Save Eco Destinations

Photo - Volcanoes Safaris

By Cinthia Pacheco

This is the second of two posts on the Virungas region of East Africa. What tourism options are available in the Virungas region? And is there a way to observe the infamous mountain gorilla without damaging its survival?

Go2Africa

Ecotourists interested in the Virungas region can visit go2africa, one of the biggest African tourism websites. It offers intensive gorilla trekking with mandatory gorilla permits and certain rules, e.g. no flash photography or children under 15 because they might transmit diseases to the gorillas. One hour is allowed with the gorillas and at a distance of no closer than 7 meters. In certain restrictive circumstances, like border closures, security changes, or gorillas going out of range, the park ranger can deny your gorilla encounter, even after purchasing a gorilla permit.

The travel service highlights its environmental and social responsibility (including its adoption of a blind rhino, Max – aww). It also encourages connecting with their Africa experts and spending time on their forums.

Volcanoes Safaris

Volcanoes Safaris offers eco-lodges and emphasizes the “debate on minimizing the environmental impact of rich travellers on poor countries.” The company displays detailed information on its eco-lodges’ low-flush and eco-san dry toilets, bush showers, and solar panel lighting.

Although both these companies seem to show initiative to protect the fragility of the Virungas region, Volcanoes Safaris really buckles down on conservation efforts:

“As the leading gorilla safari company, Volcanoes has demonstrated our commitment to working for their survival by being the only safari company to sign the Kinshasa Declaration on Saving the Great Apes.”

This company shows its commitment to a long-term plan to protect the Virungas region and its wildlife.

Close-up of mountain gorilla in Rwanda by National Geographic

Tourism and community working together

While digging into all the tourism information available on the Virungas region, I couldn’t help but notice community projects ubiquitous across websites on the mountain gorilla. The multitude of organizations involved is astounding, and many understand that the local community impacts the gorillas’ well-being.

The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund und has people programs focusing on ecosystem health, community development, and education. In order for the tourism sector to thrive, the local community must be stable, and these small-scale sustainable development programs are “designed to help local people work toward economic independence, reducing reliance on irreplaceable natural resources.”

This, in turn, benefits the well-being of the Virungas region and thus the mountain gorilla.

There also have been plans to regulate tourism, including the Virunga Massif Tourism Plan, which

“aims to provide the framework for tourism development in the region that allows for controlled development, which does not generate any negative environmental or socio-cultural impact and which will be used as a means for environmental and cultural conservation.”

Another collaboration worth noting is The Great Virunga Transboundary Collaboration, which includes the countries surrounding the Virungas region: Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Uganda. Through this project said countries have pooled in their energy to co-ordinate level regulations on “environmental management, law enforcement, gorilla census and tourism.”

A mountain gorilla-tourist encounter

Conclusion – Can ecotourism and gorillas coexist?

The Karisoke Center continues to advance its research goals and conservation objectives, and is currently in the process of conducting a new study, Environmental Economics Research, putting special attention on the impact of human activity on the Virungas region, namely tourist behaviour toward conservation efforts.

The scientists who work with these animals know that, in general, gorillas are peaceful and gentle. However, a study by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund on the direct impact of safari tours trekking in on the Virunga gorillas found that,

“The gorillas were more aggressive and exhibited a number of stress-related behaviours during the one-hour tourist visits … This study has provided the park management authorities the scientific information needed to guide sustainable long-term management of the gorillas in the face of increased economic pressure to include more gorilla groups in the tourism program and to increase the number of visitors and visits per day to each group.”

I believe that with careful regulations, controlled and conscious ecotourism – real ecotourism – can aid the gorillas of the Virungas region. Money from tourism helps revive the local economy and, in turn, helps these gorillas.

Being one of our closest the living primates, I think it is essential for us to step up and ensure their safety and survival.

Cinthia Pacheco is a Canadian-Argentine living in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She writes about feminism, ecotourism and basketball. You can connect with her via email and on Twitter at @rincon200.

Map of the Virungas and National Park - WWF/Carpe

By Cinthia Pacheco

This is the first of two posts on the Virungas region of East Africa, by some called the ‘darkest Africa.’  In this first post, we will look at the history of African region and, in the second, the specific ecotourist options that exist there.

The mountain gorillas of the Virungas

The Virungas stretch along the northern border of Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Uganda. This dense jungle is home to a community of mountain gorillas, “the rarest of subspecies.”

“There are roughly 720 mountain gorillas left on Earth; half live in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and the other half 15 miles south in the Virunga Mountains.”

Why are these gorillas different from others? Their low-fruit diet makes them less likely to move in a large range throughout the forest and the rugged terrain creates clear visibility. Further, because they have not been traditionally hunted for food by humans, they are not alarmed by tourists and are more easily observable.

History

The history of the Virungas and nearby regions is indeed dark, with a heavy past of civil war, disease, and poaching. It began in the 1960s, when primatology and anthropology were ripe: the perfect conditions to study gorillas. And thus, the Karisoke Research Center was founded by Dian Fossey with a mission to research developmental behaviour and ecology in conjunction with the conservation of these mountain gorillas.

A mountain gorilla hanging out - Getty

The researchers captured data from different regions of the Virungas, including the Virungas National Park and Volcanoes National Park. They studied everything about the gorilla’s lives and it soon became evident that this information could be revolutionary when studied over long periods of time.

During the 1970s, anthropology was blooming with gorilla research, but there were very little conservation efforts in motion. The gorilla population declined in the Virungas between 1958 and 1973 because of habit loss linked to human settlement and cultivation of cash crops. Also, tourism played a part in gorilla poaching and hunting.

“In the mid 1970s, a gruesome trophy trade in gorilla heads and skulls surfaced in Rwanda, with the main market being foreign residents and visitors.”

It wasn’t until the end of the 1980s that gorilla-based tourism began to thrive, starting in Rwanda.  Conservation and education were also being implemented at this time.

However, in October 1990, war broke out in Rwanda and, as a result, the Virungas were no longer considered tourist-friendly for a long time. Again in April 1994, instability hit Rwanda with war and genocide and the national parks in the Virungas became a base for rebels. Poaching activities mounted again and the survival of the gorillas was at stake.

The Virungas

Since then, there have been time gaps when the Virungas have been restricted to tourists. Today, tourists are advised to avoid certain parts of Congo and Rwanda, but gorilla tours and trekking in the national parks are slowly gaining popularity.

So, does tourism play a critical role in the protection of these beautiful animals? Or will it only bring more destruction to the area?

In the next post, I will look at the different existing ecotourism companies in the Virungas and whether they are really there to watch out for the gorillas – or just their own bank accounts.

Cinthia Pacheco is a Canadian-Argentine living in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She writes about feminism, ecotourism and basketball. You can connect with her via email and on Twitter at @rincon200.