To protect Virunga National Park, which is constantly under threat from poachers and illegal fishermen, the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN) has commissioned a green number, 0993556000, which the local population can use to launch Note alerts when there is an illegal activity in the park.
This hotline is a shared management and support project bordering the Virunga National Park. This project aims to create socio-economic activities for these people and hope they will actively participate in the protection of the park.
Tuver Hundi, committed to the protection of the environment in North Kivu, said that the project “is a plus for the protection and sustainable conservation of the park.”
Created in 1925, Virunga National Park is the oldest national park in the DRC. It is home to a great diversity of plant and animal species, more than 2000 species of higher plants, 218 species of mammals, 706 bird species, 109 reptile species, and 78 amphibian species have been recorded there. These species include three great ape species, a third of the world’s population of mountain gorilla.
But this protected area is regularly targeted by poachers. It is also full of oil fields that fuel the appetite of industrial operators.