VIRUNGA NATIONAL PARK WORLD HERITAGE SITE, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO Designated a World Heritage Site in 1979 Put onto List of World Heritage in Danger: 1994

WHY IS THIS A WORLD HERITAGE SITE?

Virunga National Park (covering an area of 790,000 ha) consists of an outstanding diversity of habitats, ranging from swamps and steppes to the snowfields of Rwenzori at an altitude of over 5000m, and from lava plains to the savannahs on the slopes of volcanoes. Mountain gorillas are found in the park, some 20,000 hippopotamuses live in the rivers and birds from Siberia spend the winter there.

Virunga National Park is famous for its chain of active volcanoes and the greatest diversity of habitats of any park in Africa. There are a range of habitats from steppes, savannas and lava plains, swamps, lowland and mountainous forests and icefields of the Ruwenzori mountains, which culminate in peaks above 5000m. The great diversity of habitats supports a rich range of animals and plants including endemic as well as rare and globally endangered species, such as the mountain gorilla. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO VIRUNGA NATIONAL PAR K WORLD HERITAGE SITE Flag of the Democratic Republic of Congo

DR Congo rebel threat to gorillas BBC News, Monday, 21 May 2007

Rebels have attacked a nature reserve in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, killing a ranger and critically injuring three, say conservationists.

Some 200 Mai Mai militia fighters attacked three observation posts in the Virunga National Park. They are threatening to kill a rare group of mountain gorillas if the authorities come after them. WildlifeDirect director Emmanuel de Merode said the Mai Mai attack may be a reprisal for a government clampdown.

"Our understanding is that this was a deliberate attack on the Congolese wildlife authorities," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa.

Almost 100 rangers in Virunga have died protecting the gorillas. Hutu rebels and Mai Mai fighters have sought sanctuary in recent years in the park, during a long conflict that has led to some four million deaths. But there has been a recent attempt to drive out and demobilise the remaining militias in the east.

Mr Merode said there were two important gorilla populations who have been under attack since the beginning of the war. "The efforts of the Congolese rangers to protect these have been quite successful but at a huge human cost." "Over 97 rangers have been killed in Virunga National Park since the war started in 1996," he said. Facing the future in the DRC BBC News, Friday, 7 March 2008

Virunga National Park, Africa's oldest national park, is home to an estimated 380 mountain gorillas, more than half of the apes' entire population. As well as the risk of contracting human diseases, the animals are also under threat from poaching and habitat loss.

During 2007, 10 of the great apes were killed, including the execution-style shooting of five members of the Rugendo family in July.

Rangers continue to seize illegal charcoal leaving the area Rangers believe illegal charcoal traders were behind the killings because the corpses were left where they fell and there is a huge demand for the fuel, which is the main energy source for local communities.

If left unchecked, conservation groups say only 10% of the animal's existing habitat will remain in 20 years time.

In an effort to increase protection of the gorillas, the governments of DR Congo, Rwanda and Uganda joined forces in February and launched a conservation plan to halt the destruction of the region's forests.

The 10-year project focuses on the tropical mountain forests that straddle the borders of the three nations.

Although ICCN rangers are unable to enter Virunga's Gorilla Sector, with the help of UN forces, they have had a number of recent successes in stopping illegal charcoal shipments leaving the area.

International conservation groups are currently discussing the possibility of organising a meeting between rebel commanders, the UN and conservation bodies, with the aim of reaching an agreement acceptable to all sides.

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