Virunga National Park

Coordinates: 0°55′S 29°10′E / 0.917°S 29.167°E / -0.917; 29.167
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Virunga National Park
French: Parc National des Virunga
Map showing the location of Virunga National Park
Map showing the location of Virunga National Park
LocationDemocratic Republic of the Congo
Nearest cityGoma
Coordinates0°55′S 29°10′E / 0.917°S 29.167°E / -0.917; 29.167
Area7,768.93 km2 (2,999.60 sq mi)[1]
EstablishedApril 1925 (1925-04)
Governing bodyInstitut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature[2]
Websitevirunga.org
CriteriaNatural: (vii), (viii), (x)
Reference63
Inscription1979 (3rd Session)
Endangered1994–...
Official nameParc National des Virunga
Designated18 January 1996
Reference no.787[3]

Virunga National Park is a national park in the Albertine Rift Valley in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was created in 1925. In elevation, it ranges from 680 m (2,230 ft) in the Semliki River valley to 5,109 m (16,762 ft) in the Rwenzori Mountains. From north to south it extends approximately 300 km (190 mi), largely along the international borders with Uganda and Rwanda in the east.[2] It covers an area of 8,090 km2 (3,120 sq mi).

Two active volcanoes are located in the park, Mount Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira.[4] They have significantly shaped the national park's diverse habitats and

endemic to the Albertine Rift including eastern gorilla (Gorilla beringei) and golden monkey (Cercopithecus kandti).[5]

In 1979, the National Park was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its rich diversity of habitats, exceptional biodiversity and endemism, and its protection of rare mountain gorilla habitat.[6] It has been listed in the List of World Heritage in Danger since 1994 because of civil unrest and the increase of human presence in the region.[7]

There have been several deadly attacks in the park by rebel groups, and several park rangers have been killed.[8][9]

Politics

There have been plans to drill for oil in the Congo Basin since the 2000s. Preventing these plans the park gained further protection by an agreement sealed between DRCs president

Felix Tshisekedi and Boris Johnson at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow.[10][11] To improve the country's economic situation the government undermined that very protection by auctioning oil exploration blocks inside the park by the end of July 2022. Tullow Oil Plc, TotalEnergies, ENI and China National Offshore Oil Corporation Ltd (CNOOC) were interested in acquiring drilling permissions.[12] Local and global groups, such as Greenpeace, are warning about the social and ecological impact of devastating the forest for oil production. Campaigners trying to create public awareness are threatened and intimidated on social media.[13]

History

In the early 1920s, several proponents of the European

Indigenous people lost their traditional land rights in this process, and were evicted from the protected area.[16][18] Between the late 1930s and 1955, an estimated 85,000 Rwandophone people were moved to nearby Masisi in North Kivu.[19]

In 1934, the Institut des Parcs Nationaux du Congo Belge was founded as the governing body for national parks in the Belgian Congo.[14] Between the early 1930s and 1961, several expeditions to Albert National Park were carried out by Belgian scientists, the second headed by Gaston-François de Witte. They studied and collected zoological specimens of wildlife for the Musée Royal d'Histoire Naturelle de Belgique;[20][21] explored the ethnic groups in this area;[22] studied volcanic activity,[23] and fossils.[24]

In the late 1950s, Tutsi herders and their cattle entered the park, destroying natural habitat up to an altitude of 3,000 m (9,800 ft), which was thought to threaten the park's gorillas.[25]

Land laws were reformed in the 1960s after Belgian Congo became independent as the Republic of the Congo, and the land declared property of the state, much to the disadvantage of local people. Illegal hunting inside protected areas increased.[18] In 1969, the two parks were merged under the name Virunga National Park, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.[2]

In 1996, the national park was listed as a

Ramsar site of international importance.[2]

In 2011, the British company

Emmanuel de Mérode, was assailed in April 2014.[26]
Following international protests, the company stopped exploring activities and consented to refrain from starting similar operations in the vicinity of World Heritage sites.[27][28][29][30]

By 2016, four hydropower dams were constructed that provide electricity to small businesses and benefit more than 200,000 rural people.[31]

Armed conflict

Since the early 1990s, the protected area was impacted by political turmoil in the African Great Lakes region. Following the Rwandan genocide, thousands of refugees fled to the Kivu region, and the presence of military increased. The First and Second Congo Wars further destabilised the region. Anti-poaching patrols inside the park were obstructed, and park personnel and wildlife were killed.[7] About 850,000 refugees lived around the national park in 1994. Up to 40,000 people entered the park daily in search of firewood and food, and deforested huge areas.[32] In 1994, Virunga National Park was entered into the List of World Heritage in Danger.[7]

After the Second Congo War was over, confrontations between park personnel and rebel groups continued; 80 park staff were killed between 1996 and 2003.[32] Several armed rebel groups operate in the park, including

Mikeno sector of Virunga National Park between December 2006 and January 2009.[33]

