My Park Rangers Protect Congo’s People and Ecosystems as War Rages all Around

May 7, 2016 | Emmanuel de Mérode
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A ranger in Virunga national park has a 44% chance of suffering a violent death during their career, the highest rate of service deaths for any national park in the world.

The UN panel of experts on the Democratic Republic of Congo has characterised this war as a process fuelled by the trafficking of Congo’s vast biological and mineral resources, which funds the activities of more than 60 armed militias.

These include resources such as charcoal from the forests, fish from the lakes, and land and oil. These are all resources associated with Virunga national park and coveted by 12 of the most violent armed militias who reside in or around the park. Virunga’s rangers have had to develop an elaborate strategy aimed primarily at restoring the rule of law and protecting communities, and then building an alternative economy, known as the Virunga Alliance. This alliance relies on the principles of good governance and focuses on the interests of the poorest and most vulnerable as it restores and protects the fragile ecosystems.