Feb 24 2008
The Bad and the Good in the Gorilla Sector
We were very caught up by what we call the Makala Campaign - the campaign to stop the charcoal trade that is destroying the forest of the park, and poses a very real threat to our mountain gorillas, so I am sorry for the delay in updating you. It has been an extremely difficult time since September last year, with some of the darkest moments that we have know. But there have also been some real successess, and although we have not been able to return to Bukima and Jomba, we have launched a number of major initiatives that will help us to protect the park for years to come. So I wanted to summarise some of that, just to remind ourselves of the challenges, but also of the fact that it is worth continuing the struggle.
The Bad
1. Nkunda’s Militias still occupying the gorilla sector: This, of course, is our biggest challenge. They are very aggressive against the rangers of ICCN, our organisation, and have threatened to execute any of us who return to the gorilla sector.
2. Parallel administration: the rebels have established their own system of tour leaders and trackers. They are not qualified and have received no training to work with the gorillas. They have to go.
3. Illegal Tourism in the park: The rebels have started to take tourists coming from Uganda to see the gorillas as a way of making money. At the moment we reckon they are taking about two groups per week, which generates money for their militias. Unfortunately, they are not, as far as we can tell, respecting the basic regulations to ensure that the gorillas are kept safe from disease and disturbance. They send in more than one group of tourists per day, and the groups are bigger than the maximum allowed.
4. Bukima mined: Anti-personnel land-mines have been set on the road to Bukima, making it impossible for us to get there for a long time, until it has be demined.
The Good
Checking for Illegal Charcoal at Kibati
1. Ending Charcoal: As you know, a major long-term threat to the gorillas is the clearing of their habitat for charcoal. This increased massively with the outbreak of armed conflict, much of it going to Rwanda. Since December, we have launched what we call the makala campaign, which is an unprecedented effort to block the charcoal that has been illegally obtained from the park and handing it over to the internally displaced people for free. This discourages the illegal loggers from cutting down the forest. So far we have seized over 60 tons of charcoal and delivered it to the internally displaced camps through UNHCR, the UN refugee organisation.
2. Little equipment loss: We managed to secure all the equipment that would otherwise have been looted by the rebel militias, which means that we are ready to hit the ground running as soon as we can get back into the gorilla sector. This includes the Bukima Camp and the vehicle that was bought through WildlifeDirect.
3. Rumangabo re-launched. Rumangabo, the main park station for the Gorilla sector has been at the centre of much of the fighting, and so had to be evacuated. Now the station has been re-launched and is the centre of operations for the Makala Campaign, with office equipment, radios, wireless internet and so on has been re-established. It is, we hope, a first step towards re-establishing control of the Gorilla sector
4. The Force Avancee, with new leadership, is with us in full force to help manage the Makala campaign. This put a lot of weight behind our efforts.
5. Monuc Support: Monuc, the UN peace keepers are providing us with real support on the ground through joint patrols with members of their Indian Battallian. This is a big impact on our security and effectiveness in protecting the forest.
So we remain very worried about the future of the park, of the gorillas, and of ourselves and our families, but in remaining active and determined, there is still a lot of work to do, and through that we may just get ourselves back to the Gorillas sector. I will give you some more details on the operations tomorrow.
Diddy





















































Daily news from the conservation frontline by Innocent and Diddy, and other Congolese rangers risking their lives to save mountain gorillas of the Virunga National Park in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo