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With great sadness, I’m sharing with you the news of the death of one of our rangers, Paris Paluku, and two Congolese soldiers, Sebutu and Mandapa, who were working with us to protect civilians passing through the park on the Mabenga to Kabasha road.

All three were killed instantly by sustained machine gun fire at short range when their 15-man patrol fell into an ambush as they were securing the area where two public transport vehicles had been attacked and looted on Tuesday night.  The enemy, numbering around 100, were possibly the largest number of militias we have ever been confronted with in a single attack.   We are still unsure exactly who they were, as there are currently four distinct militia groups in the park.

We organised the funerals this afternoon, with his family and friends, and the whole community in Rwindi. Paris will be remembered as one of the most courageous men to have worked in the park.  He was always at the head of any patrol, which put him at risk and ultimately cost him his life.  He played a key role as an assistant instructor in the training of all our rangers.  He leaves a wife and two children.  Any donations to the widows and orphans over the next few weeks will go towards supporting the family he has left behind.

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As of January 2012 Virunga National Park will once again offer visitors the chance to see chimps in the forests of Tongo. Tongo is situated 2 hours drive north of Goma, 3 hours drive from Bunagana and only 1 hours drive from Mikeno Lodge (Rumangabo).

Chimps in Tongo were previously habituated by Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) in the 1980s. Unfortunately due to the civil unrest in 1993 in DR Congo, FZS was unable to continue their work until September 2009 when they returned to Tongo and the habituation process was re-started in June 2010.

There are currently 36 individual chimpanzees who live in Tongo’s forests who can be tracked along some of the 80 km of trails. The trails cut the entire forest from north to south and east to west and are about 200 meters apart.

Permits will cost $100 (excluding transport) and as with all our permits:

• 50% of your permit fee goes to ICCN, the Congolese wildlife authority. ICCN uses this money for funding the management and conservation efforts in all Congolese National Parks.
• 30% of your permit fee is invested by Virunga National Park into community projects. 
These projects include activities such as building schools, health centres, and improving water supplies to local communities.
• 20% of your permit fee goes towards the operational costs of Virunga National Park. 
Operational costs can range from salaries of our rangers who play an invaluable role in the survival of the park, to investment in infrastructure in and around the park which also benefits local communities.

By Rodrigue Mugaruka, Warden of the Central Sector

Yesterday at 10:00 AM, two of our vehicles were ambushed while driving on a road through the park about 30 miles south of Rwindi in the central sector.

We came upon a public minibus that would normally carry about 20 civilians on its way to Butembo, but it was empty and appeared to be having engine trouble. About 12 meters from the minibus, we suddenly fell into heavy gunfire. The vehicle I was driving took a hit, but the bullets missed me and the rangers in the back of the pick-up.

See the bullet holes in the hood of the car at the bottom left corner of the picture.

As we all jumped out to take cover, the assailants ran up a hill into the forest, and a 15-minute gun battle ensued. The bandits had the advantage of forest cover and height, but fortunately, none of my rangers suffered any injury. When the attackers finally fled, we then discovered four civilians who had been taken hostage in the forest. All were released unharmed and they expressed gratitude for the rescue. Most lost their personal effects such as phones and money, but the attackers fled without taking any luggage.

From all appearances and behavior, the men were FDLR Rwandan militia, and the attack against our vehicles appeared to be an organized ambush. The mini-bus was set up to simulate an engine failure with a driver and occupants repairing it. Three men not in uniform emerged from the forest with heavy fire to stop the vehicle under the protection of another group of FDLR which came from behind our vehicle. The main target was to reach the driver and destroy the vehicle engine.

It’s an extremely important part of conservation to take on all the responsibilities involved in the jurisdiction that we cover, and this includes protecting the public on the roads that pass through the park. On two occasions, in January and July, rangers died in similar attacks. In total this year, we have lost 11 rangers and 5 soldiers who assisted in patrols. We are extremely grateful there was no loss of life or injury to rangers or civilians in this incident.

Patrol post still smoldering from the fire of an attack.

Last weekend, Sept 24th and 25th, a Virunga patrol post at the fishing village of Vitshumbi on Lake Edward was attacked. Fortunately the rangers received an order to withdraw from this position well before the attack and so received no injury. Unfortunately, the damage to property was severe. The patrol station, a stone building, was set on fire, and a paillotte, a natural wood and thatch building, burned to the ground. Boats and engines were seriously damaged or completely destroyed and rangers’ houses looted.

The attack appeared to be retaliation following an incident between our rangers and armed poachers the previous day where one poacher was killed. ICCN (Congolese Wildlife Authority) has requested an investigation by the military court, which is on-going.

