Virunga National Park (French: Parc national des Virunga, abbreviated as PNVi) is a national park located in the Albertine Rift Valley in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was established in 1925. The park’s elevation ranges from 680 meters (2,230 feet) in the Semliki River valley to 5,109 meters (16,762 feet) in the Rwenzori Mountains. From north to south, the park spans about 300 kilometers (190 miles), mostly along the borders with Uganda and Rwanda to the east. It covers an area of 7,800 square kilometers (3,000 square miles). The park is bordered by the Puemba River to the north and Tchegera Island in Lake Kivu to the south.

Two active volcanoes, Mount Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira, are located within the park. These volcanoes have greatly influenced the park’s varied habitats and wildlife. More than 3,000 species of plants and animals have been recorded in the park, with over 300 of these species found only in the Albertine Rift. These include the eastern gorilla (Gorilla beringei) and the golden monkey (Cercopithecus kandti).

In 1979, the park was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List because of its wide range of habitats, high level of biodiversity, and the presence of species found nowhere else, including the habitat of the rare mountain gorilla. The park has been on the List of World Heritage in Danger since 1994 due to civil unrest and increased human activity in the region.

There have been several fatal attacks in the park by rebel groups, and many park rangers have been killed.

Politics

Plans to drill for oil in the Congo Basin have existed since the 2000s. In 2021, an agreement between the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Félix Tshisekedi, and the United Kingdom’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, during the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, helped protect the area. However, by the end of July 2022, the government weakened this protection by offering oil exploration blocks for sale within the park. Companies such as Tullow Oil Plc, TotalEnergies, ENI, and China National Offshore Oil Corporation Ltd (CNOOC) expressed interest in obtaining drilling rights. Local and international groups, including Greenpeace, have raised concerns about the social and environmental harm caused by damaging the forest for oil production. People who try to raise awareness about the issue face threats and intimidation online.

History

In the early 1920s, several people who supported the European conservation movement suggested creating a protected area in northeastern Belgian Congo. These individuals included Victor van Straelen, Jean Massart, and Jean-Marie Derscheid. In April 1925, Albert National Park was established as the first national park in the Congo. It was created to study and protect wildlife and the African Pygmy people, who were described as "primitive" hunter-gatherers. In 1926, Derscheid led the first Belgian mission to map Albert National Park, which covered 500 km² (190 sq mi) around the extinct volcanoes Mount Karisimbi and Mount Mikeno. In 1929, Virunga National Park was added to the protected area, covering the Virunga Mountains, parts of the Rutshuru Territory, and the plains near Lake Edward. The park’s size grew over time, and indigenous people lost their traditional land rights and were forced to leave the area. Between the late 1930s and 1955, about 85,000 Rwandophone people were relocated to Masisi in North Kivu.

In 1934, the Institut des Parcs Nationaux du Congo Belge was created to manage national parks in the Belgian Congo. From the early 1930s to 1961, Belgian scientists conducted several expeditions to Albert National Park. These included studies of wildlife, ethnic groups, volcanic activity, and fossils. Specimens were collected for the Musée Royal d'Histoire Naturelle de Belgique.

In the late 1950s, Tutsi herders and their cattle entered the park, damaging habitats up to 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) in altitude, which was believed to threaten gorillas. After Belgian Congo gained independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo, land laws changed, declaring the land state property. This harmed local people, and illegal hunting increased. In 1969, Albert and Virunga National Parks were combined into Virunga National Park, which was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.

In 1996, the park was listed as a Ramsar site of international importance. In 2011, the British company Soco International received permission to extract crude oil near the park. While government officials supported this, park managers opposed it. Tensions grew, and in April 2014, the park’s chief warden, Emmanuel de Mérode, was attacked. After international protests, Soco International stopped its activities and agreed not to operate near World Heritage sites.

In August 2015, the Minister of Tourism and Culture launched four initiatives, including Tchegera Island and a road to Mount Mikeno. By 2016, four hydropower dams were built, providing electricity to small businesses and over 200,000 rural people.

