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Protecting the Mountain Gorillas of Virunga
A New Dawn for Virunga.
It is a sad but undeniable fact that Virunga National Park – though still indescribably beautiful and home to a rich variety of flora and fauna - is just a shadow of what it once was. But right now everyone who works at the park seems to share a sense that the worst is over and the path to recovery is, if not clear, then at least clearly visible.
For years Virunga was at the centre of the most bloody and brutal conflict in modern African history and it shows: the park has lost more than half of its large mammals as well as vast swathes of forest. If it were not for the men and women who devoted their lives to the protection of this World Heritage Site, it would have become a desolate wasteland. These people lived, worked and raised families in a society that has been cursed with poverty and scourged by war, and still they gave whatever they had to give to save this place. Many gave their lives: Vilavu, Udongo Okelo, Anagana, Ntamuvulira, Silvestre Mburanumwe, to name but a few.
This may take some time...
Protecting the park has always been difficult - more so since Congo became independent in 1960 - but from 1998 the situation got progressively, radically worse. And for the last two years it looked to everyone as though the park was dead. Now all the talk is of resurrection: the DRC is relatively stable politically, the Rangers are free to get on with the job of putting Virunga back together, and they’re as keen as ever to do it. Innocent Mburanumwe - Station Chief and Head of the Southern Sector – puts it better: ‘we’re still here and we’ll continue our work with everything we have. Nothing in this world will stop us.’
From the Rwenzori Massif, across the plains of Rwindi, and south to Nyiragongo, the Rangers are back out there every day on patrol. They’ve already regained control of huge tracts of the park that were lost to military occupation or to settlement during the long years of war. But they couldn’t have done any of this without those people all over the world who believed in them, and in Virunga’s future, when all seemed lost. Against all the odds - and almost all the predictions - it really seems as though the Rangers might restore Virunga to what it once was. But they’ll only do it with the continued support of Virunga’s wider community.
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News from Congo- Report: Congo mutineer forces 149 more boys, young men to fight - Los Angeles Times
- Group: Congo general recruiting children again - Atlanta Journal Constitution
- Vodacom May Lose Congo Shares as Court Orders June Sale - BusinessWeek
- Prosecutor: Congo suspects are guilty as charged - Fox News
- Group: Congo general recruiting children again - STLtoday.com
- ICC Prosecutors Say Congo Leaders Guilty of Village Massacre - AllAfrica.com
- Falconets off to Congo DR - Nigerian Tribune
- Congo Police Investigate Former PM for Corruption - Voice of America
- NEWSMAKER-Goodlace a calm hand for Implats tiller - Reuters
- Congo: Peacekeepers Wounded - New York Times
This website was funded by the European Union and the Prince Bernard Nature Fund.
6 Responses to “A New Dawn for Virunga.”
Thank you Emmanuel for this report on the Park. The positive thing is that people anywhere in the world can help, donate and contribute to your team’s incredible work.
The determination of everyone involved in saving Virunga is outstanding and I am very thankful for there hard work. I think the efforts and sacrifices made during the war and afterwards for Virunga will be remembered for generations. Now that recovery is underway I am most looking forward to the hippos thriving again.
Poignant tribute to the unsung heros of Virunga. We stand in solidarity with the rangers and people of DRC.
And that community will remain : your teams are persistant, courageous, relentlessly positive and made of visionaries - that’s inspiring. We are lucky we have you.
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I am very proud to support the park and the wonderful work you all do. Your courage, dedication and love for the park and it’s wildlife is unparalled and it is greatly appreciated. You are an inspiration to us all!