The charred ground where the paillotte used to stand.

One of several damaged motors from the patrol boats.

by Gilbert Dillis, security officer for the park

Rangers on Patrol - ©Brent Stirton/Getty Images

I went on a patrol with the rangers on Tuesday. The mission of the patrol was to penetrate the forest to check up on forest destruction from charcoal.  I also wanted to assess the effectiveness of our patrols, which is an important part of my work.

The procedure is pretty standard.  The patrol leader gives a briefing. About fifteen men make their way into a green mass of vegetation. It’s critical that each ranger knows exactly what his place is within the patrol.
  Once the order to depart is given, the patrol moves into the thick forest.

On these kinds of patrols, we move along virtually invisible small tracks but the rangers are familiar with the terrain.  The forest is on volcanic ground covered with large rocks, making movement all the more difficult.

We have to move quietly, following pre-established instructions, and remaining constantly vigilant.   Too many rangers have been killed after falling into an ambush in this kind of terrain. Distances between rangers on patrol must be respected, not to close, not too far.

On reaching a clearing, the patrol leader orders the men to stop without saying a word, and sends a small team to inspect the way ahead.  This is a patch of forest known to shelter charcoal producers, poachers, and also armed groups. Vigilance is crucial. We stop, we listen.  This time we hear only the distant hooting of a group of chimpanzees.

We continue beyond the clearing, into a deep patch of forest. With the strong rains of these last few days, we wade knee deep through the mud.  We don’t allow for any complaining. Every one knows that silence is our most important defence.

Clearing out marijuana that is planted after the illegal charcoal is made.

Finally we reach the charcoal sites, and take note of the fact that the area remains intact since the last patrol a few weeks ago. The destruction of the forest in this area, at least, seems to have stopped. The patrol leader decides to follow another track, and we reach a small cleared area where the men note that extensive marijuana fields have been planted. The fields are destroyed and we move on.

The patrol continues to advance on other paths, but time passes quickly. After a small halt to recover, the patrol leader announces that it is time to return. The men, who are still always quiet, arrive back at the patrol station where the vehicles wait for them.

This was a short patrol, but useful both to show that the park is present in the area, but also enable our new to get used to operating in hostile terrain.  It’s very reassuring to see that they can navigate effectively through the forest.  Seven months’ training in Lulimbi has been put to good use.

A Virunga forest - ©Brent Stirton/Getty Images

In searching through the week’s events and photos, I’ve come up with 4 things to tell you about. They are a bit random, but one of these might be of interest to some of you.

Down with the old, up with the new:
We hate to see the old Belgian buildings go, but sometimes there’s just no way to save them. Thus, a very small building, useful only for a little bit of storage, had to come down. A new, larger building will eventually go up in its place.

Going…

With an audience…

And gone…

Sierra Designs:
Any American who has participated in even the smallest bit of backpacking knows the name “Sierra Designs.” My first and favorite backpacking tent that traveled around the world with me was this brand. We recently received 45 Sierra Designs tents and 90 backpacks for our rangers, purchased at a discounted rate, which we are slowly distributing in the various stations. The lightweight and good construction will be excellent for the rangers who do overnight patrols, and guides for the Rwenzori mountain treks.

Rangers heading out on a patrol with the new backpacks.

Construction: Ranger Family Housing and New Ranger Housing
We have two buildings under construction at the moment.  One is housing for the group of new rangers stationed here at Rumangabo headquarters. The other is for rangers and their families. This building is long overdue and much-needed as the very old, grungy, run-down buildings were way past their expiration date.

New ranger housing, using the ever-present lava stone.

New ranger family housing.

Baboons take over:
The baboons are getting very cheeky, as the Brits would say. This past week it feels like they’ve been circling the office building, waiting for a chance to invade. One even came into our office through the window while we were at lunch. We found him lounging on the floor, and another trying to get in.

Baboons…If they would get organized, they could take over the place.

A Virunga National Park ranger tears apart an illegal charcoal kiln in the forest. The cutting of trees to make charcoal is destroying the forests - the natural habitat of mountain gorillas - and causing danger to gorillas and rangers. Photo by ©Brent Stirton/Getty Images

We need your help. The charcoal trade inside our park forests must be eradicated and this requires the funding of several anti-charcoal operations needed soon.

The illegal charcoal business is one of the greatest issues Virunga faces, largely kept in place by FDLR Rwandan militia, and directly connected to the protection of the mountain gorillas. Not only is precious forest and habitat destroyed to make charcoal, but past events have shown that both gorillas and rangers can get caught in the crossfire of a battle for this fuel source. At the end of 2009, a huge push took place to remove the charcoal business from the forests of southern Virunga. It was largely successful, but not permanent.

