Gorilla Protection

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Nov 18 2009 | By: tuver wundi

Thank you to everyone who voted for the Gorilla Organization in the World Challenge competition for grassroots conservation. Voting has now closed.

A stream of local people came to the Resource Centre in Goma to cast their online vote for the fuel-efficient stove project in DR Congo, which has reduced charcoal consumption in areas near gorilla habitat.

The competition also generated lots of interest on worldwide websites, blogs and social networking sites, with lots of people voting for the project.

More awareness of the issues affecting the gorillas and the people living around the Virungas was also generated by television coverage of the project after it was broadcast on the BBC World News channel.

Unfortunately the ‘Jiko Rescue’ project was not one of the top-three winners, but to be chosen as one of twelve finalists out of nearly a thousand nominations is still a notable achievement. The winner of the World Challenge will be announced at an awards ceremony on 5 December.

Thank you to everyone who voted for the Gorilla Organization. If you would like to buy someone a ‘Green Gift’ for Christmas, you can purchase a fuel-efficient stove for a villager in DR Congo for only £15 ($25) at our online shop: www.gorillas.org/Shop

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Category: Community, DRC, Year of the Gorilla | Date: Nov 12 2009 | By: tuver wundi

Local people in DR Congo are continuing to vote for the UN Year of the Gorilla project ‘Stoves for Survival’ as the deadline quickly approaches for the end of voting in the World Challenge international competition.

Voting closes on Friday 13 November.

Nobody knows how many votes have been cast, but here in Goma local people are expressing their support for the ‘Jiko Stoves’ project by coming to the Gorilla Organization resource centre to vote online.

People all over the world had the chance to learn more about the project by watching BBC World News last weekend, but sadly not many people in this area have access to satellite tv. However, we hope that the programme raised awareness among international viewers about the issues facing people in the Kivus.

The winner of the global World Challenge contest will be announced on 5 December, and we’ll let you know the result as soon as we know it.

Thank you to everyone who has voted for us so far. There is still time to vote here http://www.theworldchallenge.co.uk/2009-finalists-project04.php

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Category: Gorilla Range States, Threats, Year of the Gorilla, bushmeat, law enforcement | Date: Nov 11 2009 | By: Daniel

Based on an article by Paula Scheidt Manoel.

Year of Gorilla Ambassador Ian Redmond said during the World Forestry Congress, recently held in Buenos Aires, that protecting animals and stopping bushmeat trade are not a matter of choice, but are actually an essential part of forest preservation. He stated: “Forests don’t have biodiversity, they ARE biodiversity. If we take out the animals, we are removing a key element of the forest life cycle”.

Animals are crucial for seed dispersal, as many plants can’t germinate without first passing through the digestive tract of species such as gorillas, elephants or birds. According to Redmond, 75% of forest depends on animals to maintain species richness and the natural cycle. More biodiversity, Redmond emphasized, also means a bigger capacity of the forest to overcome with adverse situations, such as changes in rain patterns that can occur as a result of global warming.

Hunting for bushmeat contributes strongly to the extinction or significant reduction of some species, among them gorillas. At the same time, in a number of tropical countries bushmeat is also an important source of protein for people. “In at least 62 countries, wild animals and fish constitute a minimum of 20% of the animal protein in rural diets”, says a bushmeat study by the UN Biodiversity Convention. In Central Africa alone, 30% to 80% of the total protein ingested by farmers comes from hunting.

Redmond explained that in places where there is a market for this meat nearby, it stimulates hunting. “The trade in bushmeat is leaving the forests empty. My hope is that some explicit statement about it would be made by countries if they decide to include a payment for the carbon store in the forests in the new climate deal”.

A new agreement to control global warming will be discussed at a United Nations summit this December in Copenhagen. One of the key points being negotiated is a mechanism to reduce deforestation in developing countries through financial incentives for forest protection from developed nations, called REDD (Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation).

Deforestation is highlighted by a global community of scientists as responsible for about 20% of total CO2 emissions, which they say is the main cause of the increase of temperatures. It adds up to 5.86 billion tons of carbon dioxide, as much as is emitted by the United States or China per year.

To read this and other articles online, go to http://www.climatemediapartnership.org/reporting/stories/gorilla-ambassador-demands-bushmeat-controls/

For more about YoG, visit www.yog2009.org

Tags: bushmeat, climate change, Copenhagen, Ian Redmond, REDD, seed dispersal

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Category: Community, DRC, Year of the Gorilla | Date: Nov 05 2009 | By: tuver wundi

People all over the world will have the chance to see the full film all about our Jiko Stoves project this weekend when it is shown on BBC World News.

Our team here in DR Congo hosted the BBC film crew when they came to film our fuel-efficient stoves project for the international World Challenge competition for community conservation. The film-makers also went up to see the mountain gorillas who also star in the film.

Our story will be seen by people in DR Congo on Saturday 7^th November at 1630 and on Sunday 8^th November at 0430, 1130 and 1930 (all times are GMT + 2 hours).

It will be shown everywhere in the world on BBC World News. You can check your local timings here http://www.bbcworldnews.com/Pages/Schedules.aspx

We are so happy that people from all over the world will be able to see the difference that our project is making to the local communities here. Families with fuel-efficient stoves are now using on average just 1.5 sacks of charcoal a month compared to four sacks per month before. This not only helps the villagers, but is also helping to conserve the precious forests for our gorilla cousins, and helps in the fight against climate change.

Voting closes in the competition on Friday 13^th November so if you haven’t voted yet, there is still time. If we win, the money would fund the project for a whole year. Vote here: www.theworldchallenge.co.uk/2009-finalists-project04.php

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