In 2005, the

non-governmental organisation African Conservation Fund. The latter organisation is responsible for park management since 2010; about 80% of management costs are subsidised by the EC. Park protection efforts were militarised in the following years to deter armed rebel groups and poachers from operating inside the park.[26] Park personnel are given paramilitary training and high-quality weaponry, and operate together with the military and state security services.[34]

These tactics, criticised as "

indigenous people. Communities, such as the Mbuti, which previously relied on the lands included in the park for food and shelter have been forced out, or risk being arrested or killed by armed park rangers.[35]

Increasing militarisation of nature conservation has been accused of fuelling armed mobilisation of militias. The inhabitants inside the national park, whether native or refugees, rely on farming, hunting, fishing, logging and producing charcoal for their livelihoods, all prohibited activities. The local community has no where else to turn for security, and relies on the protection of armed groups, for which fees are levied off the prohibited activities. According to a 2010 report by the United Nations Security Council, 80% of the charcoal consumed by the city of Goma is sourced from the park, representing an annual value of US$28–30 million. Both state security services and such groups also resort to armed robberies and kidnapping for income.[34]

Efforts at nature conservation have had contradictory effects, for example when farms were destroyed within Kibirizi, and soldiers and park guards were sent in to patrol, people migrated even further within the park to land controlled by the FDLR, where they could rent small plots of land. Clashes occurred in 2015 when a local Mai-Mai group in Binza (north Bwisha) attempted to take back control of region, with the objective of reinstalling fishing activities and allowing the population to return, killing a park guard and 11-15 soldiers.[34]

Five rangers were killed in August 2017 near Lake Edward in a militia attack. Five rangers and a driver were killed in April 2018.[36] Since beginning of the armed conflict, armed groups killed 175 park rangers until April 2018.[37] In May 2018, a ranger was killed when defending two tourists who were kidnapped.[8] They were subsequently released unharmed. As a consequence, the park remained closed to visitors from June 2018[38] until February 2019.[39]

In April 2020 at least 12 park rangers were killed by militia men attacking a civilian convoy.[40] Again in January 2021, armed men killed at least six rangers and wounded several others in an ambush in the national park.[41][42]

On 22 February 2021, Italy's ambassador to the DRC who was travelling with the

killed in the gunfire when a militia that had kidnapped their convoy, and had brought them into the park, was met by park rangers who managed to free four people.[43]

Geography

Rwenzori Mountains
Hills around Lake Edward
Landscapes in Virunga National Park

Virunga National Park is located in the

Nile watershed area. Its northern sector encompasses part of the Semliki River basin, as well as savanna and montane forest of the Albertine Rift.[44]
In altitude, this sector ranges from 680 m (2,230 ft) in the Puemba River valley to the highest peak of
montane forests on their slopes.[2]

The northern sector of Virunga National Park is contiguous with Uganda's Semuliki park, the Rwenzori Mountains National Park, and the central sector with Queen Elizabeth National Park. The southern sector borders Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park.[45]

Climate

The climate in the Albertine Rift is influenced by the movement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and the El Niño–Southern Oscillation. March to mid May and September to November are the main rainy seasons.[46] Mean monthly rainfall in the savanna around Lake Edward is 30–40 mm (1.2–1.6 in); this is the driest part of the landscape. The northern sector receives a monthly mean precipitation of up to 220 mm (8.7 in), and the southern sector of up to 160 mm (6.3 in).[45] Average temperatures in lower altitudes vary from 23–28 °C (73–82 °F), and in higher altitudes from 16–24 °C (61–75 °F), rarely dropping below 14 °C (57 °F).[15]

Flora

Riverine forest
Primary tropical forest
Habitats in Virunga National Park

Virunga National Park's flora encompasses 2,077 plant species, including 264 tree species and 230 plants that are endemic to the Albertine Rift.[5] The plains of Virunga National Park are dominated by

kowai fruit (Coccinia grandis).[3][47]
Remains of
nightshades were found in dung balls of African elephants (Loxodonta) that play a significant role for seed dispersal in the grasslands.[48]

The montane forest between 1,800 and 2,800 m (5,900 and 9,200 ft) in the southern sector is dominated by

mosses cover humid slopes up to 3,700 m (12,100 ft) elevation. Senecio and Lobelia species grow on vast clearings and attain heights of up to 8 m (26 ft).[15]

Fauna

Mammals photographed in Virunga National Park
Mountain gorilla
African bush elephant and African buffaloes
Ugandan kob
Lions

Virunga National Park's faunal species include 196 mammals, 706 bird species, 109 reptiles and 65 amphibians as of 2012.[5]

Mammals

common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), golden monkey, red-tailed monkey (Cercopithecus ascanius), Dent's mona monkey (C. denti), blue monkey (C. mitis), Hamlyn's monkey (C. hamlyni), De Brazza's monkey (C. neglectus), Central African red colobus (Procolobus foai), mantled guereza (Colobus guereza), olive baboon (Papio anubis) and grey-cheeked mangabey (Lophocebus albigena).[5][21][49][50]