Since the early 1990s, the protected area has been affected by political instability in the African Great Lakes region. After the Rwandan genocide, thousands of refugees fled to the Kivu region, and military presence increased. The First and Second Congo Wars worsened the situation, making it harder to protect the park. Anti-poaching patrols were blocked, and park staff and wildlife were killed. In 1994, about 850,000 refugees lived near the park, and up to 40,000 people entered daily to gather firewood and food, causing large areas of deforestation. That year, Virunga National Park was added to the List of World Heritage in Danger.

After the Second Congo War, conflicts between park staff and rebel groups continued. Between 1996 and 2003, 80 park workers were killed. Rebel groups like the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and the National Congress for the Defence of the People (NCDC) operated in the park, with the FDLR controlling the Mikeno sector from 2006 to 2009.

In 2005, the European Commission (EC) suggested a partnership between the government and the African Conservation Fund, a British NGO. Since 2010, the African Conservation Fund has managed the park, with 80% of costs covered by the EC. Park protection efforts became more militarized to stop rebels and poachers. Park staff received military training and weapons and worked with the military and security services.

These tactics, called "militarization of conservation," have been criticized for causing more violence and forcing indigenous people, such as the Mbuti, to leave their lands or face arrest or harm. Local communities rely on farming, hunting, fishing, logging, and charcoal production for survival, all of which are illegal. They depend on armed groups for protection, paying fees from these activities. A 2010 UN report stated that 80% of Goma’s charcoal came from the park, worth $28–30 million annually. Both security forces and armed groups also commit armed robberies and kidnappings for income.

Conservation efforts have had mixed results. For example, when farms were destroyed in Kibirizi, people moved further into the park to land controlled by the FDLR, leading to clashes in 2015. In August 2017, five rangers were killed near Lake Edward by militia. In April 2018, five rangers and a driver were killed. By April 2018, 175 rangers had been killed since the conflict began. In May 2018, a ranger was killed while protecting two kidnapped tourists, who were later released. The park remained closed to visitors from June 2018 until February 2019.

In April 2020, at least 12 rangers were killed when militia attacked a civilian convoy. In January 2021, six rangers were killed and several wounded in an ambush. On 22 February 2021, Italy’s ambassador to the DRC, Luca Attanasio, an Italian military officer, Vittorio Iacovacci, and a Congolese driver, Moustapha Milambo, were killed in gunfire near Goma. They had been kidnapped and taken into the park, where park rangers freed four people.

Geography

Virunga National Park is located in the Congo–Nile watershed area and is divided into three administrative sectors: North, Central, and South. The Northern Sector borders Uganda’s Semuliki National Park and Rwenzori Mountains National Park. Elevations in this sector range from 680 meters (2,230 feet) in the Puemba River valley to Mount Stanley, the highest peak at 5,109 meters (16,762 feet), within 30 kilometers (19 miles). The Northern Sector covers 299,523 hectares and is the park’s largest land area. It stretches from the Puemba River to Lake Edward and includes the Semliki River, the Rwenzori Mountains, and Mount Tshiaberimu.

The Central Sector includes the western and southern shores of Lake Edward, as well as the Rwindi–Rutshuru plains up to Mabenga. It also covers the Lulimbi area along the Ishasha River, which forms the boundary with Uganda and is sometimes called the Eastern Sector. This sector spans 339,179 hectares, including 144,548 hectares of Lake Edward itself.

The Southern Sector is dominated by the Virunga Mountains, with elevations reaching up to 4,500 meters. According to Janvier Bagula Karumba, this sector covers 145,672 hectares, extending from south of Mount Kasali to the northern shore of Lake Kivu. It includes seven of the eight volcanoes in the Virunga massif, such as Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira, which are two of Africa’s most active volcanoes, and Mount Mikeno, which is dormant. The area has been protected since 1925 and is mostly covered in Afromontane forest. The park’s administrative center is in Rumangabo, near the gorilla enclosure, and the Mount Mikeno Hotel is a major tourist facility. This sector, along with Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park and Uganda’s Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, forms the Greater Virunga Volcanoes ecosystem.

