Virunga National Park

WWF - Action Center

Virunga National Park is home to over 700 species of bird and more than 200 species of mammal, including chimpanzees, hippos, elephants and other rare species. Virunga was the first national park in Africa to be afforded status as a World Heritage Site. The World Heritage Committee has recently expressed its “deep concern with regard to the envisaged oil prospecting projects overlapping the property”

The area where the oil exploration is due to occur once had one of the highest biomass densities of wild mammals ever recorded on Earth. Yet this wildlife has already suffered enormous pressures – with civil strife in recent years facilitating poaching and destruction of forest habitat.

Despite these challenging circumstances, the Virunga Massif – of which Virunga National Park is part – is one of the only places in the world where gorilla populations are not in steep decline, thanks to decades of conservation work by the government, local communities and conservation organizations. A recent survey revealed a 26% increase in the mountain gorilla population since the last survey in 2003. This is a remarkable achievement, particularly when considering the status of other gorilla populations – the UN recently stated that gorillas “may disappear from most of their present range in less than 10-15 years from now.”

If this development goes ahead it could not only threaten a vast array of Virunga’s wildlife and jeopardise decades of costly conservation achievement, but set a dangerous precedent that anywhere – no matter how protected or vulnerable – is fair game for exploration by oil and gas company giants.

Go sign-up the petition guys! :)