The Last Stand of the Gorilla

 Figure 7: As valuable timber becomes rare outside of parks, militias enter parks and illegally cut and produce charcoal inside parks – even the best protected park of the Virungas housing large shares of the Worlds remaining mountain gorilla popula- tion. Rangers here destroyed over a thousand kilns for charcoal inside the park in 2009.

Charcoal illegal trade

Lake Edward

Biundu

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Charcoal business in Virunga area Millions of US Dollars

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

UGANDA

Total annual value of Goma charcoal market

Rutshuru

30

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

Burungu

Virunga National Park

Kriolirwe

Kingi

Volcanoes National Park

Estimate of taxes annually collected from charcoal production by Congo Army (FDLR) in Rutshuru

Kibumba

2

Kibati

RWANDA

Goma

Estimates of taxes annually collected from charcoal trade by CNDP in Kingi market

National Park Illegal deforested area between 2003 and 2006

0.5

Lake Kivu

5 Km 0

Refugee camp Main charcoal trade and destinations Patrol checkpoint

Sources: UNSC, S/2008/773.

Sources: UNSC, S/2008/773; Central African Regional Program for the Environment, 2007; ICCN.

Figure 8: Charcoal business in the Virunga area.

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