Gorilla

Last year, after meeting the wonderful Nancy Abrahams, we were invite to recommend candidates for the Abrahams Foundation conservation awards. The Alexander Abraham Foundation based in the United States, recognizes people in defence of the natural resources of the DRC, in particular the natural parks which contain many rare and endangered species. It was a no brainer fur us, we nominated the men who had put their necks on the line and risked everything to save Virunga National Parks endangered mountain gorillas at a time when nobody else dared.

We nominated Paulin, who risked his life by exposing the link between the illegal charcoal trade, corruption and the gorilla killings. Paulin ultimately paid the price with his position in Virunga and now works in Salonga National Park.

We also nominated Innocent and Diddy, two rangers who represent so many other dedicated rangers, were also nominatd. Their diarise on WidlifeDirect  raised global awareness about the unfolding situation. Ending up on the BBC and appearing in numerous publications including the book Looking for Miza, Innocent and Diddy have come to symbolise the hope that we can all believe in.

Innocent and Diddy are the hero’s of this true story

Despite the fame, they have retained their personal dedication and continue to conserve wildlife in the Virunga National Park.  We congratulate Innocent, Diddy and Paulin for recognition well deserved.

It was such a big event that even Alan Doss of MONUC attended and made a speech.  He said that these people should be considered “heroes,” considering the various threats and daily violence they face to protect the parks and the territories of the country.

He compared their work to that of the United Nations Blue Helmets in the DRC “who give their all to protect thousands of civilians against acts of violence in the northeast of the country.”

Everyone at WildlifeDirect is very proud that our nominations were considered and that these three wonderful men and two others have received the reconition that they deserve.  We congratulate the team at ICCN in Virunga for these awards.

Its amazing that the ICCN are able to conduct a gorilla census sin Vurunga National Park despite the continued conflict that is ongoing (even though most news agencies have tired of telling that story apart from Bloomberg who reports cooperative efforts between Congo and Rwanda).

Diddy at Bukima camp last year when he found Miza

Diddy and Innocent have revealed that not only have they found most gorilla families intact, but that there migraitons, and importantly, there have been some births. We are still waiting to hear about Miza and look at her photos. Her sister Mivumbi who rescued her when she was orphaned, has had an infant of her own. If you haven’t got it yet,  the childrens book Looking for Miza is a perfect Christmas gift for any child or adult.

Miza was orphaned last year and it was feard she was dying

Read more about the exciting survey and watch the videos from the field here

Fears of a refugee crisis in the region is fueling the pace for Congo talks to end the crisis. Talks are hoped to lead to a ceasefire, and real progress towards a lasting peace agreement.

Meanwhile the Virunga National Park  and ICCN staff are not faring very well. It was very saddening to read Diddy post on the Official Virunga website, describing the impossible situation that some rangers are in. Some have remained in Rumangabo and are more or less cut off from communication. Others have been trying to reach Goma through a 40 km hike through the forest which is occupied by rebel forces. They seem to be separating and are appearing in small numbers in Goma, exhausted and sick. However,  as of now, 23 rangers are apparently lost. Two rangers were arrested and with Emmanuels intervention were released, 9 rangers in the refugee camp have cholera, while one ranger, Louis Kabwana, who was sick and in hospital has died. He had worked for the Park since 1971. My he rest in peace.

According to this map on Gorilla.cd Nkundas troops seem to have control of the entire park, Diddy says they are apparently moving north. It’s not clear if anyone knows what his strategy is.

An emergency fund raising effort is underway on gorilla.cd, we are also raising funds for the rangers here on WildlifeDirect to support the ICCN rangers caught in this conflict. All donations made on this blog will contrubite towards the humanitarian crisis facing the rangers in Goma and Rumangabo.

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support to date.

We are alarmed with news reports that rebel forces have taken over the military base at Rumangabo. This has forced the ICCN to begin evacuating rangers from the Virunga National Park which is critical for their safety and survival, but will leave the gorillas and forests vulnerable.

According to AFP “The Democratic Republic of Congo’s envoy to the United Nations called on the Security Council to intervene to stop what he called an “imminent” Rwandan attack on the eastern DRC city of Goma.

Atoki Ileka told AFP that DRC authorities had “observed concentrations of Rwandan troops in the Rwandan border town of Gisenyi,” and that this suggested that an attack on Goma, located just across the frontier, was “imminent.”

Goma is the capital of Nord-Kivu province, which is at the center of renewed fighting between rebel and government forces that broke out August 28 in the east of the DRC.

“We have asked the Security Council to put the necessary pressure on Rwanda to prevent a new (Rwandan) aggression against DRC,” Ileka said, adding that troops in Rwandan uniforms had seized the Rumangabo military camp near Goma early Wednesday.”

Reuters have also just reported the invasion of Congo by Rwandan troops “Congo has accused neighboring Rwanda of sending troops across the border and fighting in support of a Congolese warlord. A Rwandan military spokesman denies the allegations.

North Kivu provincial Gov. Julien Mpaluku says Rwandan soldiers backing Congo warlord Laurent Nkunda crossed into Congo three days ago and headed for the frontier villages of Tshanzu and Bunagana. He said Wednesday that Rwandan troops were fighting in Rumangabo, a small village north of the regional capital, Goma”.

Rumangabo is the headquarters of the Virunga National Park where our former CEO Emmanuel de Merode and his team of rangers including Diddy and Innocent are based. In a post on the Official Virunga National Park website where Samantha reports that heavy fighting had broken out between the army and Nkunda’s rebels. The fighting approached the park station (Rumangabo is the Park headquarters). Military tanks were apparently “firing on the hills where they believe the rebels to be; an army helicopter is also hovering, patroling the area”.

It is now certain that the CNDP (Nkunda’s troops) have taken control of the Rumangabo military base – a major blow to the army and a major threat to the Rangers at the station.

A post on the blog at Gorilla.cd states

“Emmanuel is doing his utmost to try and secure the station and get the remaining people out. Monuc – the UN team in DRC – thankfully knows Pierre and the others are all there and have told them not to move from the station as it is unsafe”.

This is of course terrible news for conservation as it not only puts the ICCN staff in a severely dangerous situation(over 120 rangers have died in the line of duty over recent years), but will further curtail conservation activities, patrols or management of the park. In addition, it is likely to escalate the problem of internal refugees which will deepen the environmental impact of the tens of thousands that are being displaced as they seek safety.