-
Period: to
Virunga gets organised
In the first 35 years, poaching was kept to a minimum and sustainable tourism thrived due to the work of a large body of hand-picked Congolese rangers and dedicated wardens. Land remuneration and the use of park resources, such as fishing and hunting by the local population, became an ever-increasing problem. -
Virunga`s downfall
In 1960 Belgium granted the Congo independence. This unfortunately for the congo was the beginning of the end. The Congo was unable to support conservation and growth of the park sustainably whilst being independent. -
A light of Hope
It wasn’t until 1969 when President Mobutu began to take a personal interest in conservation, that the park was revived. In the process, it was renamed Virunga National Park and the first Congolese Wildlife Authority was established. Institut Congolais pour le Conservation de la Nature or ICCN, is still in charge of Congo’s protected areas to this day. -
UNESCO
UNESCO declared the park as a world heritage area -
Period: to
working well
Virunga fared well for the better part of the 1970s. Foreign investment helped improve the park’s infrastructure and training facilities, and the park became a popular destination for tourists. During this period, Virunga welcomed an average of 6500 visitors per year. In 1979, UNESCO designated the park as a World Heritage Site. -
Period: to
Crisis
Over the twenty-five years that followed, the park staff endured an almost uninterrupted series of trials that included a refugee crisis from the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, which contributed to the severe destruction of park forests, and the proliferation of armed militias throughout the park. The Kivu War, the most recent of Congo’s conflicts, centered exactly on the park, with rebel forces occupying the park headquarters and evicting the park’s staff. -
Worst year ever
2008 was the turning point of the park. They had lost all hope. Multiple rangers were have been killed and the plants and animals were in decline. Illegal activities thrived in the boundaries of the park -
Period: to
Happy days
The political situation in the DRC has changed exponentially since then. The park is back in the hands of the ICCN and enjoying the greatest resurgence of tourism and development in its history. International donors are investing in the development of the park’s infrastructure at unprecedented levels. Virunga’s management is efficient and transparent, and morale among the rangers is at an all-time -
Source
All information sourced from Virunga National Park https://virunga.org