. In the process of Mobutu's Africanization campaign, it was renamed Virunga National Park, and the first Congolese Wildlife Authority was established.

Virunga fared well for the better part of the 1970s. Foreign investment helped to improve the park's infrastructure and training facilities, and the park became a popular destination for tourists, receiving on average 6500 visitors a year. In 1979 UNESCO designated the park as a World Heritage Site.

In the mid-1980s the Mobutu regime began to lose its hold on power and the country began a long slide into chaos. The park suffered terribly. Poaching depleted Virunga's large mammal populations, infrastructure was destroyed, and many rangers were killed. The Congolese Wildlife Authority slowly lost control of Virunga and UNESCO changed the World Heritage Site status to "endangered."

Over the twenty-five years that followed, the park staff endured an almost uninterrupted series of trials that included a refugee crisis from the Rwandan Genocide that contributed to the severe destruction of park forests, and armed militia penetration throughout the park. The Kivu War centered exactly on the park, with rebel forces occupying the park headquarters and evicting the park's staff. By the end of 2008 it seemed as if Virunga was all but destroyed.

The political situation in the DRC has changed exponentially since then. The park is back in the hands of the ICCN and enjoying the greatest resurgence of tourism and development in its history. International donors are investing in the development of the park's infrastructure at unprecedented levels. Virunga's management is efficient and transparent, and morale among the rangers is at an all time high.

Tourism has increased from zero in 2008, to over 3000 in 2011, with numbers growing steadily. New tourist activities are being developed in the park, including the habituation of chimpanzees in the Tongo forest and a high-end lodge conveniently located near the center of the three main tourist attractions in the southern sector, north of Goma.

Africa's first national park has managed to preserve its species diversity and its population of mountain gorillas have more than doubled in numbers since the late 1980s largely because of the dedication of the rangers and staff, despite exceptionally difficult conditions. Over 140 of Virunga's rangers have lost their lives protecting the park since the beginning of the war in 1996.

In 2013 the World Wildlife Fund raised concerns about plans by the UK based Soco International to carry out exploration for oil in the park. Currently more than 80% of Virunga National Park has been allocated as oil concessions. Soco International's own environmental impact assessment reports admit that oil exploration is likely to cause pollution, irreparably damage habitats and bring poaching to the park. The World Wildlife Fund have launched a campaign to petition Soco to refrain exploring the world heritage area for oil, and thereby avoid these outcomes. As of August 30, 2014, SOCO demobilized its operations in the DRC.

World Wildlife Fund executives now acknowledge that the battle over Virunga is hardly over. SOCO has yet to relinquish its operating permits or commit to an unconditional withdrawal.

Geography

Virunga National Park is unrivaled in its diversity of landscapes and ecosystems.

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  The Lava Lake of the Nyiragongo Volcano, the largest in the world

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  Virunga NP Mountain Gorillas

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  Bukima Camp is situated in the foothills of the Mikeno Mountain, the home of the Congolese Mountain Gorillas

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  Rwenzori Mountains

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  Silverback of the Rugendo family at Bukima patrol Post

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  The cabanes are situated at the edge of the crater in sight of the lava lake, the sight of which has an astounding effect on visitors

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  Two Congo lion males resting in an open area within the National Park near Rwindi

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  African elephant and African buffaloes

Southern Sector: Montane Tropical forest (home to the Mountain Gorilla) Alpine Forest (on the higher slopes of the Virunga Massive) Old (and new) Lava flows

Central Sector African Savanna Marshland Riverine Forest Lake shores

Northern sector Lake shores African Savanna Riverine (low land) forest Alpine forest (Rwenzori Mountains) Eternal snow (Glacier)

Biodiversity

A mountain gorilla in the park

The park is known for its exceptional (bio)diversity, containing more bird, mammal and reptile species than any protected area on the African continent. Although mountain gorillas are now extremely rare and listed as one of the most critically endangered species, successful conservation work has helped to secure the remaining populations. Their populations actually increased during the years of political upheaval in the region (1994–2004), and have continued to do so even throughout the difficult period of 2007-2008. The 2010 Mountain Gorilla census has indicated that the conservation efforts of Virunga have been very successful regarding the Gorilla population. Both savanna and forest elephants as well as chimpanzees and low land gorillas can still be found in Virunga, along with Okapi, giraffes, buffaloes and many endemic birds. The neighboring Mount Hoyo area was managed with the park and is home to a population of Bambuti Pygmy people, caves and waterfalls.

Human conflict

Since the civil wars, the park has suffered somewhat. Land invasions and intense poaching have challenged the park authorities to the limit, but most rangers have remained active. Since 1994, about 140 rangers have been killed in the line of duty protecting the park from illegal poaching and land acquisition. Amongst other military activity, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) used the park as a safe location when they have come under sustained attack, such as Laurent Nkunda's offensives against them in April–May 2007. The park was occupied by Nkunda's forces on 26 October 2008, during the Battle of Goma.

Current situation

However over the last three years the park has seen remarkable regeneration, with heavy investment in tourism development, social infrastructure as well as safety. Currently over 3000 tourists a year visit the southern sector of Virunga National Park to admire the gorillas as well as the lava lake of the Nyiragongo Volcano. The park has been closed until 20 July because of political insecurity. The Virunga Foundation signed a 25-year management agreement to manage the park in March 2015. The park currently receives most of its funding from the European Union and the Howard G Buffett Foundation. A Mai Mai militia attacked a park facility and killed two park rangers and a Congolese soldier in October 2012. Five of the Mai Mai militiamen died in the attack. Congolese Revolutionary Army (also known as M23) allegedly has a base camp inside the park. Virunga is currently under threat from UK oil company SOCO who want to undergo oil exploration within the park.

Emmanuel de Mérode has been the director of the park since 2008. On April 15, 2014 he was ambushed on a road in the park and shot four times in the stomach and legs by unknown assailants, but he survived the attack.

On March 13, 2015, BBC was reporting that the Democratic Republic of Congo says it wants to redraw the boundaries of Virunga National Park to allow for oil exploration.

In popular media

The 2014 documentary Virunga explored the work of conservation rangers and the activities of British oil company SOCO International within the park. It has been screened internationally at film festivals and was released on streaming service Netflix on November 7, 2014.

See also

• Centre National d’Appui au Développement et à la Participation populaire
• iGorilla
• Eugène Rutagarama
• Tourism in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

External links

• Official website
• ICCN
• Tourism Website of Virunga National Park
• UNEP-WCMC Natural Site Data Sheet
• UNESCO Virunga National Park Site
• National Geographic Channel
• European Union in Virunga National Park