Enquiries lead by Congolese Wilidlife Authority ICCN has established that the six elephant poachers caught Sunday were not FDLR as I wrote. They are local villagers hired by some corrupted Congolese Army Officers. They are from Kibirizi, a village at 15 km in the Western side of Rwindi, the ICCN HQ of the central sector of Virunga National Park. The one in yellow T-Shirt is the shooter.

local villagers from Kibirizi who shot elephant

They shot the elephant just 200 m near a position of the FARDC in Kahunga. Being in the forest, they didn’t realize that they were just near an Army position. That is the reason they were caught. The total number of elephants killed might be more than 14 because some elephants shot far in the bush couldn’t be recorded. In the central sector, ICCN has lost the control of large Mammals habitat occupied by FDLR-Interahamwe (Rwandan Militias). Also, two brigades of the Army (9^th and 15^th) are deployed in that sector. In these conditions, wildlife rangers have problems to put an end to this poaching.  The poachers are still in the hands of the 9^th Brigade in Rwindi. Conservationists should keep a close eye to make sure the poachers are prosecuted. Tusks have been collected by ICCN HQ in Goma.

help us and share this

This is Ephrem. During the last two weeks, the Virunga National Park has lost 14 elephants and 2 hippos as recorded below. All the park has been affected especially the central sector: Rwindi and Rutshuru where 12 elephants have been recorded. The main responsible of this killing are Rwanda militias (FDLR): 5 elephants, Congolese militias (PARECO): 3 elephants and Congolese soldiers (FARDC): 5. A Congolese high Commander has recently told to soldiers that poaching is a crime that is going to be severely punished.

help us and share this

ICCN advanced force joins forces with FARDC
There is some good new on the charcoal interdiction front. Ephrem was present a few days when Robert Muir of FZS, ICCN, and high-ranking members of FARDC
(Forces Armées de la Republic Democratic du Congo) met to work out a plan for working together to stop military involvement in the illegal charcoal trade. The FARDC Commander in Chief in Goma authorized a joint patrol with the 14 members of the Elite ranger force, led by Aloma Major. A clear order has been made to arrest all military personnel found to be involved in the illegal charcoal trade. Apparently, the original edict to stop military involvement, mentioned in one of my recent posts, is starting to have an impact. Ephrem reports that no military trucks have crossed the checkpoint during the three last days.

Joining forces: Rob Muir of FZS meets with High Commanders of FARDC and ICCN Commanders at a meeting in Kibati


Major Poka briefing ICCN Advanced Force, Kibati patrol post rangers, and Military Police

Working to implement the decision to set up joint FARDC and ICCN patrols to stop military involvement in the illegal charcoal trade

Activity in Eastern Virunga NP
The charcoal traffic to Rwanda has also been slowed thanks to a deployment of soldiers along Congolese boarder. Part of this surge in troop levels was due to U.S. President Bush’s visit to Rwanda. It is interesting to note that Bush talked about Darfur, but made no mention of the DRC and the loss of 5.5 million lives since 1998, despite being virtually next door. In addition to transporting charcoal to Rwanda, traffickers also act as mail carriers, ferrying mail between FDLR rebels and their friends and relatives in Rwanda. The FDLR (Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda) or Interahamwe has been based in eastern Congo since they were run out of Rwanda after the 1994 genocide.

Activity in Southern and Western Virunga NP
Because of the increased interdiction effort in the Nyamulagira sector on the eastern side of Virunga NP, people are now cutting more charcoal on the southern and western side. While the peace agreement was being forged in Goma, there was no military deployment in the park, so the odd adage, “While the cat is away, the mice will play,” applied perfectly. In this area, though, these new arrivals have to contend with Laurent Nkunda’s rebels who control these sectors and who are involved in illegal charcoal production themselves.

Caught: This trucker tried to hide charcoal under a load of potatoes

help us and share this

This is quickly becoming the slogan for the fundraiser that I am heading up in Boulder, Colorado. More and more, it is becoming clear that without an alternative to charcoal, it is going to be very difficult to save the mountain gorillas of the Congo. I want to talk more about this, but first, I’d like to address your comments from the last post.

“Can the Elite Rangers help the other rangers enter the park to protect the mountain gorillas?
At this time, the answer is, no. Despite being highly trained and effective, the Elite force is massively outnumbered and outgunned by the rebels. Going head to head with the rebels would only start a war within a war, and it would be a war the rangers would die fighting. The only viable path to getting the rangers back into the Virunga NP is negotiation. It is going to take international pressure and the UN to uphold the cease-fire to make the return of the rangers possible.

