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Protecting the Mountain Gorillas of Virunga
Caught Red-Handed: Soldiers Making Charcoal in the Park
I went with Chief Warden Emmanuel de Merode to visit the Kibumba patrol post on the outskirts of the Gorilla Sector. As we left to walk back down the hill to our cars, we noticed smoke in the distance coming from the Mwaro Corridor, which is the section of forest near Gatovu that connects the Gorilla Sector to the rest of Virunga National Park, as you can see in this map.
We were in good numbers and accompanied by rangers from our advanced force team, so we decided to go investigate. We drove to Mwaro and hiked into the forest near a Congolese army position on the road. We very soon discovered vast areas of forest that had been cut down. Logs had been chopped and stacked in preparation to make charcoal. Soon after we found dozens of charcoal kilns at different stages- some had just been stacked, others were still burning, and some had sacks of charcoal next to them ready to transport to Goma for sale.
There were dozens of people working on the kilns, including women and children. We detained all the men and arrested two soldiers who were running the operation. We ordered the men to destroy the kilns they had just built and then marched them out of the forest.
The atmosphere was tense and we had to leave quickly. After explaining to them why we had to stop what they were doing, we decided to let most of the men go free. The two soldiers were placed in our vehicle and we drove them to our headquarters in Rumangabo. They are now under arrest and will be transferred to Goma to be handed over to the military tribunal. Our lawyer Maitre Mathieu will keep you updated on how that legal process develops.
Despite the war happening right now in this part of the Congo, we cannot ignore the destruction of the last sliver of forest connecting the Gorilla Sector to the rest of the park. The Mwaro Corridor is the last place where wildlife can migrate between the two tracts of forest.
This operation made us understand that something serious has to be done right now about the Mwaro Corridor. If we don’t stop the destruction that we witnessed, this key section of forest could be lost within a year. We are working on a solution on the ground and will be launching a campaign to save the Mwaro Corridor. Keep an eye on this blog to see how it develops and discover how you can get involved and help us on gorilla.cd.
Emmanuel and I see the smoke from a distance
Whole areas of forest were destroyed where trees were chopped down
We soon found the charcoal kilns burning
I tried to explain to them why they shouldn’t be cutting down forest
One of the soldiers who were arrested
Charcoal ready to be transported out of the forest towards Goma
This kiln hadn’t yet been finished and set alight
Ranger Kasereka from the Advanced Force oversees the destruction of a kiln
The charcoal makers under arrest
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14 Responses to “Caught Red-Handed: Soldiers Making Charcoal in the Park”
Dozens of kilns? that made my stomach turn. Thank you all for taking the risk to raid this operation and shut it down. It seems you have a huge educational challenge ahead of you, but I’m more concerned about enforcement. Keep making arrests and confiscating charcoal!
s.
Sheryl, Emmanuel has just come through to see us on his way to a meeting and he was telling me about the story above n the charcoal in the Mwaro Corridor. Its critical they preserve this corridor for the park. Its actually very worrying there at present. Innocent you have written a great account of it and I hope you will keep us posted. The dedication of the rangers and their families is so admirable and extraordinary. Innocent thanks so much for this post. L
Thank you Innocent for keeping us posted. And continue making those arrests.
I am sick at heart that this destruction has occurred. Thank you for stopping them when you did. Otherwise it would have been much worse. Enforcement is crucial to the goal of stopping this deforestation. Education is also crucial and maybe the men released will tell others the information on why they should not destroy the forest.
Thank you for informing us of this Innocent and for all you do to protect and preserve the forest and the gorillas. You have my utmost admiration and gratitude.
Great work, Rangers! Keep it up and maybe we’ll see some gorillas soon. Lisa
Still troubles… the war everywhere… Coalmen in all the corners of the drill… But for those latter I have sorrow… because they do not understand that they destroy their country. This coal so necessary to the life, won’t it be possible to have it in another way? To make eat a man, one should not fish fish for him… but to him to learn how to fish…
I know that the Mwarro corridor is importantfor the gorillas… and to save their lifes… and I congratulate you for courage that you have to defend them.
thanks for the comments, they’re very encouraging for us. The situation remains extremely tense. We’re pressing charges against the soldiers who were arrested with the kilns, which has heightened the tensions quite badly, but we’re trying to maintain the pressure. It’s absolutely essential that the corridor is secured. We’ll update you shortly.
[...] My Virunga « Caught Red-Handed: Soldiers Making Charcoal in the Park [...]
[...] Read more about it and check out the photos here [...]
the gorillas must be protected with the if needed and the plantation go only ito 200.meters high the rest must be free for gorillas for ever
Unbelievable! Please be careful guys..just don’t know who you can trust! Thanks for all the hard work and passion you have to do these jobs!
[...] can see in this map. It is also a key supply route for the city of Goma and it is where we often catch people making charcoal. There is heavy fighting going on there right now between the rebels and the Congolese [...]
[...] by the Major in charge of the brigade. They were told that they would not be set free until the two soldiers who we had arrested were [...]
[...] a video for the Smithsonian. It includes footage from a visit with the Rugendo Family and from an anti-charcoal operation at Mwaro, the last bit of forest connecting the Gorilla Sector with the rest of the park. (see [...]