Park evaluation
At the end of November, 1996, the Regional Director of IZCN, Norbert Mushenzi, who is also the IGCP/Zaire National Representative, with support from
IGCP/Zaire, carried out an evaluation mission of the Parc National des Virunga to determine the impact of the refugees and the fighting on the habitat
within the park. Specific attention was paid to the Southern Sector of the park where the gorillas are located. This evaluation yielded the following:
- Tragically, the deaths of of one IZCN personnel from PNVi in the Southern Sector, and four in the Central Sector, have been confirmed. In addition,
other park staff are still missing, having fled the fighting.
- IGCP confirmed that most of the park's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed. Within the Southern Sector, all infrastructure has been
ransacked and destroyed, and all vehicles and VHF radio equipment have been stolen.
- All habituated gorillas have been located, except for the Luwawa group. All the habituated groups seem to be unharmed.
- There is currently little or no information on the status of the wild gorilla groups. Signs of extensive poaching in the park culminated in a recent
finding of meat from a silverback gorilla in an open-air market in Bukavu. It has been confirmed, however, that the silverback was an Eastern Lowland
gorilla from Kahuzi-Biega National Park.
- Despite a significant decrease in the pressure being placed on the park's Southern Sector as a result of the refugees moving away from the parks
borders, protection of the park is still extremely difficult for IZCN because of damage to infrastructure, a severe lack of funds and continued political
insecurity. Poaching in the park's Central Sector has unfortunately increased dramatically. Wildlife in the savanna ecosystem is being systematically
eliminated through poaching for food.
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