The Battle for Virunga's Forests: Rangers Reclaim another Sector of the Park from Armed Criminals.

This film shows Virunga National Park Rangers patrolling an area of the park that had recently been occupied by an armed gang heavily involved in the illegal production of charcoal. From this film you can get an idea of the size, diversity and beauty of the park, and the scale of the challenges facing the people charged with protecting it.

Virunga is home to many armed groups. The park is in the eastern corner of the DRC and shares porous borders with both Rwanda and Uganda. So this deserted, mountainous forest forms a natural sanctuary for the losers of the numerous armed struggles that have beset all three countries. Once they have taken control of a part of the park these gangs turn large profits from the desperation of the millions of people who live in poverty in and around the city of Goma, which is just to the south of the park. They tax the illegal production of charcoal and the trade in bush meat. By their presence and their actions they further criminalise Congo's society and brutalise her people. The damage they do to the park is almost immeasurable.

To find out more about the fight to save Africa's biological heritage from annihilation, and to see how you can help, please visit http://www.gorillacd.org.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• 'Virunga National Park'
• DRC
• Congo
• 'Kivu War'
• 'Rwandan Genocide'
• 'African Conservation'
• 'Park Rangers'
• 'Charcoal production'
• deforestation
• poverty
• poaching
• 'mountain gorilla'
• okapi
• hippo
• elephant.