Elie Mundima

Category: Out on Patrol | Date: Mar 19 2007 | By: admin

While out on patrol we found this sign put up by local people.

It reads that the work of ICCN takes away people’s rights to cultivate the land within the park.

Our job is about finding the right balance between the wildlife and the communities living here, and for the moment it is a daily struggle to protect the habitat of the animals of the park.

During the war, the population in and around Virunga National Park rocketed due to many displaced people coming to the area to try and make a living. This has put much pressure on the fishing communities along Lake Edward, and due to poor fishing methods they are now cultivating large amounts of land within the park. The same is also happening with other villages which border the park.

We had to remove this sign because it goes against the conservation efforts of all of us here working for the park.

Technorati : Congo, DRC, Virunga, WildlifeDirect