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We’ve just received a very strong endorsement from the UN Security Council in our struggle to overcome the charcoal trafficking in the park.

Charcoal is still considered to be the single greatest threat to the park and to the mountain gorillas.    It was the charcoal trafficking that provoked the gorilla massacre in July 2007 (a detailed account of this was given in last year’s July edition of National Geographic Magazine).  Just to give you an idea of the scale of the problem, this photo was taken by Pierre earlier today, on the way back from Bukima.  It shows the forest in flames: the work of the charcoal traffickers.

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But there is an even darker side to the illegal charcoal trade.  Many of the profits from the illegal trafficking of charcoal go straight to the FDLR. These are the Rwandan Rebels, formerly known as the Interahamwe, who are held responsible for the Rwandan Genocide in 1994.  They were forced out of Rwanda and most of them took refuge in Congo.  Many of them are now hiding in the forests of Virunga National Park.  They represent one of our greatest problems as they are heavily armed and well trained.  They are also deeply involved in the destruction of the forest for charcoal.  Because of that, they attack and kill our rangers who have been trying to protect the gorillas’ habitat.  You will remember that Janvier was badly wounded by an FDLR militiaman two weeks ago.

The UN Panel of Experts on the Democratic Republic of Congo produce a very influential report for the Security Council.  They recently completed their enquiries into the funding of armed groups, and yesterday published the report.  7 sections refer to the support that goes to the FDLR.  Two of those sections concern our work in Virunga:

65. The Group has gathered information on intense charcoal production controlled by FDLR in the Virunga National Park, along with other forms of exploitation of the Park’s resources. The Group is concerned about the continued presence of FDLR elements in the Park who obstruct the activities of the Institut congolais pour la conservation de la nature by perpetrating frequent attacks on its rangers during patrols to stop illegal charcoal-making activities. The Group has also received verified information that FDLR elements are collecting a charcoal tax imposed on civilians.

66. The Group of Experts is encouraged by the Institute’s initiative to promote production of combustible briquettes as an alternative to charcoal. The Group considers this initiative as a way to significantly weaken FDLR financial support through the illegal exploitation of the National Park, while at the same time creating a development option for the population living in the Park. The Group encourages the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and international donors to ensure full support to this initiative.

(You can find the full report here).

It feels like we’ve come a long way since early last year, when Robert Williams came up with the slightly strange idea of converting grass and leaves into a charcoal substitute.  We hoped it would help us protect the gorillas and their habitat, we thought it might create employment and alleviate poverty, we also hoped it might help avert a major energy crisis in North Kivu.  Now, the briquettes are being proposed as a means to weaken one of the bloodiest armed groups on the continent.

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It is calm at the moment, so it is easy to forget that only a few months ago Bukima was the scene of intense fighting between the CNDP and the Congolese Army troops. I remember being woken up one morning in Rumangabo to the sound of shelling- I walked to a hill and looked out towards the Mikeno and saw that it was coming from tanks parked on the main road near Rugari. They were lobbing mortars onto these very hills around Bukima. (watch video)

But sometimes I see little reminders in the forest:

Helmet left behind at the old camp in Bukima

CNDP Jacket in the park

Military bivouac in the park near Bukima

Ration tins

Some of you may have heard the latest news that Laurent Nkunda was arrested in the early hours of last night. To be honest, I can’t quite believe how quickly things have moved in the past week and many of us here on the ground are just as confused as you might be.

The news from Rumangabo is that the military base has been peacefully handed over to to the Congolese military. Everything is quiet at the Ranger station and in Bukima. Here in Goma, we are seeing both CNDP and Rwandan soldiers around the town. Amazingly, I haven’t heard of any problems that you might expect between men who until last week were on opposite sides of a front-line.

Here are some links to the latest media reports for the full details:

BBC

Voice of America

International Herald Tribune

Washington Post

CNN

This is a book that I co-edited with Marc Languy, and which is a compilation of chapters on the history, the natural history and the conservation efforts in Virunga. There are contributions from authors who have all played a part in Virunga’s survival over it’s 80 year history. In fact, one of the authors first started in Virunga in the 1940s.

The project started in a bar in Goma, in 2003, when Marc and I were reflecting on the efforts of so many to keep Virunga going. We worked out that there hadn’t been any major publications on Virunga since the late 1950s, so decided to write a report that brought together the experiences of all those people who had dedicated their lives to the park. As sometimes happens, it evolved into a book.

We published it over two years ago in French. As I have a habit of overestimating my abilities, I volunteered to translate it into English and promised it would all be complete in February 2007. You know that feeling when you haven’t done your homework at school. Well, this felt far far worse, and it went on for two years.

It will be out in March. It has a limited print run, because it ain’t going to be a bestseller, but we are going to try to sell a few and all the proceeds will go the widows of the rangers who died protecting the park over the years.

You may have read some of the recent reports coming out of Congo. I don’t know how it seems from the outside, but for us living through these events, it started with disbelief, then confusion, followed by amazement. Right now, we don’t dare hope…

Last week Bosco, a very senior CNDP commander, announced a comprehensive ceasefire with the Congolese army. It was unclear if this was the official CNDP position, and many of us didn’t pay that much attention, until it transpired that the Rwandan Chief of Staff was present, together with senior Congolese military officers. That’s an unusual mix. CNDP then formally confirmed the ceasefire.

