Cindy-Lou Dale

Mountain gorillas are found in the highest reaches of the Virunga National Park, who also once boasted a population of some 35,000 hippos and now number less than 900. The lowland gorilla have depleted too from an estimated 8,000 to around 1,000 in under than three years.

 

World Wildlife Fund, September 2005 - Hippos are being killed by soldiers and local militia, as well as local poachers. They can be bought for around US$50 dollars, and hippo canine teeth often end up as part of the illegal ivory trade. This latest survey and exhaustive count of hippos in Virunga, carried out last month by the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN), the EU, and WWF, shows that only 887 individuals remain, down from 1,309 two years ago.

 

These statistics grounded all the romantic notions I had conjured up of dark Africa and replaced them with the stark reality I faced when sitting across from Jobogo Mirindi, the Chief Warden for the Virunga National Park.

 

There is little romance in the challenges his Rangers face daily. Armed militia-men stealthily poach the game on this World Heritage site and should a Ranger patrol happen upon the poachers, it turns into armed conflict which the rangers seldom win, due to lack of munitions.

 

The Democratic Republic of Congo, located in equatorial central Africa was called Zaire until 1997 and formerly known as the Belgian Congo, is the continent's third-largest country, three times the size of Texas. It shares borders with nine other countries. In the past 40 years it has been overrun by various dictators, armies and militias. A civil war was sparked off in 1994 by a massive inflow of refugees following political unrest in neighbouring Rwanda and Burundi. The Congolese government of former president Mobutu Sese Seko was toppled by rebel leader Laurent Kabila in 1997, who was subsequently assassinated and replaced by his son, Joseph Kabila in 2001. At the height of the civil war, nine African countries and at least three rebel groups were part of a latter day scramble for the Congo’s rich resources. During which time near four million people died from massacre, famine and disease.

 

“Rebels don’t consider Park Rangers as neutral. They think that as we work for the Government we must support everything the Government stands for. Therefore Bang! You’re dead,” he said, blowing at the end of two extended fingers and then holstering them in his belt.

 

When recollecting events from the past, Mirindi’s broad shoulders stiffened. Through a clenched jaw he managed, “In the past ten years 65% of my Rangers have been killed by militia-men”.

 

His chiseled features hardened, “… but to commemorate my men”, Mirindi continued, “… we do things the African way. Each man that was lost in the line of duty is remembered every day because we give a fallen comrade’s name to a mountain gorilla. That way, they live on in memory and their spirits live on to care for our animals.”

 

Land invasions and intense poaching has challenged the Park authorities to the limit.

 

“Large settlements have established themselves within this Park, which is largely responsible for the de-forestation happening all around us,” said Mirindi, shaking his head in disbelief. “They cut down trees for fuel and create grazing land for their large herbs of cattle.” The resultant effect being vast numbers of displaced game; and those animals not ousted are caught in poaching snares.

 

NASA satellite imagery helps scientists in providing information on changes in the Virunga Conservation Area which covers the Virunga National Park in the DRC. The Virunga conservation area offers habitat to 380 of the world's 700 remaining mountain gorillas. (The other 320 gorillas reside in the nearby Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda).

 

Satellite imagery allows park managers to update park property boundaries, map forest habitat, and look at encroachment of the park by comparing images from two different dates. The monitoring system that combines NASA satellite imagery with aerial flight and field surveys, is relayed to and coordinated with local park Rangers on the ground.

 

“Go see Lake Edward!” Mirindi demanded, gesticulating wildly in the general direction of east Africa. “Until recently we protected the breeding sites of the fish on Lake Edward. The fishermen were over-harvesting the lake, using illegal nets. Then the military validated the fisherman’s actions, leaving us without power to protect our heritage.”

 

Mirindi’s granite eyes smoldered when we spoke of nature conservation during the war.

 

“Conservation under political crisis is very difficult. One politician’s election campaign actively encouraged the Park’s destruction. This was purely to gain the voters confidence. The laws pertaining to wildlife paled into insignificance during the war. Now that the war is over they are still mostly ignored.”

 

“Our success, during one of the bloodiest civil wars in history is fully attributable to them men that serve and protect Virunga. My men are fearless and passionate about their work. They accept there are risks involved but have little time to dwell on its dangers as we have more than 3,000 square miles of Virunga to tend to,” Mirindi concluded.

 

Virunga Rangers monitor far-flung areas in need of protection but poverty, remoteness, lack of government involvement and uncertainty over the best ways to focus limited resources hinder their efforts.

 

The most important remaining asset that conservation in the DRC has is the existing reservoir of knowledge and expertise in wildlife management possessed by many Rangers throughout the continent. The question is how to best use this expertise to the greatest advantage in conserving a World Heritage.

 

Word count: 1,149

© Cindy-Lou Dale

 

SIDEBAR

 

1.      Virunga National Park, of Diane Fossey fame, designated a World Heritage in 1979, covers an area of some 809,000 ha, and comprises of diverse habitats, ranging from swamps and steppes to snowfields, from lava plains to savannahs on the slopes of volcanoes.

2.      It is one of the oldest nature reserves in the world and includes part of Lake Edward, the Semliki River valley, parts of the Rwindi, Ishasha and Rutshuru valleys south of the lake, the Virunga area within the DR Congo, and part of the Ruwenzori range.

3.      Lake Edward belongs to the Nile river system and Lake Kivu to the Congo Basin river system.

4.      Features include hot springs in the Rwindi plains and the Virunga Massif volcanoes, some such as Nyamulagira and Nyiragongo are still active.

5.      The areas of lowest and highest rainfall in the DR Congo are in Virunga National Park - under 75km apart and ranging from 500mm at Lake Edward to over 3,000mm on the west slopes of Mt Ruwenzori, the summit of which is permanently snow covered.

6.      The considerable altitudinal range results in marked climatic variations which affect the overall biological and geographical diversity of habitats.

7.      Habitat types include: lakes at various altitudes, marshy deltas and peat bogs, savannas and lava plains, low altitude equatorial forest, high altitude glaciers, and snow fields.