African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana), hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) and African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) inhabit the national park's central sector.[47] Okapi (Okapia johnstoni), blue duiker (Philantomba monticola), bay duiker (Cephalophus dorsalis), Weyns's duiker (C. weynsi), yellow-backed duiker (C. silvicultor), water chevrotain (Hyemoschus aquaticus), red river hog (Potamochoerus porcus), aardvark (Orycteropus afer) and bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus) were recorded in the northern sector in 2008.[50]

topi (Damaliscus lunatus jimela) cluster to the south of Lake Edward in the Ishasha Flats region, and regularly cross the border into Uganda.[51][52][53] Other ungulates present include Ugandan kob (Kobus kob thomasi), waterbuck (K. ellipsiprymnus), and common warthog (Phacochoerus africanus).[45][54]

Virunga National Park together with the adjacent Queen Elizabeth National Park forms a "Lion Conservation Unit".[55] The area is considered a potential lion (Panthera leo) stronghold, if poaching is curbed and prey species recover.[54] In the national park's northern sector,

checkered elephant shrew (Rhynchocyon cirnei) were recorded during surveys in 2008.[50]

Reptiles

The Semliki River provides habitat for Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus). Several were observed at the northern shore of Lake Edwards in 1988 for the first time.[56]

Birds

Of the Albertine Rift's

black and white mannikin, pin-tailed whydah, African citril, streaky seedeater and thick-billed seedeater.[57]

Ethnic groups

Children around a health care centre
Settlements at the edge of the Nyiragongo crater
Ethnic groups in and around Virunga National Park

Ethnic groups living in and around Virunga National Park include:

Media coverage

The documentary

Soco International within the park.[61][62] Ndakasi, a gorilla from the park, was featured in a few television series and movies, including the Netflix documentary.[63]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b World Database on Protected Areas (2018). "Virunga National Park". Protected Planet, United Nations Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Crawford, A. & Bernstein, J. (2008). MEAs, Conservation and Conflict – A case study of Virunga National Park, DRC. Geneva: International Institute for Sustainable Development.
  3. ^ a b Secrétariat Général à l'Environnement et Conservation de la Nature (1994). "Parc national des Virunga". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  4. ^ Tedesco, D. (2002). "1995 Nyiragongo and Nyamulagira activity in the Virunga National Park: A volcanic crisis". Acta Vulcanologica. 14 (1/2): 149–155.
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  6. ^ "Virunga National Park". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.
  7. ^ a b c Debonnet, G. & Hillman-Smith, K. (2004). "Supporting protected areas in a time of political turmoil: the case of World Heritage Sites in the Democratic Republic of Congo". Parks. 14 (1): 9–16.
  8. ^ a b Actman, J. (2018). "Virunga National Park Sees Its Worst Violence in a Decade, Director Says". National Geographic News. Archived from the original on May 18, 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  9. ^ "Twelve rangers killed in latest Virunga Park incident". Mongabay Environmental News. 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  10. ^ "COP26: Landmark $500 million agreement launched to protect the DR Congo's forest". Africa Renewal. 2021-11-10. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  11. ^ ""DRC To Auction Oil And Gas Permits In Endangered Gorilla Habitat" | SEJ". www.sej.org. 2022-07-25. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  12. ^ "Oil and gas exploration Virunga National Park". Banktrack. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
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  15. ^ a b c Bashonga, M. G. (2012). Etude socio-économique et culturelle, attitude et perceptions des communautés Twa pygmées autour du secteur Mikeno du Parc National des Virunga. Goma: Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature.
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  52. ^ Uganda Wildlife Authority: Planning Unit (2012). Buhanga, Edgar; Namara, Justine (eds.). Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kyambura Wildlife Reserve, Kigezi Wildlife Reserve-General Management Plan (2011 - 2021) (Report). Uganda Wildlife Authority. p. 2. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  53. ^ a b Wanyama, F.; Balole, E.; Elkan, P.; Mendiguetti, S.; S. Ayebare; F. Kisame; P.Shamavu; R. Kato; D. Okiring; S. Loware; J. Wathaut; Tumonakiese, B.; Mashagiro, D.; Barendse, T.; Plumptre, A.J. (2014). Aerial surveys of the Greater Virunga Landscape - Technical Report 2014 (Report). Wildlife Conservation Society. pp. 5, 11. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
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  57. ^ Owiunji, I.; Nkuutu, D.; Kujirakwinja, D.; Liengola, I.; Plumptre, A.; Nsanzurwimo, A.; Fawcett, K.; Gray, M. & McNeilage, A. (2005). Biological Survey of Virunga Volcanoes (PDF). New York: Wildlife Conservation Society.
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  60. ^ "The Details of the Basongoro of Rwenzori and their Culture in Uganda". Go Visit Kenya. 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  61. ^ "Screenings". Virunga (Official Website). Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  62. ^ Sinha-Roy, Pifa (6 November 2014). "Netflix's "Virunga" uncovers Congo's fight to protect resources". Reuters. Los Angeles. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  63. ^ Bella, T. (2021). "Ndakasi, Beloved Mountain Gorilla of Photobomb Fame, dies". Washington Post.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Virunga National Park.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Virunga National Park.
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