With ICCN’s Nobert Mushenzi essentially being denied access to the park by a former ranger and now rebel, who sees himself as the Director of National Parks for rebel held territories, where is the hope?
It was clearly a shock for Mushenzi and his rangers to be denied access to the gorillas, given the cease-fire and their UN escort. This is terrible news, but I think there is reason for optimism. Nkunda, the rebel leader, seems to realize that the mountain gorillas are worth more to them alive than dead. As was pointed out in the Gorilla Protection blog, there are reports of the rebels taking tourists, coming from Rwanda, to see the gorillas. While the international community is working to get the rebels to lay down their weapons and leave the park, it is good news that the rebels see a reason not to kill the mountain gorillas for bushmeat, target practice, or to clear the way to make more charcoal.

Doesn’t the DRC government value the gorillas? Don’t they know that the governments of Rwanda and Uganda are making significant amounts of money from gorilla tourism?
I believe the DRC government is well aware of this, but unlike the governments of Rwanda and Uganda, the DRC governing body doesn’t have control over all of its territories, namely the Virunga NP. Nor do the various arms of government function as a unified body that obeys its own rules and regulations. Once the rebels agree to lay down their arms and leave the park, and the army shifts from running illegal charcoal to enforcing existing laws to shut down the illegal trade, I believe there will be the possibility of a Rwandan or Ugandan-style gorilla eco-tourism industry.

The Boulder Fundraiser
I’ve never put one on before, but on March 5th, I’ll be giving it a “go”. As a volunteer half way around the world from the Congo, this seemed like a great way to make a contribution. “Mountain Gorillas at the Brink of Extinction: Boulder Throws a Vital Lifeline”, is the name of the event and it is fast becoming a reality thanks to the Boulder Highland City Club’s generous sponsorship and their tireless GM, Douglas Scheffer. Behind the scenes at WildlifeDirect, Virginia Echavarria has been pulling all of the presentation materials together and has been infecting me with her boundless enthusiasm. And then there are the friends, and friends of friends, that are helping out… Our goal is to raise $30,000, but we all believe we can surpass that mark. I will let you all know how it turns out. In the meantime, please consider hosting an event like this where you live. I will gladly share all of the materials we used, including poster and invitation artwork, as well as lessons learned. Know that I am available to help you in any way I can — after March 5th.

help us and share this

Your generous donations
I would like to begin today’s post with a sincere “Thank you!” to Nancy, who donated $250, the largest donation yet to our effort to end the illegal charcoal trade. Many thanks also go out to Rodger l ($50), Theresa S ($25) and Tim M ($20). Thank you for sharing in the vision.

Charcoal traffickers get creative
Recently, Ephrem and I reported on the initial efforts to interdict illegal charcoal shipments coming out of the gorilla sector and the Virunga NP in general. At the time of our last report, efforts were going well, but the charcoal runners were starting to get creative.

Ephrem, who is based out of Mutsora, DRC recently visited the ICCN checkpoint in Kibati and found that charcoal runners have started using just about every kind of vehicle imaginable to try and smuggle their loads past the rangers. Open, flatbed trucks have now been replaced by closed container vehicles - vehicles traditionally used for imported goods. Smaller loads are being carried around checkpoints on wooden bikes called, “chukudus”.

More and more frequently, ICCN rangers are finding charcoal loads smuggled on military vehicles. Despite the edict that all military personnel are supposed to be involved in halting the illegal charcoal trade, apparently, the message hasn’t reached all levels of the military - or it is being ignored. It would be naïve to think that the new official edict would end military involvement overnight. This will probably take quite some time because most military personnel receive an extremely minimal salary. They make ends meet by “unofficial” means. There is very informative, albeit disturbing, video presentation by Markus Beasdale that describes the humanitarian crisis in the DRC and how that impacts efforts to effect positive change in Congo. After seeing this, it will be easier to understand why it will take time to convince the military to support environmental laws that protect the gorillas’ habitat. To view this, choose “Crisis in Congo” in the upper left and make sure to view the “Full mulitmedia presentation”. Be forwarned, some of the images are disturbing.

The Rwandan Factor
As if it weren’t bad enough that the Congolese are cutting down the forests within the gorillas habitat, so too are Rwandan charcoal traffickers. From Kibati to Kibumba, there are 13 footpaths used by Rwandans to enter into the Virunga NP. These are monitored by the Congolese army, but for all the wrong reasons. Instead of confiscating the illegal charcoal and arresting the smugglers, soldiers see this foot traffic as a means to supplement their minimal government wages. For a small fee, soldiers let the smugglers pass right on by. Today, as Ephrem was coming back from Rumangabo on bike, he passed a group of ten women hauling illegal charcoal Rwanda.