The boundary between the Central and Southern Sectors is rich in biodiversity. It includes Lake Ondo, the Kibuga pond, marshlands at the ends of lava flows, and the Molindi spring. Nearly 75% of the lower Rutshuru River’s water comes from the Molindi River, which releases large amounts of rainwater absorbed by southern lava fields. This area lies just north of the Congo watershed divide, which is unusually underground.

The climate in the Albertine Rift is influenced by the movement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and the El Niño–Southern Oscillation. The main rainy seasons occur from March to mid-May and September to November. The savanna around Lake Edward receives an average monthly rainfall of 30–40 millimeters (1.2–1.6 inches), making it the driest part of the park. The Northern Sector receives up to 220 millimeters (8.7 inches) of monthly rainfall, and the Southern Sector receives up to 160 millimeters (6.3 inches). Average temperatures in lower areas range from 23–28°C (73–82°F), and in higher areas from 16–24°C (61–75°F), rarely dropping below 14°C (57°F).

Flora

Virunga National Park has 2,077 plant species, including 264 types of trees and 230 plants that are found only in the Albertine Rift. The park's plains are mostly wetlands and grasslands, with plants such as papyrus sedge (Cyperus papyrus), jointed flatsedge (C. articulatus), common reed (Phragmites mauritanica), sacaton grasses (Sporobolus consimilis), ambatch (Aeschynomene elaphroxylon), conkerberry (Carissa spinarum), paperbark thorn (Vachellia sieberiana), and kowai fruit (Coccinia grandis). Parts of certain plants, like African caper (Capparis tomentosa), Maerua species, wild cucurbits, and nightshades, were found in the dung of African elephants (Loxodonta), which help spread seeds in the grasslands.

The mountain forest between 1,800 and 2,800 meters (5,900 and 9,200 feet) in the southern part of the park is mainly made up of Ficalhoa laurifolia and Podocarpus milanjianus, with trees reaching up to 25 meters (82 feet) tall. African alpine bamboo (Yushania alpina) grows at elevations of 2,300–2,600 meters (7,500–8,500 feet). Above 2,600 meters (8,500 feet), the vegetation becomes subalpine, with Hagenia abyssinica (African redwood) growing up to 3,000 meters (9,800 feet). Tree heath (Erica arborea), heather, and mosses cover wet slopes up to 3,700 meters (12,100 feet). Senecio and Lobelia plants grow on large open areas and can reach heights of up to 8 meters (26 feet).

Fauna

Virunga National Park is home to many animal species. As of 2012, the park had 196 types of mammals, 706 kinds of birds, 109 reptiles, and 65 amphibians.

Some of the primates living in the park include mountain gorillas (G. b. beringei), common chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), golden monkeys, red-tailed monkeys (Cercopithecus ascanius), Dent's mona monkeys (C. denti), blue monkeys (C. mitis), Hamlyn's monkeys (C. hamlyni), De Brazza's monkeys (C. neglectus), Central African red colobus (Procolobus foai), mantled guereza (Colobus guereza), olive baboons (Papio anubis), and grey-cheeked mangabeys (Lophocebus albigena).

In the central part of the park, African bush elephants (Loxodonta africana), hippos (Hippopotamus amphibius), and African buffaloes (Syncerus caffer) live. In the northern part, recorded animals in 2008 included okapis (Okapia johnstoni), blue duikers (Philantomba monticola), bay duikers (Cephalophus dorsalis), Weyns's duikers (C. weynsi), yellow-backed duikers (C. silvicultor), water chevrotains (Hyemoschus aquaticus), red river hogs (Potamochoerus porcus), aardvarks (Orycteropus afer), and bongos (Tragelaphus eurycerus). The southern part has harnessed bushbucks (T. scriptus) and giant forest hogs (Hylochoerus meinertzhageni). Topi (Damaliscus lunatus jimela) gather near Lake Edward in the Ishasha Flats region and often cross into Uganda. Other animals include Ugandan kob (Kobus kob thomasi), waterbucks (K. ellipsiprymnus), and common warthogs (Phacochoerus africanus).

