SAVE VIRUNGA
Stop Oil Exploration in Africa's Oldest National Park
Home to rare and endangered species, the Congo’s national parks are also sites of human conflict. Without addressing the material drivers behind ecological degradation, conservation risks a losing battle. For Virunga, this was not an option– as Africa’s oldest national park, tackling socio-economic challenges facing local populations was a necessity in preserving its natural heritage.… Read More
Peace and Nature – Exhibiting and awarding children’s artwork On the 20th anniversary of the Peace Pals Artworks Exhibition, CEC celebrated that #NatureForAll was chosen for the theme of the artworks and that 4000 entries arrived in this topic. The colourful vision of nature visualized by children is remarkable, and the emotional and meaningful connection to… Read More
Formal recognition would help protect those who increasingly risk their lives to defend the land, water, forests and wildlife, says the UN special rapporteur on human rights and the environment. By Jonathan Watts Global environment editor It is time for the United Nations to formally recognise the right to a healthy environment, according to the… Read More
The subject of African heritage and its sustainable development – or African heritage and sustainable development – has become one of the most discussed issues of late, both within and outside the continent. The discussion has not been confined only to heritage practitioners but has traversed the traditional boundaries, bringing in the practitioners, academicians, communities,… Read More
It’s not just the animals that are the victims of environmental degradation and devastation, but humans also… But not all is doom and gloom. Once up a time, we in the West had these animals where we lived. We blew it, wiped them out, but we still have a chance to protect and preserve the… Read More
On the edge of the DRC is a place where nature puts on such a show, it ignites passions in rangers and visitors beyond compare. Welcome to Virunga National Park, home to more species of wildlife than any other reserve in Africa. by Scott Ramsay ‘You’re still alive!’ laughed Daniel Hanamali, our local guide. We’d… Read More
Marginalised for decades, Pygmy peoples are fighting for recognition and land rights. Even the term ‘pygmy’ is laced with historical racism and prejudice; they are not treated as equal citizens in their home country. At the heart of pygmy culture is their forest, central to their spiritual beliefs, and ancestral heritage it is also their source… Read More
Virunga was the first national park on the continent of Africa. Today the Virunga National Park of the DR Congo is part of a three countries’ (including Rwanda and Uganda) group of protected areas covering the Virunga mountains, one of the planets hotspots with mountain gorillas as flag-ship species. For much of its long history,… Read More
Some say the planet is sick and humans are the virus, it is undeniably we as a species have destroyed this beautiful planet at an alarming rate. Putting aside global warming and climate change, no species is as greedy as the human race, we take more than we need and leaves a trail of destruction.… Read More
Virunga National Park was created in 1925, contained within 790,000 hectares the greatest biological diversity of any park in Africa: from steppes, savannas and lava plains, swamps, lowland and montane forests to volcanoes and the unique giant herbs and snowfields of Rwenzori over 5,000m high. Thousands of hippopotamuses lived in its rivers, its mountains are a… Read More
Virunga National Park is a major source of revenue for armed groups that exploit illegally its resources such as wildlife, minerals and charcoal. The trafficking of all these natural resources remains one of the underlying causes of instability in Eastern DR-Congo and a curse for nature and people. — Diamonds and gold — vast natural resources… Read More
Read here UNEP’s blog where Emmanuel de Merode writes about the work being done in Virunga to end wildlife crime through development. In a seemingly dark and tumultuous world, I find the greatest beacon of hope here in the Virunga National Park, eastern Congo. Hope that, through the efforts of those working to protect the… Read More
