Virunga: God Always Forgives, We Forgive Sometimes, but Nature Never Forgives

This is the time to take the decisive step, to move from using and misusing nature to contemplating it. We have lost the contemplative dimension; we have to get it back at this time. Excerpt from “Pope Francis says pandemic can be a ‘place of conversion’” by Austen Ivereigh  I was curious to know if the Pope… Read More

Local Concerns about the Increased Insecurity In and Around Virunga National Park

More than 20 local civil society groups in North Kivu have expressed their concerns with regard to the surge of insecurity in and around Virunga National Park. It is with deep consternation that we learned today, Thursday, 24 April 2020, of the attack on a convoy of the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature… Read More

Why Threatened and Endangered Animals May Become Additional Casualties of the Pandemic

Food for thoughts from Yashar Ali … Sadly, I’ve been expecting this. Soon, I’ll be sharing what I’m doing to help mitigate this crisis Source: NYTimes Threatened and endangered animals may become additional casualties of the pandemic This story is framed around how the loss of billions of tourism revenue is impacting the protection of… Read More

Virunga: How a Park on the Verge of Collapse Became Hope for People and Nature

The birth of a small mountain gorilla again on January 8, the very first for 2020, was celebrated as a big event. This is proof of the restoration of ecosystems and the sustainable development of natural resources in this protected area declared “world heritage of humanity” and which covers 8,000 km². Virunga National Park (ViNP)… Read More

1.000 Reasons to Save Murchison Falls National Park

In Uganda, In Uganda, Murchison Falls is Number 1 China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) is one of the largest construction groups in the world. In Uganda, it built the 40-kilometer expressway between Entebbe Airport and the capital city, Kampala. The Export Import Bank of China is involved in the destruction of the Murchison Falls National… Read More

DRC: Oil Exploitation Threatens Virunga and Salonga Parks

A petition gathering more than 23,000 signatures opposes the exploitation of oil in Virunga and Salonga parks. Communities bordering Virunga Park continue to raise awareness about any oil exploitation initiative in this UNESCO World Heritage Park. Already in September 2018, they had sent to the Presidency of the Republic, a petition signed by over 23,000… Read More

Virunga Rangers Project: Meet the Heroes Who Risk their Lives to Protect the Park and Communities

Visit Virunga National Park New Website and Page dedicated to the Ranger Project & DONATE ! Here below a small preview: Virunga’s Rangers stand fearlessly on the frontline of conservation for the protection of the park’s wildlife, natural resources, and for the surrounding communities. They routinely face harsh physical conditions, injury, or even death. In the… Read More

National Geographic and Virunga: Inside the Fight to Save One of the World’s Most Dangerous Parks

Virunga, one of the wonders of Africa, is home to rare gorillas—and plagued by violence and economic tension. BY ROBERT DRAPER PHOTOGRAPHS BY BRENT STIRTON This story appears in the July 2016 issue of National Geographic magazine. When the ranger studied the ragtag crew he was supervising, seven young men repairing a rugged road that… Read More

Women for Virunga: “We cannot tire or give up. We owe it to the present and future generations of all species to rise up and walk”

“We humans are only part of the ecosystem and if we kill part of the system we are killing ourselves, that is what we need to understand, that this ecosystem must remain as it is, it must be sustained, because in its survival depends our own” – Wangari Maathai Wangari Maathai (1940–2011) was the founder… Read More

Fishers Unite: Fish not Oil in Virunga and Lake Edward

Fishers Unite! All Pictures from Enanga.org It is abnormal for a fisher or fishing community to depend on imported fish for protein. It is an unhappy situation when an experienced fisherman returns from a fishing trip with only flotsam or other debris, including plastics, in the nets. Unfortunately, this is the reality facing fishers in… Read More

Virunga: African Heritage and its Sustainable Development

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

Linking Tourism and Conservation in Virunga: One of the Planets Hotspots!

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