The smugglers (Rwandans and Congolese as well) have also changed the dynamics of selling illegal charcoal. Instead of Ruhunda being the main market, now they are selling their charcoal to Congolese displaced people in the Kibumba camp on the backside of the park, near the Rwandan border. With so many people concentrated in a small area, the traffickers can reduce the transportation costs associated with getting their illegal product to market. After all, why carry the charcoal all the way to Rwanda if they can unload it in the DRC, but a significant part of this charcoal still go to Rwanda. To make matters worse, the lucrative charcoal trade has attracted many of the refugees themselves into the business. Many of these refugees are from the villages of Rugari and Gisigari, which were attacked in September 2007 by the Tutsi rebel group led by Laurent Nkunda. Sadly, all of this translates into even more pressure on the mountain gorillas’ habitat.

Fixing the problem
To fix this problem, at least two things need to happen. First, the Congolese Army needs to enforce the new environmental laws that forbid charcoal production in the Virunga NP. Second, there needs to be cooperation between the Rwandan and Congolese governments. Unfortunately, the Rwandans have little motivation to do so because, under the current arrangement, they are getting charcoal without incurring any damage to there own forests.

The dedicated ICCN rangers
The ICCN rangers have an incredibly difficult task in stopping the illegal charcoal trade. They are taking numerous actions, such as seizing trucks at the checkpoints, patrolling along the roads trying to catch the smaller smuggling operations, patrolling within the park in order to discover charcoal production operations and supply networks, raising awareness at public meetings, and lobbying stakeholders (local and national government officials, military officers, etc.) So far, the trade around Rumangabo, on the eastern side of the Nyiragongo volcano, has been reduced, but new networks continue to pop up along the southern and western sides of the volcano. Thankfully, 16 members of ICCN’s Elite Ranger force are arriving this weekend to try and put a stop to all this new activity. We will keep you posted on their efforts.

help us and share this

Thank you Judy, for your generous $30 monthly donation to this project! Help from people like you is vital to our success. It’s great to have you on the team. I apologize, but I don’t have a definitive answer to your question about reforesting the areas in the gorilla sector that were cleared by the charcoal producers. It is safe to assume, however, that nothing is being done at this time because of the security situation. Although it is improving day to day, even the rangers have yet to return to their posts.

I just returned from another virtual visit to the Working Villages International site, specifically the Ruzizi project. What a great concept. Thanks for the heads up, Pam. As we move into the agricultural phase of this project, I hope we can leverage off of what has been learned at Ruzizi. Thank you for your offer to look into contacts with World Bank. This would be a huge leg up, as would hearing about any of the lessons learned in the process of working with them.

Dipesh, great information about the plant, moringa oleifera. I am contacting BSH to see if they have any experience with using it as a fuel. I’m also trying to find out the yield per hectare, so I can compare moringa oleifera to the other plant oil fuels. I will report back when I have an answer. This truly is an amazing plant. Virtually every part of the plant is usable.

help us and share this

In the first post of the Ending Charcoal blog, I spoke of the recent crackdown on illegally harvested charcoal coming from the Virunga NP, home to 70 of the last mountain gorillas in existence. The photos below do a good job of telling the story of the action that is being taken. This really is unprecedented action to end the illegal harvest. Thanks go out to Robert Muir and the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) for taking and sharing these great shots.

Trucks stopped at a joint Army-ICCN roadblock set up to interdict illegal charcoal shipments

Catch of the day - a truck stuffed to the gills with illegal charcoal

Confiscated charcoal being staged for shipment to refugee camps

A UNHCR Aid Truck being readied to transport confiscated charcoal to refugee camps for displaced people

Robert Muir of the Frankfurt Zoological Society overseeing the redistribution of seized charcoal at the camp for displaced people

Amidst a sea of displaced people, this couple is about to receive some of the confiscated charcoal. It was amazing how patient everybody was during this whole process

ICCN Rangers have gotten strong support for the charcoal ban at high levels in the Army. Below is a letter that was sent to the Provincial Director of ICCN by the Martial Court Commander. Essentially, the Army is letting ICCN know that is has sent out an edict that states that any soldier, policemen, or warden caught collaborating in any way with the illegal harvest of charcoal within the Virunga National Park will be prosecuted according to Ordinance 69-041. This is a good start, but it remains to be seen if anyone will actually be prosecuted. There have already been reports of Army personnel transporting the illegal charcoal themselves. From these reports, it is clear that the written legislation is only a first step.

Robert Williams

help us and share this