Virunga National Park
Virunga National Park, established in 1925 as Africa's first national park, covers an area of 790,000 hectares (3,050 square miles) within the Democratic Republic of the Congo and borders Uganda and Rwanda. Virunga National Park was initially called Albert National Park until 1969 in recognition of its founder, King Albert I of Belgium.
Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, Virunga National Park contains a plethora of diverse habitats and landscapes including forests, savannas, lava plains, swamps, erosion valleys, active volcanoes, and the glaciated peaks of the Rwenzori Mountains.
The park's rivers are home to some of the largest concentrations of wild animals in Africa, such as elephants, hippopotamuses, buffalos, various antelope species, defassa waterbucks, warthogs, lions, and various monkey species. Virunga is also home to a quarter of the world's last remaining mountain gorillas.
For the purposes of our study, we have divided Virunga National Park into three study areas:
Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, Virunga National Park contains a plethora of diverse habitats and landscapes including forests, savannas, lava plains, swamps, erosion valleys, active volcanoes, and the glaciated peaks of the Rwenzori Mountains.
The park's rivers are home to some of the largest concentrations of wild animals in Africa, such as elephants, hippopotamuses, buffalos, various antelope species, defassa waterbucks, warthogs, lions, and various monkey species. Virunga is also home to a quarter of the world's last remaining mountain gorillas.
For the purposes of our study, we have divided Virunga National Park into three study areas:
- The Northern Study Area contains the Semliki River, which flows north from Lake Edward to Lake Albert and carries snowmelt from the Rwenzori Mountains. The Semliki River alluvial plains are home to an abundance of wildlife such as okapis, hippopotamuses, and crocodiles.
- The Central Study Area contains Lake Edward and the Rwenzori Mountains. Lake Edward is home to numerous fish and bird species as well as a large hippo population. Many local residents rely on fishing in Lake Edward for their livelihoods. The permanent snowfields of Rwenzori Mountains reach an altitude of over 5,000 meters (16,400 feet). Lake Edward is part of the Nile River system. In fact, snowmelt from the Rwenzori Mountains is one of the primary sources of the Nile River.
- The Southern Study Area is home to the famous mountain gorillas that live in the dense forest covers on the slopes of the dormant Mikeno volcano (4,380 meters/14,557 feet). Because of the mountain gorillas and chimpanzees, this area experiences the most tourism. We discuss the environmental impacts and economic gains the region has experienced from tourism in our study.
Threats
Threats to the biodiversity of Virunga National Park include:
Refugees and the local human population
When the park was first established, the local human population was negligible. However, over the past 20 years, war and violence have caused millions of refugees to build permanent settlements within the park. The Rwandan civil war in 1994 created 1.5 to 2 million refugees, most of whom fled towards the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Draulans, 2002). The sudden increase of the human population has led to rapid deforestation, illegal poaching, charcoal production, mining, and other natural resource extraction.
On July 22, 2007, a family of twelve mountain gorillas was hunted down on the slopes of the Mikeno volcano by hunters armed with automatic weapons (Jenkins, 2008). In a two month period, seven mountain gorillas in Virunga were killed by humans involved in charcoal production. Because Virunga National Park was founded to protect the mountain gorillas, the killers' motivation was to eliminate the mountain gorillas so that Virunga would no longer be a protected national park.
Soldiers
The presence of soldiers in Virunga National Park contributes to the instability of the region. Large areas of the park are controlled by rebel soldiers, armed refugees, or criminals. Rebel soldiers may depend on local tribes for support, and may pay them in weapons and ammunition in return. Additionally, profits from illegal natural resource extraction are used to fund war efforts.
When the park was first established, the local human population was negligible. However, over the past 20 years, war and violence have caused millions of refugees to build permanent settlements within the park. The Rwandan civil war in 1994 created 1.5 to 2 million refugees, most of whom fled towards the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Draulans, 2002). The sudden increase of the human population has led to rapid deforestation, illegal poaching, charcoal production, mining, and other natural resource extraction.
On July 22, 2007, a family of twelve mountain gorillas was hunted down on the slopes of the Mikeno volcano by hunters armed with automatic weapons (Jenkins, 2008). In a two month period, seven mountain gorillas in Virunga were killed by humans involved in charcoal production. Because Virunga National Park was founded to protect the mountain gorillas, the killers' motivation was to eliminate the mountain gorillas so that Virunga would no longer be a protected national park.
Soldiers
The presence of soldiers in Virunga National Park contributes to the instability of the region. Large areas of the park are controlled by rebel soldiers, armed refugees, or criminals. Rebel soldiers may depend on local tribes for support, and may pay them in weapons and ammunition in return. Additionally, profits from illegal natural resource extraction are used to fund war efforts.
Oil exploration
Although the Middle East contains the majority of known global oil reserves, dependence on the Middle East is politically undesirable to the US and Western Europe. Therefore, Western powers have turned to Africa as the new frontier for oil exploration. Africa currently provides 11% of world oil production, 14.3% of US oil imports, and 23.1% of Western Europe's oil imports (Johnson, 2003). The Democratic Republic of the Congo has been a minor player in African oil production, but oil explorers estimate that large reserves lie beneath the Albertine Rift, which passes through Virunga National Park. International companies have acquired exploration licenses in the remote regions of the Congo in hopes of selling them for profit when global oil demand rises. According to the World Wildlife Fund, oil concessions cover 85% of Virunga National Park.
On October 7, 2013, the World Wildlife Fund officially filed an OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) complaint against UK oil company Soco International based on their conduct in Virunga National Park. The complaint alleges that Soco violated several OECD guidelines and international treaties to protect the environment. Additionally, Soco failed to warn local residents about potential negative consequences of their oil exploration, such as the risk of water contamination and disturbances to fish reproduction (Rosenfeld, 2013).
Tourism
Many tourists visit the southern region of Virunga National Park to see the critically endangered mountain gorillas. Although tourism is hugely beneficial for many developing countries, there are several negative consequences of tourism as well. Tourists leave behind huge amounts of trash and waste. Tour operators may build settlements that encroach upon the mountain gorilla's natural habitat because tourists want to be near them. Our study will analyze the land cover changes that have occurred in regions with high tourist activity.
Although the Middle East contains the majority of known global oil reserves, dependence on the Middle East is politically undesirable to the US and Western Europe. Therefore, Western powers have turned to Africa as the new frontier for oil exploration. Africa currently provides 11% of world oil production, 14.3% of US oil imports, and 23.1% of Western Europe's oil imports (Johnson, 2003). The Democratic Republic of the Congo has been a minor player in African oil production, but oil explorers estimate that large reserves lie beneath the Albertine Rift, which passes through Virunga National Park. International companies have acquired exploration licenses in the remote regions of the Congo in hopes of selling them for profit when global oil demand rises. According to the World Wildlife Fund, oil concessions cover 85% of Virunga National Park.
On October 7, 2013, the World Wildlife Fund officially filed an OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) complaint against UK oil company Soco International based on their conduct in Virunga National Park. The complaint alleges that Soco violated several OECD guidelines and international treaties to protect the environment. Additionally, Soco failed to warn local residents about potential negative consequences of their oil exploration, such as the risk of water contamination and disturbances to fish reproduction (Rosenfeld, 2013).
Tourism
Many tourists visit the southern region of Virunga National Park to see the critically endangered mountain gorillas. Although tourism is hugely beneficial for many developing countries, there are several negative consequences of tourism as well. Tourists leave behind huge amounts of trash and waste. Tour operators may build settlements that encroach upon the mountain gorilla's natural habitat because tourists want to be near them. Our study will analyze the land cover changes that have occurred in regions with high tourist activity.