Virunga national park is a 7,800 square kilometer national refuge, found along the eastern border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This national park was the first declared park on the African continent and has held world heritage listing under UNESCO since 1979. From a biological point of view, Virunga holds more bird, mammal and reptile species than any other protected area across Africa, including a quarter of the worlds remaining critically endangered Mountain Gorillas. Virunga also encompasses a diverse range of ecosystems, from montane tropical forests through to the charismatic African savannah. The beauty and sheer biological significance of this national park should place it alongside world renown parks; greater than Yellowstone, the Kruger and the Serengeti in terms of ecological potential. Despite this potential however, Virunga finds itself faced with destruction, as the ongoing battle for this region turns from ivory to oil.
History of Virunga.
In keeping with the current threats facing this reserve, the history of Vigunra appears in no way more positive. Since the beginning of the 1980s this region has faced high poaching levels of its large mammals. Mountain gorillas were targeted by poachers and rebel militia alike, as well as the once dominant populations of elephant and lion. Civil war across the Congo, as well as neighboring Rwanda, saw an influx of refugees into this region, resulting in extensive logging and bush meat poaching. By the late 2000s Virunga was lost in all but name, rebel militia groups had taken over the park and were using it for guerilla warfare. The end of 2008 saw the battle of Guma within Virunga, ending the war and granting Virunga its first chance of peace in over thirty years. By this point however, over 140 wildlife rangers had lost their lives since 1994, protecting the reserve. Since 2008, Virunga has seen a positive trend of preservation. Mountain Gorillas continue to thrive in this park and now exceed over 200 individuals. Tourism and social infrastructure has began to take form within the reserve, allowing dire funding to come into the reserve to support its rangers.
The next trial.
SOCO International is a British oil company, involved worldwide in the prospecting and drilling of oil within developing nations. SOCO is already actively involved in Angola and Vietnam and currently, is conducting prospecting within Virunga national park. International outcry, led by the WWF, saw a petition of over 700,000 signatures created requesting international pressure on SOCO to seize all production within the Virunga – which was achieved in June this year. SOCO International has declared that they will not progress any further after prospecting, leaving the decision of what should be done regarding Virunga to the Congolese Government. Despite this however, the degree of SOCOs involvement within the Congo, as well as Virunga itself, is not well known with SOCO itself declaring that they are not finished with Virunga and its potential oil wells. If successful, SOCO could see the redrawing of Virunga’s boundaries as a national park and heritage site, allowing oil exploitation to begin, further damaging this already weakened ecosystem.
Global media coverage for the rangers of Virunga is now being seen and support is following this. If SOCO international becomes successful in redrawing Virunga and drilling within this heritage site, Virunga may finally be altogether lost, with many other heritage listed sites following.
For more information on the current events of Virunga, please visit the website:
virunga.org
http://www.wwf.org.uk/how_you_can_help/campaign_with_us/virunga/
To help me support the rangers of Virunga, as well as other wildlife rangers in need, please visit my donation page: https://donateplanet.com/fundraisers/read/78002/riding-for-wildife/
Thank you,
Michael Turner.
Riding for Wildlife 