Virunga National Park, along with Queen Elizabeth National Park, forms a "Lion Conservation Unit." If poaching stops and prey animals return, this area could become a strong place for lions (Panthera leo). In the northern part of the park, recorded animals in 2008 included African leopards (P. pardus pardus), marsh mongooses (Atilax paludinosus), giant pangolins (Smutsia gigantea), tree pangolins (Phataginus tricuspis), crested porcupines (Hystrix cristata), Lord Derby's scaly-tailed squirrels (Anomalurus derbianus), Boehm's bush squirrels (Paraxerus boehmi), western tree hyraxes (Dendrohyrax dorsalis), Emin's pouched rats (Cricetomys emini), and checkered elephant shrews (Rhynchocyon cirnei).

The Semliki River is home to Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus). Some were seen near Lake Edward in 1988 for the first time.

In the southern part of the park, surveys in 2004 found birds that live only in the Albertine Rift, such as Rwenzori turacos, Rwenzori batisses, Archer's ground robins, red-throated alethes, Kivu ground thrushes, collared apalises, mountain masked apalises, dusky crimson-wings, Shelley's crimsonwings, red-faced woodland warblers, stripe-breasted tits, blue-headed sunbirds, regal sunbirds, Rwenzori double-collared sunbirds, handsome spurfowls, and strange weavers. Other birds found in the park include Wahlberg's eagles, African goshawks, African hobbies, harrier hawks, common buzzards, mountain buzzards, hadedas ibises, grey-crowned cranes, black-and-white-casqued hornbills, black-billed turacos, African olive pigeons, tambourine doves, blue-spotted wood doves, red-eyed doves, brown-necked parrots, red-chested cuckoos, olive long-tailed cuckoos, barred long-tailed cuckoos, Klaas's cuckoos, Diederik cuckoos, blue-headed coucals, Narina trogons, white-headed wood hoopoes, white-necked ravens, white-tailed crested flycatchers, African paradise flycatchers, white-eyed slaty flycatchers, African dusky flycatchers, white-tailed blue flycatchers, mountain orioles, speckled mousebirds, cinnamon-chested bee-eaters, grey-throated barbets, yellow-billed barbets, western tinkerbirds, yellow-rumped tinkerbirds, cardinal woodpeckers, olive woodpeckers, black saw-wings, Angola swallows, Alpine swifts, mountain greenbuls, yellow-whiskered greenbuls, common bulbuls, white-starred robins, Archer's ground robins, white-browed robin-chats, African stonechats, rufous thrushes, African thrushes, olive thrushes, grassland pipits, cinnamon bracken warblers, black-faced rufous warblers, mountain yellow warblers, brown woodland warblers, green sandpipers, Chubb's cisticolas, banded prinias, chestnut-throated apalises, grey-backed camaropteras, white-browed crombecs, black-throated wattle-eyes, chinspot batisses, mountain illadopises, grey-chested illadopises, olive sunbirds, bronze sunbirds, malachite sunbirds, collared sunbirds, variable sunbirds, yellow white-eyes, Mackinnon's shrikes, Doherty's bushshrikes, Lühder's bushshrikes, northern puffbacks, mountain sooty boubous, tropical boubous, narrow-tailed starlings, Sharpe's starlings, baglafecht weavers, black bishops, grey-headed nigratas, common waxbills, black-headed waxbills, bronze mannikins, black and white mannikins, pin-tailed whydahs, African citrils, streaky seedeaters, and thick-billed seedeaters.

Ethnic groups

Ethnic groups who live in and around Virunga National Park include:

• Mbuti people
• Nande people
• Hunde people
• Kumu people
• Hutu people
• Tutsi people
• Basongora

Media coverage

The documentary Virunga shows the work of rangers at Virunga National Park and the actions of British oil company Soco International within the park. Ndakasi, a gorilla from the park, appeared in some TV shows and movies, including the Netflix documentary.