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This is Ephrem. During the last two weeks, the Virunga National Park has lost 14 elephants and 2 hippos as recorded below. All the park has been affected especially the central sector: Rwindi and Rutshuru where 12 elephants have been recorded. The main responsible of this killing are Rwanda militias (FDLR): 5 elephants, Congolese militias (PARECO): 3 elephants and Congolese soldiers (FARDC): 5. A Congolese high Commander has recently told to soldiers that poaching is a crime that is going to be severely punished.

Sunday afertnoon, while coming from Beni with WCS’s vehicle, we met at Mabenga checkpoint a FARDC and rangers joint patrol coming from the forest. They have just arrested 6 Rwandan militias who killed an elephant near their positions of Kahunga. Unfortunately , it wasn’t possible to take a picture. These men have been transfered at Rwindi, the ICCN HQ of the central sector of Virunga National Park. they should be prosecuted.

There is an increase of ivory demand that is a solid incentive of looting elephants in the park. The networks are in the DRC as well as in the neighbouring countries. In Bujumbura, some dealers are paying more than US$ 50 /kg. Congolese Park Authority is facing many difficulties to put an end to this poaching.

This is Diddy. Innocent and I have been busy learning new skills at a computer workshop. Since we still do not have access to the gorillas, this is a good time for that kind of training.

One thing we have been able to do is fight the charcoal trade. As you know from the last post by Emmanuel, the roadblock at Kibati has worked well, despite the complicity of the military in the trade.

These pictures show a military truck rented by smugglers to transport charcoal.

The situation between us and the military is so bad that three of our rangers (Mwanga bin Assani, Majori Gakuru, and Ndianabo Ido) have been attacked and injured by soldiers in the past few weeks. We now have 60 bags of confiscated charcoal at the Kibati roadblock, but it is not safe to keep such a large amount there. Thanks to your donations, we are renting a truck to take the stockpile to Rumangabo Station where it is safer.

Tomorrow we are going to a meeting in Uganda to share information with our counterparts from Uganda and Rwanda. I will tell you how that goes when we get back.

I have lots of important news to tell you. My bosses at the Congolese Wildlife Authority (ICCN) have decided to move me for a short period to Lulimbi park station. This is still in Virunga National Park, about three hours by boat across Lake Edward. If you go to this map, and head south/south-west from Ishango you will see it. Right next to Uganda.

So why the move? Well the rangers are short staffed at present in Lulimbi, and need urgent assistance with anti-poaching patrols. My bosses decided I was the most appropriate one for the job.

In Lulimbi, there is fantastic wildlife as much of it is returning to Congo over the border from Uganda. But poaching is a significant problem too. I have just been sent these two photos below which are pretty grim of poached elephants. It was the military who killed them. So we need to reinforce the area and prevent these atrocities. My experience and successes in Ishango will help.

Who will replace me during my absence? Godefroid Wambale, whom you all know. He returned only recently from studying in Tanzania, and will be excellent for my job.

Regarding donations, please keep the donations coming. We still need the same funds for the work to go on - the patrols, the salaries for the Rangers, the rations - all of it. The monthly salary of $150 that I used to receive from donations will temporarily go to Godefroid, and he will continue to provide information on this blog. I will try also to provide you with updates from Lulimbi, but there is no internet access there and it is very remote so that is going to be difficult.

I cannot reiterate enough how much your support has meant to me over the past year and few months. This has been such an amazing experience.

Finally, I would like to thank Nancy from the Alexander Abraham Foundation for the recent $5,000 donation. So so generous. This will make a big difference to anti-poaching patrols in Ishango. Godefroid will provide details of how this money is being spent.

Thank you everyone!

-Atamato.

At Kibati Patrol Post, rangers are discovering the charcoal runners are trying everything to try and sneak charcoal past the checkpoint. First it was trucks of all shapes and sizes and now of all things… charcoal smuggled on a paralyzed person’s bicycle!

