In DRC, Virunga deforestation escalates as fighting sends refugees into park

According to Global Forest Watch Virunga National Park, the oldest protected area in the DRC, has lost 964 hectares (2,382 acres) of forest since June.

“The Nyiragongo volcanic eruption in May and the recent war that has broken out between M23 and the Congolese government have forced many people to flee into the park,” Depaul Bakulu, a volunteer with the refugee NGO Goma Actif, told Mongabay in a phone interview. He has been working with the NGO to distribute food and clothing to these refugees since 2021.

Since 2021, M23 (the March 23 Movement), an armed rebel movement created in 2012 in North Kivu, has conquered large portions of territory north of Goma, the provincial capital. Nearly a million civilians have fled their homes, as the conflict exacerbates the almost permanent humanitarian crisis that eastern DRC has been experiencing for the last 30 years.

During just the first few weeks in October, more than 90,000 people had to flee the territories of Rutshuru and Masisi, according to the UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency.

While some internal refugees live in NGO camps, most live in informal sites with no assistance. According to Bakulu, the displaced people have no long-term shelter. Large numbers are living under tarpaulins or bags supported by pieces of wood, in makeshift structures that are especially unstable during the rainy season.

“These people need everything but have nothing, so they end up cutting wood to prepare food, sterilize drinking water and make charcoal to sell so they can buy food,” says Bakulu. “They are also putting their lives at risk. Many women are raped, many men are kidnapped or killed while going to cut wood. They often have to pay part of their earnings to armed groups.”

While humanitarians offer food, accommodation, medical care and access to water, few offer energy assistance.

“NGOs do what they can. They act according to their mandates and their donors. With the current environmental protection rhetoric, I understand why charcoal is a complicated issue for them,” explains Bakulu. “I have seen NGOs come to educate refugees on not cutting down trees, which is crazy. They’re just people who need to eat.”

The resulting deforestation is clearly visible at the foot of the Nyiragongo volcano. In this area alone, Global Forest Watch reports that 209 hectares (516 acres) of forest have been cleared since June, a quarter of the entire park’s losses over the same period.

Cutting down trees in the park has been officially banned since 2018. but the park’s director, Emmanuel de Merode has witnessed numerous armed conflicts since taking office in 2008, and says preventing displaced people from cutting down trees is not his main priority.

“We are not abandoning our responsibilities. It is an active choice that we made to sacrifice a small part of the park, which is necessary for the survival of approximately 800,000 people. These are secondary forests, which are regularly burned by lava flows anyway. We can’t fight everywhere, and certainly not with displaced families. After the crisis, we will look at how we can reforest and restore these ecosystems as quickly as possible.”

For de Merode, the real threat to the park’s biodiversity remains the presence of armed groups. These include the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which controls the Nyamuragira sector, where the Nyiragongo refugees have taken refuge, and M23, which controls the Mikeno sector. “[Mikeno] is a very rich area; it’s old forests, home to mountain gorillas,” explains de Merode.

A 2019 census counted around 600 gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) in the Virunga Mountains, which stretch 450 square kilometers (175 square miles) across the border with Uganda and Rwanda border. About 350 of these primates live in the southeastern Mikeno sector of Virunga National Park, according to its website.

The census team reported numerous signs of illegal activity, including freshly felled trees, hunters’ camps and traps, particularly in the Congolese part of the mountains. While gorillas are not targeted by poachers, they can be harmed by traps set for other animals.

Despite the continued presence of armed groups in Virunga, the gorilla population is experiencing encouraging growth, thanks to intense surveillance and patrolling in protected areas in all three countries.

“However, the M23 presence has made it too risky for us to patrol there for the last year. As the area is no longer protected, antelope traps, and possibly buffalo traps, are still there so gorillas (especially baby gorillas) get caught in them, and we’re not there to help,” said de Merode.

“In North Kivu, the fighting continues. A pro-government armed group called Wazalendo now faces the M23 and the FDLR. While displaced people continue to flock day after day to the provincial capital, Goma, no one knows how they will be able to find housing and food. Faced with the lack of humanitarian aid, they will probably turn to the park for their survival too.”

Banner image: The view from up the Nyiragongo volcano. Image courtesy of Baron Reznik via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).

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