Yesterday, there were reports of significant Rwandan army movements into Congo. We’ve heard this before, and I don’t always believe it. Rwandan military moving into Congo is not a joking matter. But suddenly, there they were marching past Rumangabo. Several thousand of them, very calmly as if they had been sent over by their wives to buy some milk at the supermarket. That was yesterday’s craziness. Today, truckloads of Congolese military crossed the battlefronts into CNDP territory, and now they’re all hanging out together, Rwandan Army, Congolese Army and the CNDP rebel army. Best buddies.

We don’t dare use the word… peace?

Emmanuel is currently at Rumangabo with Pierre, Eddy and Brent Stirton, the photographer who took the pictures of the July 2007 massacre.

He is at the park HQ working to find a way for the Rangers to get back into the park. The Rangers are desperate to get back to work and protect the flora and fauna of the park.

This is an extremely important process that can open the way for re-establishing our work across the whole of the park including the Gorilla Sector - to which we have not had access now since September 2007. It is imperative that a solution be found.

I will keep you updated as events unfold during this critical time.

According to the United Nations, Thursday was the “International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict.” On his way to the International Summit in Nairobi to find a solution to the current crisis in Eastern Congo, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the following:

“The natural environment enjoys protection under Protocol 1 of the Geneva Conventions. But this protection is often violated during war and armed conflict…The United Nations attaches great importance to ensuring that action on the environment is part of our approach to peace…Let us renew our commitment to preventing the exploitation of the environment in times of conflict and to protecting the environment as a pillar of our work for peace.”

Based on these words I hope that in Nairobi they are also considering the impact of the war on Virunga National Park, which is epitomized by the following picture taken in Goma a few days ago by a photographer working for AFP:

Soldiers here often take baby chimpanzees and monkeys as pets. You may remember that in August we confiscated a chimpanzee from an major in the army. We are trying to see what we can do about the chimpanzee being held at the moment. It was again seen not far from Samantha’s house and we are trying to identify the soldier holding the chimpanzee in the picture below:

It is difficult to put much emphasis on conservation and animal welfare when there is so much human suffering in the Congo. However, if we don’t try to do something about these chimps, no one will.

Yesterday afternoon two men arrived at our office in Goma completely exhausted and shaken up. One was Ranger Semivumbi Nzariturande from the Kabaraza Station; the other was his son. This is what they told us:

On Tuesday when the CNDP rebels took the town of Kiwanja, Semivumbi and 42 other Rangers were at the Kabaraza Station (see map). A group of rogue army soldiers arrived and broke into their houses and offices, stealing everything. The Rangers escaped with Warden Bararuba to nearby Kisharo, then to Kiwanja itself where the Rangers’ families live.

Semivumbi

The next morning, the Pareco Mai-Mai militia arrived in Kiwanja to fight the CNDP rebels. Semivumbi and his family spent the whole day lying on the floor of their house with the door barricaded. They could hear intense fighting outside on their street. At 3PM there was a knock on their door- they didn’t answer, but then the door was forced open. It was the CNDP rebels, who were arresting young men they believed might be fighting with the Mai-Mai. Semivumbi and his son were taken along with 8 other men in their street. They were forced to carry boxes of ammunition for the rebels. They also saw dead bodies in the streets (this is also reported by AFP and HRW).

Semivumbi with his son

In the group of captured men there was a driver whose truck had been confiscated. One of the rebels recognized the driver as a friend from long ago. The rebels decided to give him back his truck and let him go. The driver said that Semivumbi and his son were his friends, so they were released too. They jumped in the truck and drove to the south to Goma, where they arrived the next morning. As far as we know, the other Rangers and their families escaped on foot in the other direction.

We continue to struggle with the aftermath of the fighting of the 8th October. I spent yesterday evening with the wives of rangers at our refugee camp in Goma. We are trying establish if its possible to organise their return to Rumangabo, but they are still very scared for their security there, so we’ve made the decision to delay their return by a few days.

In Rumangabo the situation is relatively calm, although we have heard quite disturbing reports about troop movements near the Rwandan border. Much of the work has resumed, the school construction is well underway, and our park headquarters at Rumangabo are being rebuilt, as is the rangers’ accomodation. Fifty-three rangers are holding the fort and have successfully managed to hold out against armed bandits that have tried to pillage the station on several occasions since the fighting started.

The family of Ranger Mateso Sebagabo

It’s very challenging for the rangers to work with such uncertainty. They have been without their families for two weeks now, and are low on rations. We have sent in another supply today, which will keep them going for a while. We don’t know if the fighting will resume tomorrow, or if we can hope for some more peace. Nobody really seems to know, but several sources have indicated that the CNDP rebels are looking to take the Rumangabo military base again, only to stay permanently this time.

I’ve been in Goma for a few days, but will be returning to Rumangabo tomorrow. We will be re-establishing the satellite dish at the station, which will give us a basic internet connection so that we can continue to update you from there.

All is calm at Rumangabo. For now. It is eerily quiet. Emmanuel has traveled up there today with Innocent and Diddy. The 50 Rangers holding the fort are there - and are there to stay. We have had to evacuate the satellite dish so they can’t blog from there for now.

Their families, and other Rangers, remain at the camp in Goma - which as you know was set up with assistance from humanitarian groups, but also IGCP ($15K), WWF ($14.5K), ACF ($24.5K) and FZS ($10K). Thanks to all of those organisations.

Let’s hope it all remains calm. More tomorrow.