Read about the gorilla massacre of 2007 and the connection to the illegal charcoal industry. Through the efforts of the rangers and the anti-charcoal operations, the park now has greater control over protecting the forests, but it is VITAL that the operations continue in order to control this problem.

We are again trying to stop the rising production of charcoal and destruction of the forests. You may recall that in April, an FDLR ambush on a patrol killed Magayane, one of our rangers. Following this tragic loss, we planned and executed a fairly successful operation to find and destroy as many charcoal kilns as possible.

Now it is becoming necessary to continue with several more operations to stop those that remain. The smoke can be seen now coming up through the trees – the sign of burning wood from kilns. For security reasons, we can’t tell you when or where the operation will be, but will post a report when it is completed.

Illegal charcoal from Virunga’s forests is confiscated by rangers. Photo by ©Brent Stirton/Getty Images

Operational costs for the park are running thin. We need your help to carry out these additional operations that logistically cost more, including additional rangers transported in from other sections of the park, extra rations, clean water, and ponchos for the 5-8 days. Extra tents are needed as the men will have to sleep under tarps in the forest without them. The 60-100 rangers work extremely hard during these campaigns, rising at 2 am, getting into positions, and moving into the forest at day break, patrolling and searching until dark for up to 8 days.

Please consider supporting the park by donating toward this upcoming anti-charcoal operation which we estimate will cost approximately $2900. To the right of this blog post, you can see a list of donation options. At the bottom of the “One-Time” donation list, click on “Anti-Charcoal Campaign” to help us with this specific project.

Thank you again for all the incredible support that you, our readers, have given to the park!

In 2008, the charcoal problem was so serious you could see lines of people moving on trails through the forests carrying white bags of charcoal. Each bag represents trees destroyed for fuel. Photo by ©Brent Stirton/Getty Images

All photos taken prior to 2009 anti-charcoal campaign.

This week was dominated by a tightening on security, partly tied to the pressure on the park and renewed efforts to invade and sell off park land, and partly tied to our efforts to stem common crime that targets the civilian population on the roads going through the park. We’re trying to counter all the negative pressure on the park by provoking a massive boost to tourism this year. You may remember that 30% of our tourism revenues go directly to the local communities in the form of new schools, health centres, rural roads etc. In the long term, the goodwill resulting from these community projects may prove to be our greatest defense for the park. So this week, we sent a team, including Balemba, Cai, and Piet, to the big East African tourism fair in Arusha with armfuls of brochures and posters.

Gorillas

• Sadly, we lost a gorilla and the Gorilla Vets did the autopsy this week.  It increasingly looks like a natural death, caused by a fight between two males, which we just have to accept as one of those unfortunate but natural events that make gorillas who they are.

The unknown blackback just before autopsy (photo Dr. Eddy Syaluha)

Rangers

• The trainees in Lulimbi are on their final run to qualify. They are now down to 57, and have worked incredibly hard. We lost one additional one who was playing up and tried to provoke a trainee’s strike. Shame. The instructors got hold of him and within 10 minutes he had packed his belongings and was on his way home to mum and dad.
• The canine unit is doing well. They’re now maintaining the programme that was set up by Marlene and her team.
• Generally speaking, we’re focusing a lot on training at the moment, so that we’re better prepared for protecting tourists and renewed pressure on the park.

Training the bloodhound dogs to track a scent.

Security

• Last Friday, our rangers in Rwindi had a run-in with a group of militia / bandits on the main road through the park, near Kabasha on the western edge of the park. Belongings were looted on a public transport vehicle. They were pursued by a section of rangers who caught up with them. There was an exchange of gunfire, and although there were no arrests or injuries, much of the looted goods were recovered and returned to the unfortunate travelers.
• There have been several renewed attempts to invade the park, mainly in the north of the park, such as at Muramba on the lake shore, where new bean and manioc fields have been identified. At Lubilia a tractor was driven into the park to establish new fields for sale. This is quite an organized act by local businessmen. These men are relatively wealthy. They sell the land to poor unsuspecting peasants, and then leave them to face the park authorities when they try to cultivate the land. So it is important that we tackle the problem early on before it becomes a very serious issue.

Tourism

• The Arusha Tourism Fair was a big event for the week. So far 60 tour operators have expressed surprise that Congo has so much excellent new stuff to offer, and have signaled a genuine interest in sending clients. It could be the big boost we have been looking for. Cai and company will return this week and suggest ways forward. He’s established quite an aggressive marketing plan to put Virunga on the map.

