Congo Kinshasa
DRC: Virunga Park besieged by displaced

afrol News, 23 May - The famous Virunga National Park in eastern Congo Kinshasa (DRC) has received a massive influx of internally displaced people over the last months. The Congolese humanitarian crisis is taking its toll on the continent's most exposed World Heritage Site.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) this week urged the government in Goma to "stop the settlement of displaced people in Virunga National Park in order to halt the massive destruction of this World Heritage Site." WWF is asking the Goma authorities to identify alternative land for the uprooted communities currently living in the park.

Virunga National Park, located in the DRC, has been a target for large numbers of displaced and landless people, especially in the past three months, according to information gathered by the environmental group. The large number of displaced reflects the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the eastern part of Congo Kinshasa.

The latest reports from the Congolese protected area authority, the Institut Congolais de Conservation du Nature (ICCN), confirm the WWF's concerns. ICCN reports that only this month there have been both increased settlements and increased development of infrastructure to service these people. The agency reported a convoy of 15 lorries seen ferrying hundreds of heads of cattle into the park. In addition, three water points and two dispensaries have been constructed within the park and commissioned officially, according to ICCN.

The Congolese agency reports that more than 15,000 people have been settled in the park since July 2000. WWF and other partners are part of a joint committee established by the government in March 2001 to address this problem. "WWF is asking humanitarian and development organisations working in affected areas within the park to relocate social amenities and other infrastructure developments outside the park," the group said in a statement.

- Activities within the park this month threaten to undermine not only conservation efforts, but also the park's potential and opportunities for sustainable development, WWF reports from its Eastern Africa office. "Large-scale forest clearance is occurring to provide land for settlement, farming, and livestock pastures." 

- WWF urgently appeals to the DRC Goma government to stop encroachment in Virunga National Park by allocating land outside important conservation sites to displaced persons, says Marc Languy, WWF's Albertine Rift Ecoregion Coordinator.

Virunga National Park was established in 1925 as Africa's first protected area. It was designated a World Heritage Site in 1979 and in 1994 was listed as being in danger. WWF Eastern Africa has been implementing conservation activities to safeguard the unique resources of this park for more than 15 years.

Sources: Based on WWF and afrol archives

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