Gorilla Protection

This is Diddy. We have been holding workshops with our colleagues in the ICCN and from NGOs working in Virunga National Park. The goal of these meetings is to develop strategies for the next 5, 10, and 15 years. This involves not only considerations about forest protection, anti-poaching, etc., but also practical things such as the construction of accommodation for future tourists and the maintenance of trails. We also have to consider the relationships we have with the local populations, such as the community groups who manage the buffer zones at Rubare and Rugari.

Part of these workshops involved going to various locations in the Southern Sector of the park to make assessments on the ground. This included going up the Nyiragongo volcano to see what was required to cater for tourists. Below is a picture of our group at the top- thats me with the walking stick, quite tired!

You can also see the video of the volcano that Pierre filmed earlier this month.

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This is Pierre. Last week I hiked from the Kibati Patrol Post up to the rim of the Nyiragongo volcano, which dominates the skyline of the southern sector of Virunga National Park.

This is the volcano which erupted in 2002 with devastating effect, destroying a fifth of the city of Goma and making 120,000 people homeless.

As you can see from the video I shot, the volcano is quite impressive and still very active. The crater stands at 3,470 meters in altitude, is 250 meters deep, and 2 kilometers wide.

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