A spread from the new Virunga National Park brochure for the Arusha fair. Click on the picture to view the brochure.

• Our low season promotion is now over, which drew in 144 paying visitors to the park. This is a lot for the lowest period in the year. We’re now bracing ourselves for the high season which starts in July.
• The lodge is coming along nicely. We’re a bit behind schedule, but hope to finish in July, which isn’t too bad for a major construction project that only started in January this year.
• And, of course, we’ve launched the park’s visitors website, which means you can book and pay for your permits, lodge reservations, transport, etc. online with a credit card or with Paypal. In a few months’ time you should even be able to get your Congo tourist visa on the park’s website. www.visitvirunga.org. A first in Congo. It’s so easy, all you have to do is not forget your toothbrush.

Communities

• I just went to see our new road-building equipment for rural roads around the park. A caterpillar 12G Grader, a JCB frontloader and a Bomag 12-ton compactor. This is the stuff I dreamt of having when I was 4 years old. Not much has changed since then.

Aren’t they beautiful…

• We’re working on setting up more community dialog committees which are the main interface with the local community and which will hopefully help us to identify good projects and help us diffuse tensions with those who live on the borders of the park.

Next week is important. We have to plan a high level visit from Kinshasa, which will carry a lot of weight on the future of the Park. I’m going up north to check up on the hydro-electric project. The construction slowed down a little lately, so we need to do a bit of pushing to get things going again. We’re planning for the deployment of our new rangers, and wrapping up the first round of officer training in Mutsora. A lot of surveillance, flying over the park, to try to see exactly where the threats lie. More on that next week…

This week was marked by a sad incident with the death of one blackback in the Kabirizi group. We’re not entirely sure why he died but it looks very likely to be the result of a violent fight with a Silverback, possibly Kabirizi himself.  This was an unknown young male who had probably just recently joined the group, but obviously he wasn’t welcome.  The gorilla vets will be examining the body to establish the cause of death.

Kabirizi

Rangers

• Training was the main activity over the past seven days, with our three programs, including the 60 young recruits being trained in Lulimbi who will finalize on 12^th June after 5 months’ of bootcamp.

Tactical training for our senior officers…

• There is also the dog training which is going well, and it looks like we should have an excellent team of bloodhounds, but also an excellent team of handlers. They are now receiving quite advanced training in CSI, Crime Scene Investigation. These are new skills for us, which may make it easier to apprehend poachers in the future. Marcel and Uschi have joined Marlene in providing this training, which is drawn from the German police special branch. We’re very lucky to get this help.

The work begins for our 6 new bloodhound recruits

Tourism

• The tourism promotion period is going well. We launched half-price visits to boost our low season numbers. We’re desperate to get a tourism industry off the ground, because it provides a very effective tool for pulling the region out of poverty and insecurity. It’s possibly the greatest thing the park can do for the local population.

Security

• The land invasions appear to have largely subsided. We were in court this week, because we pressed charges against a local pastor (of sorts) who is accused of having sold land inside the park to poor families.

On patrol…

• Our rangers arrested a soldier on the edge of the park who was trying to sell an automatic rifle. This small arms trade is a terrible burden on the province, as it invariably leads to attacks on the civilian population.

Community

• We’re working on a proposal to try to rebuild 200 kilometres of rural roads around the park. These roads are in a terrible state and represent one of the biggest constraints on local development – people can’t access markets to sell their crops. We’ve recently bought some road building equipment second hand (a grader, a front-loader and a 12-ton compactor), which will hopefully help us to have a much more positive impact on the local economy.

This next week has us working hard on tourism. Cai is going to the Tourism Fair in Arusha – the first time Congo sells its wares at a major international fair. We’re gearing up for a tourism season which we hope will be like no other in our park’s history. Watch this space.

This past week we have made good progress with on-going projects: the lodge and hydro-electric dam construction, training of new staff, and stabilization in the park. Overall, it was a positive week.

Johann du Toit, expert in lodge training and management, shows the new cook trainees how to be perfectionists at cleaning a kitchen.

Tourism

• The new cooks for the lodge arrived this week to begin training with Kenyan chef Thomas Okumo.  The training includes everything from hygiene to cooking and presentation. The staff is happily benefiting from this training, as the cooks need “guests” to practice on until the lodge opens.
• Nyiragongo volcano reopened this week to visitors following a two-week closure.

Marijuana and illegal charcoal kilns were found and destroyed during the operation last week.

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