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source:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/environm...1194117949077.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
If the people of Congo save the mountain gorilla, might the gorilla
return the favour?
That is the hope of environmental activists, who realise that wildlife
conservation and tourism could be the key to survival for people as
well as animals in a part of Africa where conflict has been the norm.
Mountain gorillas are gentle giants that range across the borders of
Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa. These
primates are considered extremely endangered, with fewer than 720 in
existence.
After a decade of relative calm for these animals - the same cannot be
said of the humans around them - wildlife officials report at least 10
have been killed this year.
Photographs documenting the slaughter are heartbreaking, mostly
because of the peaceful, human-like expressions the dead gorillas
wear.
These pictures are part of the tool kit brought to the United States
by Arthur Mugisha, a former game warden in Uganda and now manager of
the International Gorilla Conservation Programme.
Mugisha acknowledged that the people of Congo can well survive without
the mountain gorilla, even though they might not survive the
continuing conflict between government forces and rebels in the
Virunga National Forest.
But he said the plight of the gorillas was one way to focus attention
on the plight of the humans.
"If we were not talking about gorillas ... the story would be very
different," Mugisha said. "It would be another group of people who are
suffering and dying, and the world continues."
No one really knows why mountain gorillas are being killed now, though
jealousy might play a role, said Craig Sholley of the African Wildlife
Foundation.
In this area of rich biodiversity, Uganda and Rwanda have been able to
capitalise on gorilla tourism, Sholley said, with tourist permits
alone accounting for about $15 million in annual revenue.
The Democratic Republic of Congo's unstable Government has been unable
to do the same.
"Folks in Congo are taking a look at the successful situation in
Rwanda and Uganda, which have revitalised over the last several years,
and they're jealous," Sholley said. "A degree of jealousy has led to a
degree of institutional breakdown that is causing problems in terms of
enforcement on the ground."
Personal animosity might also be a factor, Mugisha said, with gorilla
killings becoming a way to settle scores against those charged with
protecting the creatures.
What is clear is that fighting between Congolese military and rebels
in the park has left gorillas unprotected as park rangers and
civilians flee from violence.
"They live hour by hour, not even day by day, because any time they
can die," Mugisha said of the people living in the area.
"These are communities that are looking for livelihood, but they are
not sure if they will be able to see tomorrow, so it's a very
frustrating and empty life that they are living."
The possibility for change might lie in saving the gorillas and their
environment, Mugisha said. His program works to make sure that,
through the gunfire, wildlife professionals are still able to go into
the gorilla areas to do their jobs.
The program also encourages such activities as bee-keeping and
mushroom cultivation that individual families can do in and around
their homes and that can bring in money.
A trans-boundary strategy to protect mountain gorillas has been
supported by the political powers in Democratic Republic of Congo,
Uganda and Rwanda, he said. It lets wildlife organisations such as
Mugisha's take a neutral stance to warfare while trying to preserve
gorilla populations.
It also aims to save the forests where the gorillas live, rather than
clearing the trees for cropland.
For those whose fields lie just outside the forest, the gorillas can
be a nuisance. So Mugisha and others have set up Human Gorilla
Conflict Organisations - like neighborhood watch groups, except,
instead of keeping the area clear of crime, they aim to keep it clear
of crop-raiding mountain gorillas.
"These gorillas are intelligent and they know they are crop-raiding,"
Mugisha said. "So when there is an organised group that comes, we can
actually chase them without harming them."
Though they can appear threatening and are certainly large and strong,
mountain gorillas are very timid, Sholley said.
"If you put a force of 10 people between them and the gardens, the
gorillas are in no way, shape or form going to go into the gardens,"
Sholley said.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/environm...1194117949077.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
If the people of Congo save the mountain gorilla, might the gorilla
return the favour?
That is the hope of environmental activists, who realise that wildlife
conservation and tourism could be the key to survival for people as
well as animals in a part of Africa where conflict has been the norm.
Mountain gorillas are gentle giants that range across the borders of
Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa. These
primates are considered extremely endangered, with fewer than 720 in
existence.
After a decade of relative calm for these animals - the same cannot be
said of the humans around them - wildlife officials report at least 10
have been killed this year.
Photographs documenting the slaughter are heartbreaking, mostly
because of the peaceful, human-like expressions the dead gorillas
wear.
These pictures are part of the tool kit brought to the United States
by Arthur Mugisha, a former game warden in Uganda and now manager of
the International Gorilla Conservation Programme.
Mugisha acknowledged that the people of Congo can well survive without
the mountain gorilla, even though they might not survive the
continuing conflict between government forces and rebels in the
Virunga National Forest.
But he said the plight of the gorillas was one way to focus attention
on the plight of the humans.
"If we were not talking about gorillas ... the story would be very
different," Mugisha said. "It would be another group of people who are
suffering and dying, and the world continues."
No one really knows why mountain gorillas are being killed now, though
jealousy might play a role, said Craig Sholley of the African Wildlife
Foundation.
In this area of rich biodiversity, Uganda and Rwanda have been able to
capitalise on gorilla tourism, Sholley said, with tourist permits
alone accounting for about $15 million in annual revenue.
The Democratic Republic of Congo's unstable Government has been unable
to do the same.
"Folks in Congo are taking a look at the successful situation in
Rwanda and Uganda, which have revitalised over the last several years,
and they're jealous," Sholley said. "A degree of jealousy has led to a
degree of institutional breakdown that is causing problems in terms of
enforcement on the ground."
Personal animosity might also be a factor, Mugisha said, with gorilla
killings becoming a way to settle scores against those charged with
protecting the creatures.
What is clear is that fighting between Congolese military and rebels
in the park has left gorillas unprotected as park rangers and
civilians flee from violence.
"They live hour by hour, not even day by day, because any time they
can die," Mugisha said of the people living in the area.
"These are communities that are looking for livelihood, but they are
not sure if they will be able to see tomorrow, so it's a very
frustrating and empty life that they are living."
The possibility for change might lie in saving the gorillas and their
environment, Mugisha said. His program works to make sure that,
through the gunfire, wildlife professionals are still able to go into
the gorilla areas to do their jobs.
The program also encourages such activities as bee-keeping and
mushroom cultivation that individual families can do in and around
their homes and that can bring in money.
A trans-boundary strategy to protect mountain gorillas has been
supported by the political powers in Democratic Republic of Congo,
Uganda and Rwanda, he said. It lets wildlife organisations such as
Mugisha's take a neutral stance to warfare while trying to preserve
gorilla populations.
It also aims to save the forests where the gorillas live, rather than
clearing the trees for cropland.
For those whose fields lie just outside the forest, the gorillas can
be a nuisance. So Mugisha and others have set up Human Gorilla
Conflict Organisations - like neighborhood watch groups, except,
instead of keeping the area clear of crime, they aim to keep it clear
of crop-raiding mountain gorillas.
"These gorillas are intelligent and they know they are crop-raiding,"
Mugisha said. "So when there is an organised group that comes, we can
actually chase them without harming them."
Though they can appear threatening and are certainly large and strong,
mountain gorillas are very timid, Sholley said.
"If you put a force of 10 people between them and the gardens, the
gorillas are in no way, shape or form going to go into the gardens,"
Sholley said.