Paralytics are now hired to cross the checkpoint with charcoal. The one in this photo has crossed many times with two sacs on his bike. He earns US $10 per sack and he manages to deliver to people in Goma. These are only transportation fees to cross the checkpoint. Rangers used to tolerate him before they discovered the network behind charcoal running.

But traders still believe that it’s possible to cross with a military truck. Here’s one recently seized with charcoal.

As pointed out in the gorilla protection blog, the checkpoints have yielded approximately 80 tons of illegal charcoal coming out of Virunga National Park. These checkpoints have also proved effective in interdicting illegal bushmeat.

Bushmeat hidden amongst a load of produce

Like illegal charcoal, the bushmeat trade has a wide variety of players, both in the forest and in the marketplace. Among the more well-known, are soldiers that often run loads of bushmeat together with illegal charcoal. Women try to smuggle out smaller quantities on foot. The checkpoints are now becoming the #1 way to intercept bushmeat.

Sad end: elephant, buffalo, hippo, and antelope intercepted before making it to Goma

Unusual find: Fresh bushmeat — usually it is smoked before being transported

In the city of Goma, the bushmeat trade isn’t an officially recognized trade, but regardless, it is a flourishing informal one. Women sell bushmeat door to door, calling on a well-established clientele comprised of households, restaurants — even offices. This somewhat clandestine approach to selling makes it difficult to crack the bushmeat rings in Goma. For now though, it is a good sign that the larger shipments are being stopped at the checkpoints. Small amounts can easily be smuggled around these checkpoints, but at least the new charcoal interdiction measures are constricting the bushmeat trade.

A follow-up post by Ephrem:
After two months in operation, the ICCN Kibati checkpoint has made an appreciable difference in reducing the illegal charcoal trade at the south-eastern side of Virunga National Park. ICCN rangers and government troops are now doing joint patrols and working together to man the checkpoints. The results of these actions are:

• 2200 sacs (more than 110 tons) of illegal charcoal has been confiscated and re-distributed by UNHCR to camps providing refuge to displaced people
• Decrease in the number of sacs seized per day from 200 to less than 20
• 80% decrease in charcoal production in the Virunga NP
• Nearly 100% reduction of illegal charcoal smuggled to Rwanda

Checkpoint: One of the few military trucks still trying to pass through with charcoal

Who has been affected by the new charcoal interdiction efforts? Those in the commodity chain:

• Rwandan militias or Interahamwe, who charge fees to access areas of the forest and who oversee the actual carbonization of the wood to make charcoal.

• Corrupt members of the Congolese military who also charge the people making charcoal to look the other way, those in the military who sell Makala or charcoal, and those who charge the charcoal “mules” (peasants) for passage out of the park. Most of these peasants have now returned to their fields so the soldiers have lost this source of income.
• Truckers
• Charcoal production and distribution bosses

Who are the big losers?
Sadly, it is the people in Goma City. In December 20007, the price was $15 (US) per sac. That same sac now costs $25-30 (US). This isn’t entirely the result of the charcoal interdiction efforts. The effects of increased fuel prices and logistical issues related to washed out roads (common in the rainy season) are also to blame. With prices on the rise, it is clear that the policy of charcoal interdiction will meet with increased resistance and resentment unless affordable alternatives to charcoal are made available. That is the mission of this blog!

I’ve just been in touch with Diddy Mwanaki, who has summarized the outcome of their efforts since last November, when the Makala Campaign began.

The Makala Campaign is the sustained effort to prevent the destruction of the gorilla’s habitat for charcoal, and which is considered to be the single most important threat to the future of the Mountain Gorillas in Virunga.

There has been a non-stop watch at Kibati with regular patrols on the eastern flanks of the Nyamulagira and Nyiragongo volcanoes and Kibumba, in the gorilla sector. Deforestation for charcoal in these, the most critical sites in the park, have been reduced by two thirds. In the past tens years, since the war started, we have never achieved such results, so there is quite a sense of encouragement among the rangers.

