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Supporting National Park Management in Africa
Virunga National Park is the oldest Park in Africa, contains the greatest range of habitats of any park in Africa and is rich in biological diversity. However, in 1994 it was listed as a World Heritage Site in Danger.
© Rob PoppeFor the last 30 years, conservation management in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been severely constrained by three successive decades of dictatorial rule, economic collapse, and armed conflict. Virunga National Park is situated in eastern DRC, mostly in the Kivu Province which has had to cope with an influx of nearly 2 million refugees. As a result, the Park limits have been eroded, permanent settlements (fisheries, pastoralists, agriculturalists) within the park have increased, and the military have set up camps. This has led to massive deforestation and poaching.
While the national wildlife authority – the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN) - has remained committed to the Parks’ conservation, its management capacity has been severely hampered. Many Park rangers were killed, the north and centre of the Park were abandoned, and most staff were unpaid, lacked the means to patrol, suffered from low morale and little technical support, or training.
Since 2001, ZSL has been committed to assisting ICCN, through funds from the Darwin Initiative, the European Union, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Our key activities in Virunga National Park include rehabilitating infrastructure, supporting rangers and patrols, and training rangers.
Through the combined efforts of NGO’s, the ICCN, and other partners, we hope that the integrity of Virunga National Park can be restored. The Park’s biological riches can make a vital economic contribution to development and positive results from all conservation efforts are beginning to emerge.