The patrols have been interesting as well. On Nyiragongo, the big active volcano to the north of Goma, rangers of the Advance Force, and gorilla rangers from Rumangabo joined forces with the MONUC Indian batallion in January and effectively displaced the FDLR rebels from this part of the park. For those that are not familiar with the various Rebel factions in Congo, the FDLR are the militias that formed out the Interahamwe, the Rwandan militias that perpetrated the Genocide in Rwanda in 1994. Not a nice group of individuals. Unfortunately they are camped out in the forests of eastern Congo, and are a major threat to the ongoing work of the rangers. The FDLR are also heavily involved in illegal activities including illegal logging for charcoal. For now, the rangers have the upper hand in this area, but it’s a constant struggle, with occasional armed contacts between militias and government rangers.

The Makala road blocks have been difficult to manage, with trucks trying to force their way through the roadblock at night and at high speed. But they have been very succussful in reducing charcoal. These are the registered results so far:

November 07: 5o sacs seized and 3 kilns destroyed

December 07: 102 sacs seized and 180 kilns destroyed

January 08: 413 sacs seized and 37 kilns destroyed

February 08: 296 sacs seized and 53 kilns destroyed

March 08: 385 sacs seized and 7 kilns destroyed

First two weeks of April 08: 499 sacs seized adn 17 kilns destroyed.

This makes a total of 1745 sacs, or about 80 tons of charcoal seized since the beginning of the campaign. This charcoal is distributed among the people who have been displaced by the war and are living in camps around Goma.
Unfortunately, many people make money from charcoal and it is a constant battle at a political level to explain the sense of what is happening. On 20th March, the Provincial minister for the Environment was formally requested to explain the actions of the rangers to the Provincial Assembly (this was documented on the ending charcoal blog). Last week she defended our position in parliament, and the vote was carried in our favour, which is a big relief, and give us the legal basis to continue the difficult work that lies ahead.

So the legal institutions in Congo, so often criticized in the international media, have played their role very effectively, and maintained the integrity that we had hoped for. This also applies to the arrest of the suspects considered to be behind the Rugendo mountain gorillas massacre last year. For my part, I never believed that we would get this far. But the suspected ringleader has been arrested, and five accomplices were heard at the military tribunal of Goma last week. That they started at the top on this difficult trial, rather than just finding a couple of small scapegoats, is very much to the credit of the Congolese judicial system.

In the Mikeno, around bukima, it remains very difficult. We tried working with a team of villagers to get information on the gorillas. This worked for a while, but we have since suspended activities because of the risks involved for the villagers going in. That said, the little information that we have suggests that the mountain gorillas have not suffered, and that there may have been three births, which is pretty miraculous.

All in all, the situation is as difficult a ever, but we are hopeful that we are in a good position to buy time for the gorillas, until this conflict is over. It means constant support for the rangers so that they don’t lose their morale and continue their incredible efforts.

Emmanuel

Latest report from Ephrem:

Local politicians in Goma question the crackdown
The campaign against illegal charcoal continues, but there is a lot of pressure from local politicians to remove the checkpoint established by ICCN in Kibati. Provincial Senator Muhindo Nzangi Butondo made a formal request to the Environmental Provincial Minister asking him to open up the charcoal crisis to a public debate, in hopes of increasing awareness about the energy crisis in the N. Kivu province.

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Scan of the letter sent by Butondo to Provincial Minister of Environment, Ndoole

This is our translation to English:
According to article 197 of the constitution of the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as articles 149 and 161, we would like to address the following question and open it up for debate: In the last few days, we have seen measures taken which limit the supply of charcoal in Goma City — the main fuel used by eighty percent of the population. These measures have increased the scarcity of charcoal and driven up prices in the market. Because such issues fall under your jurisdiction, we respectfully request answers to the following questions:

• Why is the charcoal supply being restricted?
• Who has made this unilateral decision?
• Because the people of Goma have begun to suffer as a result of this decision, something must be done to remedy the problems that have surfaced as a result of restricting the charcoal supply. What kind of measures is your Ministry taking to mitigate the effects of this new policy?
• What kind of sustainable solutions are you considering regarding the need for wood-based fuels in the Province?

Please give this your utmost attention your Excellence, and know that it is my patriotism that causes me to bring this to your attention.

-Honorable Butonto Nzangi

Response from the Provincial Minister of the Environment
Mme Félicité Ndoole, the Provincial Minister of Environment, addressed Nganzi’s questions in the local Parliament today. She upheld the move to restrict illegally harvested charcoal coming out of the Virunga National Park, and made it clear that, in the long-term, this was in the best interest of everyone. Ndoole’s explanations received the support from the majority of Parliament members, and their approval to continue with the interdiction measures. This is a big success for conservationist and a blow to the self-interests of the charcoal lobby (and charcoal mafia…).

In my last post, I talked about all of the various stuff or “residues” that can be used to make briquettes — to replace illegal forest charcoal. Although there are definitely some nuances to making a good briquette, it seems pretty feasible. But what about building the press itself? We are looking into the feasibility of bringing briquette making to the internally displaced peoples (IDP) camps N. Kivu and elsewhere in the Congo, but really don’t have a good feeling for what it takes to build a briquette press, so I decided to try and build one. I figure that by building a press, I’ll better understand the challenges that will be faced by those trying to do the same in Congo. Armed with a press building manual from the Legacy Foundation, I headed to the lumber yard to buy my materials.

Getting the materials
The wood required is basic 2 x 4 and 2 x 6 stock, which is readily available in the DRC. Very basic cuts need to be made to get the various pieces to the required dimensions. I cheated by using power tools, but hand tools could easily do the same thing, they would just take longer. The other materials needed are 3/4-inch gas pipe, to be used for pivot points on the press and as a piston guide, eight bolts, 4-inch PVC pipe, and a couple of metal “washers” that attach to a wood piston that slides through the PVC pipe and compresses the briquette material.

Measuring and cutting
This part of the process went quickly, taking only about an hour and a half. Without power tools, I think it would take about 4-5 hours. The only other tool needed is a framing square.

Cheating: Using a power saw and drill instead of a hand saw and manual drill

Preserving the wood
Because the press is going to be used in a wet environment, it’s important to protect the wood against moisture damage. I used a non-toxic water-based deck oil, but linseed oil or even motor oil will work fine. This step will literally add years to the life of the press.

Oiled and ready to be put together

Putting the puzzle together
Who needs directions!? Hmm… I guess I do. This is where things started to get a little more challenging. Constructing a press doesn’t seem to be that difficult, but one can’t wing it, especially when it comes to the piston assembly, which, I’m still working on. Virginia, who has been busy buying the materials for her own press near Bukavu, may run into difficulties if she finds a fabricator that thinks he knows everything (the kind of guy whose first move is to throw away the manual when putting something new together). I’m sure she’ll keep him honest. And, it’s not just about following directions. Things such as installing the pivot pipes and cotter pins require being methodical and exacting. If one tries to slam these parts of the puzzle into place, they will have a press that teeters and groans, and will in all likelihood, not last very long.

So far, so good…

Next steps
Tomorrow, I’ll put the top beam and handle assembly together and drill the holes for the cotter pins, which will keep the pivot pipes from falling out. And, once I make the metal washers for the piston, we can take a close look at where the actual briquette is formed — and how.

I last posted about the Museya patrol post construction about three weeks ago. Now it is almost done which is very impressive considering how isolated we are. The materials must travel far along bumpy roads. Some materials, for example bricks with holes in for ventilation, have to be flown, brick by brick, from Goma to Beni to then be transported by road for several hours. We are very grateful to the European Union for funding this via WWF.

I would also like to extend a special thanks to The Andrea and Michael Banks Nature Fund. WildlifeDirect has just told me that Andrea and Michael have sent a check for $360 to fund the conservation work at Ishango. This amount is what I am still missing on a monthly basis to reach the $690 monthly target - ie the amount that keeps Ishango going. Thank you Andrea & Michael for this.